“We lost our WW II Marine uncle four years ago. He never spoke of the horror but his eyes showed it.”
We often forget that many of these Marines were just in their teens and early 20s. Many witnessed wounds to human bodies that literally became the stuff of nightmares that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
My dad was in an anti-aircraft unit in Europe so he was spared most of the more gruesome stuff. But a couple of times the unit had “battle fatigued” infantry assigned to them.
One, who must have been subjected to heavy artillery bombardment, became a nervous wreck any time the big guns started firing. He would pace non-stop for hours and never sleep. The other one was nearly as immobile as a Gumby doll. Whatever position you put him in he would stay in. It was obvious to everyone around them that they weren’t faking it and eventually the Army sent them back to the States.
My wife’s uncle served in the Pacific as a coxswain on landing craft, and he never talked about it, and he never went in the water, even in a swimming pool.
You’re right about the Marines. Pure hell they went through.
Sad about the two GIs assigned to your Dad’s outfit.
Many WW II vets who served with Patton in Sicily said people did not realize it but Patton was likely to have been suffering from Combat Fatigue himself when he smacked the two GI’s.