Posted on 06/05/2023 5:57:19 PM PDT by dfwgator
“Not many of those heroes left...”
No there aren’t.
Bradford Freeman, the last of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Band of Brothers) shuffled off this mortal coil last year on June 6th.
We’re even starting to lose the Vietnam veterans at a quick clip.
“Having had the pleasure and honor of meeting a couple of D-Day veterans at the military museum where I work, this really has my attention.”
I had the pleasure of working on the D Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia and being there for opening day. Once the politicians had given their speeches and been photographed the veterans were allowed to wander the memorial and take pictures. We were a very humble group of construction workers the next week.
Watching The Longest Day now.
Rommel is leaving to celebrate his wife’s birthday.
We had visitors at the museum not long ago who have been to that memorial. I looked it up online that night and it’s beautiful. It would be nice to be rich and be ale to travel all around to check out the different memorials and museums across the country, and that’s one I’d definitely go to.
Getting the chance to be around D-Day vets IS humbling, isn’t it?
I’m still going through the D-Day 24 Hours videos tonight and the more I watch, the more humbled I’ll be in the future should I have the opportunity to meet any more of those vets. I’m learning so much more than I ever thought I’d know. These two men put a LOT of effort into this video project.
“Getting the chance to be around D-Day vets IS humbling, isn’t it?”
Yes, it so very much is.
Considering less than 3,000 D Day vets survive, I’ve probably seen my last of them.
Considering there are only approximately 167,000 WW 2 vets left they’ll be hard enough to find.
15 years or so ago I visited a man and wife, shut-ins from our church. The wife was chatty but the man just sat quietly in his chair, hardly paying any attention to me or the conversation.
I saw his tattoo on his arm, a globe and anchor iirc and commented “Oh - were you in the Navy?”
Wife: “Yes - he drove a landing craft.”
Me: “Oh - a Higgin’s boat!?”
Man: “Heh - I’m surprised you’ve heard of them. Not many people do.”
Me: “Well, just a little bit.”
Wife: “Harry drove one on D-Day!”
I could tell by his look that he didn’t like that, and I didn’t know what to do. I just got up and shook his hand and said something like “I just wanted to shake your hand again - you’re a real hero. So - these pictures on the wall must be your children?”
The man took over the conversation describing his kids (obviously proud of them), his business ventures after the war, etc.
I am still in awe to have met someone that was at D-Day.
Worth a read:
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/vierville-sur-mer-cracking-a-cricial-draw-at-omaha-beach/
I’ve probably met my last D-Day vet as well. Living in a rural area with a few small towns, the odds are slim. There are still a few WWII vets around here but very few. I’m glad for the opportunities I’ve had to meet the ones I have.
But there are still many other vets to meet and I enjoy every one of them and hearing the different things they have to say. I’m all ears when they start talking, never knowing what I might learn from them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.