[Retain Mike]

My most often contact with these men started about age twelve in the late 50's when my dad began taking me out golfing on the weekends. There was a man who used the first golf cart I ever saw, because as a brigade commander of the 41th Infantry in New Guinea he was debilitated by sickness. I remember one fairly good golfer who had kind of a weird back swing. I found out he was crippled while serving with the Big Red One in Sicily. My Economics professor in college served with one of the first UDT swimmers clearing barricades and mines in the surf zone before Pacific landings. I often ended up as a dishwasher at the country club and noticed the chef always limped as he moved around the kitchen. He saw my puzzled look, and said he got the limp from a wound received when he was with the Rangers at Pointe De Hoc. Those are just a few of the stories I remember among so many others I could tell or have forgotten.

[Always A Marine]

Thank you for posting this. Semper Fidelis...

[jimtorr]

Most of my uncles, mother and fathers brothers, served overseas in WW 2. Only one made it a career, retiring as a USAF Master Sergeant aircraft mechanic. Another avoided military service by working in a shipyard in Long Beach, CA. He made that a career, staying there for 40 years. Another was a navy fighter pilot, but buckled under fear and pressure, becoming an alcholic during the war, and relegated to non-combat ground duties. He was in and out of VA treatment facilities for the rest of his life.

None of them, including my father, would talk very much about their experiences.

[353FMG]

I understand that the highest casualty rate was among the USAF.

[jimtorr]

I had a school teacher who was a Marine in the Korean War. You may have seen his picture. He can be seen crouching around the corner while a buddy is shooting at a sniper in Seoul after the Inchon landings.

He told stories in class about his experiences. One was how he watched U.S. and Chinese (Russian ?) jet fighters dueling high above the Yalu River. He said that is how he overcame his own PTSD, before PTSD became a thing.

[353FMG]

I understand that the highest casualty rate was among the USAF. Entire B-17 crews did not make it alive.

[PeterPrinciple]

https://history.army.mil/books/70-7_15.htm

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Early stages of war planning was 213 divisions.

[Terabitten]

God loves the infantry.

[VTenigma]

BFL

[VTenigma]

BFL

[Gay State Conservative]

THE GREATEST GENERATION

[jmacusa]

There were three American infantry divisions that landed on D-Day. The 29th, “The Blue And Gray’’, the 4th, “The Ivy Division’’ and the 1st. Infantry Division, “The Big Red One’’.

[Redleg Duke]

Growing up in Wisconsin in the ‘50s, I had the honor to be around vets from both WWI and WWII. They were good men, who never bragged or moaned about their experiences. If they had PTSD (Called Shell Shock, then) they kept it to themselves and were contributing members of society.

They showed us the way, but of course, too many of us were too smart to learn.