Wish I could have fought in WWII...

I've noticed on youtube that random american teenagers constantly claim that their grandfathers served in WW2 in the 101st division, LOL.

Which barely makes sense, as most of their grandfathers are more like Korean-war aged.

 

Don't you know that according to some media the only American unit that fought in WWII was the 101st supported by the Rangers? LOL

 

My uncle was 22 at Arnhem he is now 86 and lives in Ilford near London. He was in the mortar platoon of the 2nd battalion 1st parachute brigade. He was a corporal in charge of laying the first tube before the other three joined in. He was in a fox hole in the green park area near the Northern bridge ramp. When the mortar bombs ran out after a couple of days he and his mates were told to hold a nearby house. He found a prewar photo of the house and put it in his pocket. He still has it and I have it too as the museum sent me a copy. If you're interested Andypants let me have your email and I'll send you a copy. He managed to survive the battle without a scratch and when they ran out of rifle ammo they were told to try to make their way out to Division in small groups as best they could. He started out with a group of about ten across back gardens etc. A couple were picked off on the way. They found themselves sheltering behind a tram in an open area when some Germans bayonet charged them. At that they decided that discretion was indeed the better part of valour and surrendered. My uncle spent the rest of the war working, often in the snow, in an open cast coal mine. But that as they say is another story. Sorry to go off topic but you did ask.

 

Gee I guess they would of had a pretty busy war going around pretending to be all those other American army units not to mention the Marines.Does this mean us Brits auctually helped win the war after all being as 1939- 1941 the screaming eagles and them who led the way were not doing much

 

I guess there are more than a few 15/16 year olds wanting to serve in WW2 after watching SPR or Band of Brothers I was wondering, if any of you know, was the Battle of the Bulge way worse than in Band of Brothers? I was pretty 'shocked' when I saw Guarnere and Toye with their legs blown off *yuck*

Anyway, I think that it's up to the man to decide why he wants to join the Armed forces. It can be ignorant but some only think "I wanna kick some raghead a**es", and others want to fight for freedom of the people, serve on the right side etc.
If I were to serve then I would because I don't think the enemy is wrong and should be fixed, by fighting.

Salute to all WWII vets!!

 

I suggest that some here with what they think of what war is like and not what can happen to you take a look at this thread and read about what is left out of videogames and other things.

A Soldier Strips the Romance Out of Life at War

 

That's what you get when ying-yangs get their education from video games and movies. Don't worry wtid45, we know when Britain stood alone, they made it possible for the rest of the willing world to find the time to gear up and show up.

And the Pukin' Buzzards and the Rangers weren't even in existance yet in 39-41....

Cheers ole boy....

 

well I wish I could have fought in world war 2 it being the last legit war ever fought ever other conflict is just unneeded fighting and waste of american lives

 

Have you thought of joining a World War II Reenactment group? I don't know what state that you are in but most states have them I belong to the www.fiveohfirst.org in Georgia and was formally with the www.chgww2.com in California. But they do battles and wear the authentic uniforms and so forth. It's a great way to honor the veterans and learn more about World War II. But in answer to your question I have thought many times about what I would have done if I was 18 in 1941 and yes I would have joined like my grandfather did and served.

Ryan

 

The originator of this thread was thrown in the "Cooler" shortly after creating this thread. His last visit here was in Sept 2008. I don't think he will be reading your post.

 

I served and the reason that I served is because I think freedom is something worth fighting for and I enlisted after 9-11. There is a right and a wrong and if there isn't then everything is just plain relative which I don't believe. The United States isn't perfect but we are far better then the countries or terrorists who have attacked us. Nazi Germany was an evil that had to be dealt with and if had not been either all of us would be speaking German, Russian or would be dead. This whole idea of ridiculing the notion of freedom is very fashionable nowadays, but "fashionable" is not what has given us freedom. If freedom is not important then yes everything is relative and there is no absolute good and if that is the case then why salute the WWII vets other then you just happen to like their uniforms better then the German ones.
Ryan.

 

I wanted to respond to your post one more time because again I have thought the same way myself. The fact is that World War II was a horrible war and the men over there were there to do a job and get it done so they could get home. I know there was definately more of a sense of national pride back then that no longer exists today and probably never will again, I mean heck after 9-11 people banded together and then forgot about it after 2 weeks and now many people could care less that we were attacked on 9-11 and don't want to hear about it or they some how blame the U.S. for bringing it on ourselves.

With respect to the technology, the technology in World War II was pretty advanced for its time with some of it still being used today.

However the mind is a funny thing, because World War II has always been romanticized and it is the last real war where the world was fighting a global evil and threat. Had Hilter or Tojo gotten the atom bomb before we did they would have used it. But the truth is that World War II was a grisly war just like any other and in many ways worse as so many lives were lost and so many people were killed needlessly. It was a war that could have been avoided for the most part if certain leaders had the guts to stand up to a thug and bully like Hitler.

I pray and hope we never have anything like World War II ever again. On the otherhand though I am certainly glad the GOOD GUYS won and kicked Hitler's a$$.

Ryan

 

The originator of this thread was thrown in the "Cooler" shortly after creating this thread. His last visit here was in Sept 2008. I don't think he will be reading your post.

 

I can understand where this young man is coming from. My stepson is very into "war games" video games, playng war in the back yard. I took him to visit some disabled veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Having him sit and talk with them, not even about war, just in general, but letting him get a good look at just what can happen to a young, strong, healthy, young man in war was better than any lecture or book that I could have given him. As we were ready to leave, he shook a lot of hands and thanked a lot of men for their service. He still likes the games, and playing in the back yard, but he doesn't talk so gloriously anymore. I just hope it did a little to show him how horrible war is.

 

Is he no longer allowed to post? What happened? Just curious. With blogging nowadays it is too easy to say or do something to have yourself banned. Maybe he lurks from time to time.

 

You can go to his public profile site to check if he has been lurking about.

 

People have a tendency to romanticize the past and I am sure that people who lived during World War II probably romanticized the past and wish they could live back om the days of the old west or whatever. As we have all said World War II is a crummy war just like all crummy wars. I do think that things were different in that duty and honor was more important back then and Roosevelt didn't ask permission from the League of Nations to go to war against Hitler. If the Japanese bombed us today Obama would be falling all over himself apologizing and the left would demand an apology. An apology from the United Stated to Japan for forcing them to bomb us.

In that sense I wish things were the same as we watch the United States dwindle away. Unless something really happens and people don't start demanding that things change then ultimately World War II would have been fought just to have a socialist totalitarian president (Obama) a mere 65 years later in the United States. That is where we are heading. If you read the Rise and Fall of the third Reich and read Obama's "The audacity of hope", you'll see that both Obama and Hitler have very similar lives and were influenced in almost the same exact way. The big difference is that Hitler was a national dictator, Obama wants to be a universal dictator. Hitler gained his power by manipulation, lies and a gun, Obama is gaining his power by manipulation, lies and a smile. It doesn't matter thought because Obama will be able to achieve what he wants without firing a shot, at least at first. Wait till he gains ultimate power and he begins outlawing websites like this and radio and T.V.

Wow, I got off on a tangent. Sorry.

Dog

 

Hey DGS, you are going to be crossed off of a lot of Christmas Card lists with that rant! You'll see. Plenty of left-wingers and libs here. Some of them are ok though....

 

And another thead that turned into a political one star thrash soap..... Sorry guys time to close.