Men like these, who at the same time are both extraordinary and ordinary, should never be forgotten. The reference and links contain much more information.
My Father was a combat engineer in WWII.
He spoke very highly of the infantry. He also admired the armored divisions.
And just what were the ROE for WWII infantry?
The infantry we have today is just as good. And much better equipped.
And with the right civilian leaders....
Very well done. I was not infantry, I was a Headquarters Pog. My dad was not infantry, he commanded an LCT on Utah Beach. He had an Army engineer company, with bulldozers and TNT.
Nice job, Mike, but why exclude mountain, airborne, and armored infantry? You also left out the Mediterranean Theater which had infantry elements.
I saw on Book TV a few years ago, an author taking highlights out of his book on the organization the processed the effects of dead service personnel.
So, the usual, live munitions, etc, as well as embarrassing stuff from any and all paramours, particularly if the deceased was married, was filtered out.
The book covered the expansion of the facility (in MO, iirc) as the war went on.
It also went into the steady lowering of the physical requirements for a rifleman as the supply was “depleted”.
I too grew up with WW II vets all around. Rarely was the war spoken of by them on an extended basis, but it was often referred to in popular entertainment and figured large in our boys’ games and in our imaginations. To a remarkable degree, we live in a world that remains deeply shaped by America’s sacrifices and victory in WW II. As a Baby Boomer, I know that much of what my generation and those following have enjoyed came from the WW II generation.
I hear you, Mike. My own father and uncles are a fine microcosm.....somehow, though, they all served in the Pacific, and none of them were infantry.
My father’s army engineer battalion built airfields across the pacific, from Hawaii starting in Jan 1942 through VJ day on Okinawa. McArthur asked for the battalion for Japanese occupation duty, but didn’t get them, as they had the longest term of overseas duty of any army construction battalion.
My uncles service included a navy fighter pilot, aircraft mechanic, a sailor type, a marine officer (don’t recall his speciality) who received a great deal of ribbing because his name is McArathur.
Then, I had a school teacher who appears in a famous photo from the Korean War. Four marines crouching in the ruins of Seoul after the landing at Inchon, one shooting back at a sniper with an M1 carbine. He said that he was so terrified, could hardly even remember his own name, but kept fighting and advancing because he was a Marine.
Most of the sons of the WW2 and Korea generation in my family have served our own terms in the military. I did 6 years in the USAF. A nephew is currently a foreign service officer, with an office in the US Embassy in Kabul. He, of course, is serving his own time in a war zone. He hears bombs detonating somewhere in town most weeks.
“100% or more casualties.”
Didn’t know there was more than 100%.
My late Father, was a member of the 45th ID (Oklahoma, Colorado & New Mexico), and it was only late in life that he could speak of the many boyhood friends that he lost in the battles that the 45th fought from Sicily to Munich. While there were changes after the War, more were lost in Korea, a war that my Father was forever bitter about for the incompetent commanders and the hang-fire outcome, as we see in today's headlines!
There is a very REAL conversation found in the movie "To Hell and Back" (Audie Murphy biopic starring Audie Murphy) where a new replacement soldier complains about how coldly his platoon Sergeant (Audie Murphy) treats him. A non-newbie acquaints him with the cold truth of combat, that newbies, no matter how well trained, die at far higher numbers than their experienced counterparts. He is 'assured' that, if he survives the next few rounds of combat, that the friendships will be made, but for now, too many newbies have died to risk added loss!
Remember the Fallen, do not let them be forgot! God Bless!
WW II had it’s heroes. Does anyone remember Collin Kelly or Roger Young? Probably not. Late 44’ to 45’ Roger Young’s ballad was on the radio. About 6 months ago I was at a yard sale and found a 37th Div.1942 year book. To my surprise, there was Roger Young right where he belonged. I decided to hold on to it. It goes to show you the geekiest looking guy can end up a hero. (A MOH winner fighting in the Solomon Islands.) The other name, Collin Kelly, did a kamikaze attack on a Japanese surface ship with a B-17, if I recall correctly. Both individuals were in songs at that time. “There’s a star spangled banner waiving somewhere” mentioned Kelly. The “Ballard of Roger Young” is all about Roger. My family had it’s share, 3 of my mothers cousins were lost over the skies of Germany, they were bombing my fathers cousins under the sky. (I’m a first generation American, and experienced stories from both sides.) My folks knew what the war did over seas and didn’t want me to be part of another one. When JFK drafted me in 62’ it was the turning point for me, 31 years later my service time ended with “0” regrets. I was a very lucky one, never fired a shot at anyone, nor did anyone fire a shot at me. Could I have been a hero? Who knows? Did Roger Young look like he would be a hero? You never know what you can do until that time arises and the choice confronts you. We are all potential heroes.
