Posted on 11/11/2024 2:05:58 PM PST by Retain Mike
My dad served in Europe and he told me things that broke my heart
Never again. Who’s worth invading? Haven’t we learned by now?
Troops stationed overseas should be paid for by the host countries.
93% of that American Army were draftees, pretty much it was a war of draftee against draftee everywhere, Germans included.
I always heard merchant mariners had the highest death rate.
> I always heard merchant mariners had the highest death rate. <
That’s correct, according to this article:
http://www.usmm.org/casualty.html
But I don’t believe they received veteran status until sometime in the 1980s.
James Garner joined the Merchant marine in WWII at age 16 and later received 2 purple hearts for infantry combat wounds in Korea.
Pretty grim.
Peter Falk, Jack Lord, and Carroll O’Connor were also in the Merchant Marines in World War 2.
My grandpa fought for McArthur in the S W Pacific.
He drove a bulldozer, and was a mechanic when needed. Endured bugs, heat and humidity, tropical fungus and diseases, short rations, shifts that were brutal—6 on and 6 off for days. Occasionally Japnese airstrikes (that loved to target Bulldozers) and even Japanese snipers.
Still compared to a rifleman they would have called him lucky. He had a cot and pillow with mosquito net and a tent each night, hot meals usually, base security (Air Force engineer battalions came with their own organic security platoons armed with all light arms including MGs and bazookas) and once an island was more secure even ice, a commons area and rarely beer.
831st (871st..something) AAEB Battalion 1943-1945
Much the same happened in WW1 as well. All the extensive training of the regiments and divisions suddenly hits a crisis point when the well-trained are murdered in windrows, and the cooks, clerks and repo guys that just got bum-rushed through a limited basic training showed up on the lines. More than a few stories are out there for WW1 and WW2 newbies like this that hadn’t even held a rifle, much less loaded or fired one.
Real Men
Toughest SOB’s to walk the planet.
“..Real Men. Toughest SOB’s to walk the planet....”
Yep...no doubt in my mind having grown up as a kid under em.....father, uncles, etc.
That statement holds true for those in all the theaters too; Europe, Pacific, etc....they were some tough, hard-core individuals (toxic masculinity on steroids..LOL). Not many can compare to em these days.
The interesting part, they didn’t think of themselves that way. It may be because of the Great Depression. It put most everyone in their place. A truly great equalizer greater than the old Colt 45.
Another well done.
You may enjoy, “General Kenny Reports”. It is all about the Fifth Air Force. Very good read I think.
Thank you.
In essence, if your ship was hit and began to sink, you might get into a lifeboat but had only a poor chance of rescue. Due to the risk of enemy attack, ships in convoy had orders not to stop and make rescues. Many US merchant sailors therefore died when their ships went down or of exposure in the ocean in life vests or in lifeboats.
“Troops stationed overseas should be paid for by the host countries.”
For that you need the FFL 😁
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