June 6, 1944 - a moment to pause

[chopper]

I think my grandpa earned his Bronze Star 12 July 1944 in France.

I think it was at a place called "St Lou".

[Numo]

By coincidence, I happen to be reading "Voices from D-DAY" by Jonathan Bastable. Lots of first-person accounts of the battles on all of the beaches. Many of the soldiers who stormed the beaches were only 17 or 18 years old. It's hard to imagine the courage that took, especially at Omaha Beach. Apart from their courage, what sets these men apart is the total lack of of bravado in their accounts of the battle. As my dad used to say, "I was one of the lucky ones. I got to come back."

Thank you to all of these brave men.

[jdc]

The first 10 minutes of Saving Private Ryan.

[what4]

Now that so much time has passed, let us also pause to commemorate the hapless soldiers who fought on the losing side. Most of them were pretty much like us.

Here's a toast to all who served, to the civilians who also suffered, to the cities burned and economies ruined -- and to the stubborn, idealistic, unrealistic dream of a world without war.

[Mini 9]

I'll let the NEXT generation take up honoring the nazis... not me.

[Ombligo]

Most of the German soldiers were not Nazis - they were conscripts whose choice was to fight or die (and that likely included their family). The SS was a different story - they were Nazi's and all volunteers, I won't mourn them.

There is a good book that looks at Normandy from the German soldier view -- The Germans in Normandy, by Richard Hargreaves.

[DP]

chopper wrote:
I think my grandpa earned his Bronze Star 12 July 1944 in France.

I think it was at a place called "St Lou".

Saint-Lô.
I read Andy Rooney's "My War" and I think the thing that struck me the hardest was the fighting between the hedgerows. He wrote how the tanks couldn't get thru so they had to drive the narrow lanes until they could get to an open area. There were wounded soldiers-German and American-laying in these narrow lanes and the tanks had to keep moving so they had to drive over the wounded...

[Psurfer]

I think Memorial Day should be on 6/6.

[mrlynn]

Psurfer wrote:
I think Memorial Day should be on 6/6.

That might make sense. Or move it back to May 30th, where it was until it was made a 'Monday holiday'. Making it part of a three-day weekend has greatly diminished its significance for many, maybe most, Americans.

/Mr Lynn

[Rick-o]

jdc wrote:
The first 10 minutes of Saving Private Ryan.

Pure madness. And the actual invasion was probably much worse than depicted in that movie.

Make war no more.

What is it good for? Absolutely nuthin'!