Posted on 06/06/2023 12:37:52 PM PDT by buckalfa
My grandfather was in Operation Market Garden, and wounded at Arnhem.
He’d be appalled by a lot of things - the erosion of Christian faith, the collapse of marriage, the offshoring of jobs, the War on Terror.
But he would also turn in his grave if he could see the growing hero worship for Putin, and the near complete loathing for NATO.
You know the meme of Batman slapping Robin for talking bollocks? Gramps would’ve captioned Robin with “Don’t poke the bear!” and had Batman quoting Patton.
SPJNK !!!
Even if it was decades ago.
My Father, His 2 Brothers all suddenly turned 18 at the same time and Enlisted. Dad in the Army Air Corps and was a Flight Engineer on C-47’s, not sure what My Uncle’s did. Their Mother worked at a Bomb Factory.
None of them would talk much about it.
It’s a mercy. This isn’t the country they thought they were fighting for.
My father died June 3 2022 at the age of 99.
He was a semaphore signaler - on a barge anchored just off the beach - for the invasion. He was in the SeaBees
Thank you for that. He took over the troop when its founder, Rabbi Alexander Goode, joined the service, then went down with the Dorchester, as one of the Four Chaplains.
Growing up with those guys all around was special. I really didn't know that at the time, but it sure was.
An example of how special they were, consider this story: One man in my dad's congregation was a B-17 tail gunner. He flew 25 missions in South Africa. On the last mission he got hit by two 20mm rounds from an ME109. The turret was turned to the side and the hydraulic lines were cut. His eyes, feet, and hands mostly froze. He had monster holes in both legs. The pilot forced the flight surgeon at gun point to attempt to recover those rather than amputate. He was sent back to the US to recover. Once he could walk he re-upped for 25 more missions, this time to fly in Europe. They put him back with his original crew since they had all re-upped as well. Much to everyone's surprise, they all lived and returned home.
He stayed in the service, and worked his way through B-29s and eventually a B-36. They didn't allow him to go to the Pacific theater, but had him teach in gunnery school.
He was my Cub Scout Den Daddy and later Boy Scout leader. He taught Sunday School and kept the church in repair.
The congregation was full of those guys; and, they all pitched in to help and take an active part in the community. Another fellow parachuted behind Normandy on D-Day. He was in the same company as the guy who got hung up on the church bell tower in Sainte-Mère-Église. He watched most of his comrades get killed by the Germans as they landed. He was taken prisoner, and spent the war in a POW camp.
They always smiled, always gave a helping hand. They ate like machines at the potluck dinners.
The Greatest Generation rallied to win the war and propel America to stunning prosperity. That generation grew up on farms (75% of them, anyway) and had a solid work ethic. They also grew up in church.
But when they returned they moved to cities to be close to factory jobs. They wanted their children to have everything they did not have.
Their kids (boomers) were spoiled and lazy. Each successive generation is worse than before. 40% of the younger generation has said they will run rather than fight for their country. You're talking about two entirely different classes of Americans.
No, war will not rejuvenate a spirit of patriotism and faith in what's left of America.
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