D-Day plus 60

[theletch1]

I didn't want to put this with the other D-Day thread as I thought a moment of silence was warrented and I wanted this to be a bit more free flowing. I've had the opportunity to speak with several veterans that were part of the force that hit the beaches. My first encounter with one of these men was when I was about 11 or 12 years old. He was a neighbor of ours. I'd cut his grass and he'd pay me 5 bucks and tell me stories of the depression and the war over a glass of lemonaid. Even at such a young age I was struck by this old man admitting that he was terrified, often getting tears in his eyes and then continuing his story with a laugh if he remembered something that struck him as funny. Being so young I had a certain view of what it took to go to war. You had to hate your enemy, you had to be fearless, you had to walk across the beach with guns blazing and a glint in your eye. I learned a great deal from this man and others like him. He introduced me to one of his best friends...a german he had fought against in France who had moved to this country in the 50s. They didn't know each other then but stumbled across one another here in the states in one of those syncronicity filled moments...so much for hating your enemy. His admission that he was terrified most of his time in europe showed me it was O.K. to be afraid, just not to quit. As for guns blazing across the beach, his statement that if he had gotten any lower to the sand as he crawled across the beach he'd have been underground finally made me realize that maybe war wasn't what I saw in movies. We're losing this generation of warriors now. More everyday. If you ever get to Bedford, Virginia stop in a see the national D-Day memorial. Thank you, Mr. Z, for your time on the beach, time in the hedgerows of France and for your time with a 12 year old boy who needed to learn more than he realized he didn't know. :asian:

 

[KenpoTex]

Amen Brother! There are several members of my family (grandfather, great-uncles, etc.) that fought in WWII, and I have met many others here and there that did also. We owe these men a debt that can never be paid.

 

[CanuckMA]

Both my wife and my parents are Holocaust survivors. We literally owe those vets our lives.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

My grandfather was an MP with Patton. He's told me some interesting stories about ol' blood n guts that ya just don't find in the history books.

 

[theletch1]

My grandfather was an MP with Patton. He's told me some interesting stories about ol' blood n guts that ya just don't find in the history books.

The history books don't tell 10% of the truly interesting things to be told about that war, or any war for that matter. My grandfather was in the Pacific theater during WWII and on rare occasions would tell me stories. He didn't talk much about it though. What I do know from my time with both my grandfather and my time with Mr. Zimmerman is that the men that lived in that era were some of the toughest men I've ever seen.

 

[bushi jon]

My Father was a vet of the 82 airborne in all major campians during ww2 he would only talk about it with other vets. I remember he would sleep with a knife in his hand with the light on up until the day that he died. I also remember that if he saw a person in uniform he would buy what ever they were having and than k them.

 

[Tgace]

The history books don't tell 10% of the truly interesting things to be told about that war, or any war for that matter. My grandfather was in the Pacific theater during WWII and on rare occasions would tell me stories. He didn't talk much about it though. What I do know from my time with both my grandfather and my time with Mr. Zimmerman is that the men that lived in that era were some of the toughest men I've ever seen.

Just saw on ABC World News the story of six 80+ yo WWII vets who jumped into Normandy today. The Pentagon wouldnt let them jump with the young guys who did a commemorative jump, so these old Soldiers took private lessons, got permission from the French Gvt. and did it on their own. The story closed with one Man saying that in 10 years, if hes still alive, he'll be doing it again. The last image was of these guys standing in a circle with their hands in, singing a part of the old WWII Airborne cadence.....

(to "John Browns Body)

"Is everybody happy?", said the Sergeant, looking up
Our hero feebly answered "Yea" and then they hooked him up
He jumped into the slipstream and he twisted twenty times
And he ain't going to jump no more

[size=-1]CHORUS[/size]

Glory, glory what a hell of a way to die!
Glory, glory what a hell of a way to die!
Glory, glory what a hell of a way to die!
And he ain't going to jump no more.


He counted loud, he counted long and waited for the shock
He felt the wind...he felt the air...he felt the awful drop
He pulled the lines, the silk came down and wrapped around his legs
And he ain't going to jump no more

[size=-1]CHORUS[/size]

The days he lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind
He thought about the medicos and wondered what they'd find
He thought about the girl back home, the one he left behind
And he ain't going to jump no more

[size=-1]CHORUS[/size]

The lines all wrapped around his neck; the `D` rings broke his dome...
The lift webs wrapped themselves in knots around each skinny bone
The canopy became his shroud as he hurtled to the ground
And he ain't going to jump no more

CHORUS

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild
The medicos they clapped their hands and rolled their sleeves and smiled
For it had been a week or so, since that a chute had failed
And he ain't going to jump no more

CHORUS

He hit the ground, the sound was `splat`, the blood went spurting high
His pals were heard to say, "Oh what a pretty way to die"
They rolled him up still in his chute, and poured him from his boots
And he ain't going to jump no more

CHORUS

There was blood upon the lift webs, there was blood upon his chute
Blood that came a-trickling from the paratrooper's boots
And there he lay, like jelly in the welter of his gore
And he ain't going to jump no more




AIRBORNE!!!!!!