[Samwise]

he was assigned to the Aleutians as punishment for not making the D-Day landings

It's interesting to get another's perspective. My Dad always talked about Alaska and the Aleutians with great affection. He thought it was God's country, second only to Kentucky. :^) He never talked about the fighting. But boy did he like to talk about everything else up there. He was able to return in 1992. He was even able to find the hill he learned to ski on.

[SAMWolf]

I've run in to that too. Different people who react exactly opposite to the places where they were stationed.

I've had friends who visited Vietnam and say it's a beautiful country, there isn't enough money in the world to make me go back. I've run into Korean and WWII vets who feel the same way. Some go back and others don't even want to think about the places.