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Pearl Harbor.

For those around and who can remember 9-11 that gave you a glimpse into the horror felt in 1941.

(12-07-2015 09:53 PM)gobaseline Wrote:  Pearl Harbor.

For those around and who can remember 9-11 that gave you a glimpse into the horror felt in 1941.

Only a handful of Pearl Harbor survivors left.

A friend's father wrote a brief history of his service during WWII. He was shot down over Germany and spent time as a POW. He was 19. She gave me a copy of what he had written. I read it to my class over a two day period. It was riveting reading. I had about 15 minutes of reading left when the lunch bell rang. My students begged me to finish, and willingly gave up a portion of their lunch. Some were crying as I read of his release as a POW. Hell, I was choked up. I had my class write him letters thanking him for his sacrifice.

Over Christmas dinner, my friend told her dad that a teacher had read his diary to his class and that the students loved it. She gave him the letters they had written. He read every one of them, and when he finished he started crying. He told her, "I didn't think anyone would care."

There are thousands of amazing stories of unsung heroes. They'll never be published, they'll never be turned into a movie. If you know a living WWII veteran, thank them.

The man a speak of died last Friday at 92.

(12-08-2015 12:22 AM)Chipdip2 Wrote:  

(12-07-2015 09:53 PM)gobaseline Wrote:  Pearl Harbor.

For those around and who can remember 9-11 that gave you a glimpse into the horror felt in 1941.

Only a handful of Pearl Harbor survivors left.

A friend's father wrote a brief history of his service during WWII. He was shot down over Germany and spent time as a POW. He was 19. She gave me a copy of what he had written. I read it to my class over a two day period. It was riveting reading. I had about 15 minutes of reading left when the lunch bell rang. My students begged me to finish, and willingly gave up a portion of their lunch. Some were crying as I read of his release as a POW. Hell, I was choked up. I had my class write him letters thanking him for his sacrifice.

Over Christmas dinner, my friend told her dad that a teacher had read his diary to his class and that the students loved it. She gave him the letters they had written. He read every one of them, and when he finished he started crying. He told her, "I didn't think anyone would care."

There are thousands of amazing stories of unsung heroes. They'll never be published, they'll never be turned into a movie. If you know a living WWII veteran, thank them.

The man a speak of died last Friday at 92.

(12-08-2015 12:22 AM)Chipdip2 Wrote:  

(12-07-2015 09:53 PM)gobaseline Wrote:  Pearl Harbor.

For those around and who can remember 9-11 that gave you a glimpse into the horror felt in 1941.

Only a handful of Pearl Harbor survivors left.

A friend's father wrote a brief history of his service during WWII. He was shot down over Germany and spent time as a POW. He was 19. She gave me a copy of what he had written. I read it to my class over a two day period. It was riveting reading. I had about 15 minutes of reading left when the lunch bell rang. My students begged me to finish, and willingly gave up a portion of their lunch. Some were crying as I read of his release as a POW. Hell, I was choked up. I had my class write him letters thanking him for his sacrifice.

Over Christmas dinner, my friend told her dad that a teacher had read his diary to his class and that the students loved it. She gave him the letters they had written. He read every one of them, and when he finished he started crying. He told her, "I didn't think anyone would care."

There are thousands of amazing stories of unsung heroes. They'll never be published, they'll never be turned into a movie. If you know a living WWII veteran, thank them.

The man a speak of died last Friday at 92.

God bless that man! Wonderful story. Thank you for posting.

I had the privilege of meeting a survivor of the USS Indianapolis several years ago. Inspiring, and horrific story. He never talked about it until about 6-8 years ago at the urging of some friends. Lived an unassuming, humble life as a truck driver and raised a good family.

Your friend's father, and that Indianapolis survivor certainly are part of America's greatest generation.

My grandfather served. Lied about his age and was sent overseas at 17. He was shot and was almost captured by the Nazis. Story is that he was one out of the 20 or so guys in his group that was able to escape without being captured.

He suffered from what we now know of as PTSD. My grandma even installed flood lights in their bedroom in an effort to wake him up from night terrors. He passed away when I was 10 or 11. He hated speaking about the war but I wish he would have written is story down.

(12-08-2015 12:31 PM)Nacho Wrote:  My grandfather served. Lied about his age and was sent overseas at 17. He was shot and was almost captured by the Nazis. Story is that he was one out of the 20 or so guys in his group that was able to escape without being captured.

He suffered from what we now know of as PTSD. My grandma even installed flood lights in their bedroom in an effort to wake him up from night terrors. He passed away when I was 10 or 11. He hated speaking about the war but I wish he would have written is story down.

My dad lied about his age, quit school, and joined the Navy. A shipmate learned my dad was underage and threatened to narc on him. That guy fell overboard when Admiral Bull Halsey took the fleet through a hurricane/typhoon. My dad always thought it was God's will or what today we would call karma.

(12-08-2015 12:22 AM)Chipdip2 Wrote:  

(12-07-2015 09:53 PM)gobaseline Wrote:  Pearl Harbor.

For those around and who can remember 9-11 that gave you a glimpse into the horror felt in 1941.

Only a handful of Pearl Harbor survivors left.

A friend's father wrote a brief history of his service during WWII. He was shot down over Germany and spent time as a POW. He was 19. She gave me a copy of what he had written. I read it to my class over a two day period. It was riveting reading. I had about 15 minutes of reading left when the lunch bell rang. My students begged me to finish, and willingly gave up a portion of their lunch. Some were crying as I read of his release as a POW. Hell, I was choked up. I had my class write him letters thanking him for his sacrifice.

Over Christmas dinner, my friend told her dad that a teacher had read his diary to his class and that the students loved it. She gave him the letters they had written. He read every one of them, and when he finished he started crying. He told her, "I didn't think anyone would care."

There are thousands of amazing stories of unsung heroes. They'll never be published, they'll never be turned into a movie. If you know a living WWII veteran, thank them.

The man a speak of died last Friday at 92.

CD,

Thank you for sharing this story. It would be awesome to read what you read to your class some day.

I believe it is our responsibility and the responsibility of every generation to remember the sacrifices that were made on December 7, 1941 and all the other times this country has been at war.

How many people in our generation would never heard of USS Indianapolis and its story if it wasn't for "Jaws" the movie?

(12-08-2015 05:49 PM)MajorHoople Wrote:  How many people in our generation would never heard of USS Indianapolis and its story if it wasn't for "Jaws" the movie?

True.

(12-08-2015 05:49 PM)MajorHoople Wrote:  How many people in our generation would never heard of USS Indianapolis and its story if it wasn't for "Jaws" the movie?

Unfortunately, true.

The PC crowd is afraid it would offend someone by somehow "glorifying" war, particularly since the Indianapolis was the ship that delivered critical parts for the atomic bomb (which the PC crowd thinks we should not have dropped). Nothing "glorious" about what they survived through, but we need to know about it and respect it.

God Bless America, our veterans and our active-duty armed forces!