World War 2 and the greatest generation

[53' Stude]

I just finished reading The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw and a book all about World War 2 scrap drive etc. This truly was the greatest generation that came together and fought it's way out of the great depression. The massive productivity during the war is mind blowing. My grandfather survived a shot in France in a forest because of the small bible and zippo lighter in his right shirt pocket. I still have that lighter and it works. Please discuss gentlemen

Thank You

 

[double vanos]

Many of the Great Generation were from the farm, and as such knew quite a bit about "make do and mend". And although they did not look like Arnold Schwarzenegger they were strong, very strong, in both mind and will.
Courageous and brave, going into a battle where the losses were projected to be big, they fought till they were either dropped or won. Truly great indeed.
But you know, in my mind the Americans that fought in Korea, Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan et al were just as brave and courageous and honorable as the Greatest Generation. The philosophy of those wars was different but the will of the soldiers to fight was the same as those before them - in many cases it was family tradition.
God bless them all.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

I wonder if being transferred from a mortar crew to HQ helped my dad to survive WWII...he still had to pick up the rifle and fight when needed, but HQ typically acted as a combat reserve and that helped limit the action they saw.
He told me he was picked to move to HQ because he was the only soldier in his company who could type...a lot of the guys in his division couldn't even read. He wasn't given a choice and was ordered on the spot to pack his gear and change units, but I think he also would have gone if it had been up to him.
He never told me if he was still a mortar crewman or in HQ when he got wounded, a guy in his halftrack took an AA round to the head during an advance and dad took something (he hoped shrapnel) in the face during the explosion.
The battle with the 2nd Panzer at Celles was one time when every soldier in his unit "went out", it was a desperate fight for the 2nd Armored to stop the Germans from expanding the Bulge. Dad said the weather finally cleared enough that day for the fighter-bombers to soften up the German tanks, it was still a tough battle but the 2nd Panzer was basically through as a combat unit when it was done. The GIs were talking a lot about how many of them wouldn't make it out of that fight while things were developing....casualties were unexpectedly light on the US side, thank goodness.

 

[53' Stude]

I still love "band of brothers" where Spiers loses control and can't figure out how to do things. Major wake up I noticed and great series.

My grandpa told me during depression he always had work in the coal mines and coke ovens

 

[Kjmack]

Be a sad day when all those men are gone . I hope this nation never forgets why and what they were fighting for . I do believe a large portion of this country doesn't have a clue .

 

[incognito_2u]

Originally Posted by Kjmack
Be a sad day when all those men are gone . I hope this nation never forgets why and what they were fighting for . I do believe a large portion of this country doesn't have a clue .


Well said!

 

[Dave Sherman]

Agreed on the massive production to build machines for the war. I do find the improvements in technology and manufacturing during WW2 fascinating. When you look at things like The Manhattan Project, or factories that went from building cars to building aircraft, ships, and weapons it's pretty amazing.

Got to see the B-29 "Fifi" up close last weekend, and when you see the masses of wires and tubing running through the bomb bay and then think of the pictures of the rows and rows of them being built, you really have to appreciate how many man-hours it took to build one of those machines.

 

[Kjmack]

High percent of workers in those factory's were women. It was a war to preserve our way of life .

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by Kjmack
I hope this nation never forgets why and what they were fighting for. I do believe a large portion of this country doesn't have a clue.
"The long march through the institutions"

 

[MolaKule]

My dad (now deceased) was a fighter pilot with the 9th Army Air Force, strafed the Normandy Coastline on D-Day with P-47's and later escorted Bombers in a P51. His eyesight declined after a fight with an F-109 after a bullet tore through the cockpit so they assigned him as an airbase AA commander in Liege.

Uncle #1 (Dad's oldest brother, still alive) was a Mstr. Sgt. who was captured early in the Battle of the Bulge. Was freed early one morning by a Russian tank column commanded by a woman. Tanks came in to Stalag, stopped and the commander asked my uncle (Highest ranking officer in the Stalag) in broken English, "Vich Vay didz they go?" Tank commander then told my uncle that Americans were 5 miles NW of the camp. Tanks then flatened the camp and dropped off Russian MRE's.

Uncle #2 (youngest brother, now deceased) was also in the army and was west of Berlin when the Russians moved in. His unit captured over 350 fleeing German troops.

These guys served with honor and were my heroes.

 

[Kjmack]

Originally Posted by MolaKule
My dad (now deceased) was a fighter pilot with the 9th Army Air Force, strafed the Normandy Coastline on D-Day with P-47's and later escorted Bombers in a P51. His eyesight declined after a fight with an F-109 after a bullet tore through the cockpit so they assigned him as an airbase AA commander in Liege.

Uncle #1 (Dad's oldest brother, still alive) was a Mstr. Sgt. who was captured early in the Battle of the Bulge. Was freed early one morning by a Russian tank column commanded by a woman. Tanks came in to Stalag, stopped and the commander asked my uncle (Highest ranking officer in the Stalag) in broken English, "Vich Vay didz they go?" Tank commander then told my uncle that Americans were 5 miles NW of the camp. Tanks then flatened the camp and dropped off Russian MRE's.

