Tonight I was fortunate enough to meet disabled veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Some from Iraq were not disabled). It was a very rewarding and I opening experience to say the very least. My girlfriend is a singer and she does a charity show once a year to raise money for the disabled veterans from surrounding VA hospitals in the Tri-State area. What really grips me about the whole experience is too often is the human side of war forgotten. In high school history class they don't speak of the people fighting and speak more about things like body counts, casualty rates, and battles but I think speaking with a veteran is something everyone should do. These men were all as alive as anything. My girlfriends mother introduced me to a group of vietnam veterans and they were friendly as can be. The first question I received was if I was thinking about joining the Military. When I told them I was working into getting into either VMI or Citadel and from there I wanted to be a Marine. I got a small round of applause. On several occasions other volunteers were wheeling out some of the vets who just wanted to hang outside and smoke cigarettes. One of the older more mentally impaired vets was trying to get my girlfriends mothers attention so I walked over to see if everything was alright and he pointed to her and said, "Hey could you ask her if shes 21 yet?" I almost lost it. Then I spoke to a man who served either 2 or 3 tours in Iraq. He was a Marine and we spoke for about half an hour and Him and a few other marines were very insightful and the conversation ranged to some other things ranging as far from do I want to become an officer in the infantry to literature on the marines we both had read. I guess the whole point of my story is that this experience put a face to the wars I have only read about. I mean it was just incredible and rewarding. Also to see how these guys were so alive, I mean these 60, 70 and 80 year old men sharing their stories and helping each other out. There were able bodied WWII vets serving food to disabled Vietnam vets who were only a little older than half their age. These guys were more energetic than most 18 year old kids that I know.
You are correct about connecting with the real vets of any war. The individual human experience for each veteran is unique and should be appreciated much more than the sterile set of facts that history books relate to us. Of course, we of the WW2F have actual veterans on this site with their combat experiences. Sapper and Fighter Pilot come to mind. For more on oral histories though..visit: Rutgers Oral History Archives
It is the greatest experience . Only those who have lived such a situation can understand that feeling.
Now as our WW2 vets "age out", we are loosing the chance to get their stories recorded. Some of this comes from their own attitude sometimes though. My own Dad, a "blue pickle" (enlisted pilot) of C-47s with Transport Command almost never spoke of the war years at all. It wasn't until I was helping him move some stuff out of his office when I was about 10 (1958) that a photo ID of him as a young man fell out of one box that I even asked him about his service. Here was this young man (early 20s) smiling for the camera, and still recognizable as my Dad. I looked at it and noticed it was labled for Greenham Common, and had to find out where that was. When he told me it was just north of London and he had to have it to get on and off the base before D-Day I was flabbergasted. He'd never said anything about this to me before. Turns out he was in one of the second wave of night flights, towing gliders, dropping supplies, not paratroops, but their support gear. Shortly after the first of August 1944, he was rotated home to train other pilots since he had reached his sortie requirement (I think it was 45 or 50) in "contested air-space". He was home a full year when the bombs dropped on Japan, and the war was over. He happened to be home on leave for his birthday (Aug. 9th), and while he didn't find out when the bombs dropped until after the surrender was announced, he always said that those atomics were the best birthday present he ever got. He wouldn't have to train others to go and fight and possibly die, and he could just get on with the business of life. That is why (I believe) he never spoke much of his service, he just wanted to "get on with it", don't dwell in the past. Now, I am sorry this was so as now he is well into his eighties (87), and Alzheimer's has taken its toll. Some days he is sharp as a tack, somedays you don't know what he will recall. Hope I make it as long as he has, Alzheimer's or not.
Great story, Connel. It's nice to see young folk interested enough to engage in that kind of activity. Why not take Clint's idea a step further and try to interview and record some of the vet's stories? You could then present the tape to them or someone in their family as a keepsake. Like Clint, I never heard much about WW2 from my father, as he also just "got on with it". I will never have the chance to find out very much, since he died 19 years ago. What I do know, I continue to cherish to keep his memory alive with my children and grandchildren.
Next year I will definitely get more stories and write them down, for the most part this time I was running around and getting them drinks and stuff but the few opportunities I had to talk to them was just unbelievable. It gave me chills.
Im glad your doing this. Thanks for sharing that great story. It's for things like this-I live for ;-))
Have to agree with Carl, I spend more of my time trying to get to talk with these great men and women! I'm glad you were able to experience this great event! Thanks for sharing!
The experience has actually got me considering volunteering maybe a day or two a week at a VA hospital in NYC.
