I knew several men who were in Europe, it was anything but a walk in the park. The hell the guys in the Pacific went through was a scaled up bit of hell in comparison. I had the privilege to know a man who crossed Omaha beach and a man who survived Iwo Jima. Everyone I knew had a story and none would expand much past “I was there”. Thank God they were. Regards
In The Pacific, if the Japs didn’t get you, the malaria and the heat would.
Yep, war was Hell in both theaters but the grunts in Europe had some slight advantages over those in the Pacific islands.
Wehrmacht was formidable but not suicidal
Europe had rudimentary or better infrastructure of civilization in proximity (buildings, fresh water sources, roads, etc)
No poisonous reptiles and bugs to go along with tropical diseases, although frostbite was as bad as malaria, dysentery etc.
Better chance of civilians being non-hostile
Again I’m not saying the men on the ground in Europe had a cakewalk but their conditions and situation had some slight advantages.