Uncle #2 (youngest brother, now deceased) was also in the army and was west of Berlin when the Russians moved in. His unit captured over 350 fleeing German troops.

These guys served with honor were some of my heroes.


You have a great family history , I'm sure you will pass it down , much to be proud of . I often wonder if I had what it took to deal with all of that without cracking up . I'm glad I never had to find out .

 

[chainblu]

Originally Posted by Kjmack
High percent of workers in those factory's were women. It was a war to preserve our way of life .

My Grandmother was a welder in the Tampa shipyards during the war. She became so proficient that she was sought after by crew leaders. She never welded again once the war ended, however. (As far as I know.)

 

[CR94]

My parents were of that generation, approximately. My father was older than most soldiers, but was in the Army, luckily never in combat. Among many other assignments, he was stationed in Alaska, helping prepare for the Japanese invasion that never came. My mother was in high school and college, a little too young to be welding ships. Most college students then were women, because so many young men were in the military.

They met in church near the Army base where he was stationed in Texas (after Alaska).

 

[javacontour]

My grandfather survived the battle of the bulge. He was a truck driver that got caught in it, so he became a rifleman like everyone else.

Lived about 15 or so months after he got home to see my mom get to about 6 months old and then was killed by a drunk driver while he was on his motorcycle.

Life is crazy. Survive the war, but get killed at home less than two years after getting back there.

 

[Andrew1972]

My grandfather survived As Captain in US Army Air Corps as weathermen stationed on a B-17.

Thankfully he married my grandmother before joining prohibited her from joining as Nurse. She just graduated and was ready to go.

 

[Bud]

Father who passed in 2017 at 99 ended up being captured during the battle of the bulge. Mother said he was barely alive when liberated. My Mother had three brothers that were in the Navy and one in the Army during the war. My family has a long history with the military.

 

[jeepman3071]

My grandmother served in WWII. Classiest lady I ever met, would never say a bad thing about anyone. She passed a few months before her 90th birthday. My grandfather who died before I was born was also a WWII veteran and received a purple heart. He lived the remainder of his life after the war with grenade shrapnel in his hand.

 

[dbias]

They are indeed the greatest generation. My grandfather served in the Navy is the south Pacific on landing craft taking Marines onshore. Tarawa was one of the battles he spoke of. Things were made more difficult as the high tide they were counting on turned out to be a Neep tide and didnt give them the 5 ft rise in water level they needed to get over the reef. This resulted in many of the landing craft having to stop at the reef and the guys had to wade into the beach. Tarawa was well documented in film and this film shows several scenes of them having to wade in from the reef.

https://youtu.be/JolhiCbU_u8

I know Herschel Woody Williams who lives near me also. He received the medal of honor for taking out 7 pill boxes on the assault on Iwo Jima. Very down to earth guy.

https://youtu.be/Ij-fZu7Y9DE

 

[JHZR2]

From the perspective of fighting, or perhaps more specifically, to come from depression, to draft into two fronts either nearly half a world away, and face the true first face of modern technology and war fighting, is impressive. I don't think most folks could imagine the horrors and extremes that they faced in fighting that war. But I'm not sure that we use military conquest as the basis of "greatest".

I don't buy as much that we would be speaking German or Japanese had we not been as involved. Instead I buy more the situation that these boys were thrown into others' wars to boost our economy, and when we were the last ones (relatively) standing, our economy then boomed. Total war created the economy that we have enjoyed since. Thomas Friedman's works talking about the quest to access and control energy are good reads related to power struggles and conquests associated with energy.

But with that war, and it's aftermath came nuclear weapons excesses, arms races, meddling in others' governments and processes. Despite seeing the horrors of war, they sent their kids off to more of them. Meanwhile, our cities crumbled, our manufacturing disappeared, massive pollution occurred in many places, and their kids are now the greatest monetary liability in existence.

So the story of the general populations' grit and ability to overcome everything is indeed impressive. The country they created and we enjoyed, at least through the early 1960s was incredible (not saying America is anything but the greatest country on the earth to this day, but a lot of things started changing around that time which have caused a lot of the strife we see through today) and set the basis for what the world strives for today. While these folks who went from nothing to a wonderful life (my grandparents and great aunts and uncles, all of who I had wonderful relationships with in my life, were examples), and gave us much of the world we have today, they did make plenty of mistakes that we will be dealing with for generations to come. I don't consider anyone to be the greatest, personally. All have their flaws.

That doesn't mean that the stories, feats and performance of this generation of folks isn't impressive and to be applauded... and I'm not trying to be disrespectful. I just have a desire to think about both sides of any coin. I'd have a hard time coming up with any other generation that came through so much and accomplished so much. And it's that cross section of the situation before the war, during the war, and the accomplishments achieved after the war, which give them the label. But I think its important to also learn from the warts.

 

[Kjmack]

War is not a 20th century invention . Since man has been here fighting and wars have happened . Weapons have become stronger and more deadly . Indian nation's fought Indian nation's , tribes fought tribes . Nation vs nation , it will happen till the end of time also . In most cases at least with our country we have tried to defeat evil . People and infrastructure suffer in the effort to try to keep the world a dagger place from crazies .