I tell this story often, so as to never forget — Back in the late 1990’s my coworkers and I were talking about Saving Private Ryan.
Near us was a man that was our top salesman, an older gentleman very close to retirement. Everyone knew Bill and everyone truly liked him as he was just a great guy. Funny, kind, and very competent.
Anyways, we’re talking about the movie and Bill comes over and says “I was a Screaming Eagle.”. We all stopped, and one dude said “No way! During WW2?” And Bill says “Yep. And I was a bad-a** MotherF***er!”. You could have heard a pin drop. He just walked away and got back to reviewing a proof, or whatever he was doing. Never mentioned it again.
In the mid-1990’s I sat near a man who was on a ship waiting to invade Japan. He cried when someone questioned the bombing of Hiroshima. They were saying he should have died.
I love that story! Thank you for sharing.