07-23-2017, 05:36 AM
Quote: @purplefaithful said:
My dad was in WWII in the Pacific theater of operations. He didn't really ever talk much about it until his brother who was fighting over in Europe had passed. It wasn't pretty. War never is. Talked about being in a foxhole and you're buddy who you've gotten to know though boot camp catches one and is gone right there in front of you. But you can't stop because the action is still ongoing.@Jor-El said:
Yah, the hero generation is really old now. My FIL just passed away @ 89. He was a (very young at the time) veteran of the Pacific Theatre. Drove the amphibious ships that dropped the soldiers off on the beach. Never could get him to talk about it - and just stopped trying out of respect.@Clanzomaelan said:
Going to see this tonight with my blushing bride.
For those that know... Wasn't the German attack effectively the first time we saw "shock & awe" in modern combat? The French preparing for an old style of war (trench warfare; a buddy tells me that French arrogance is at the heart of this entire story...), while the Germans used Panzers to punch through the French defenses, and pin the English to the beach... Meanwhile, the Germans had a halt order, because they outran their supply lines?
I'm a huge WWII movie fan, and an even bigger Christopher Nolan fan. To say I'm excited is an understatement! I'm eager to hear how you liked the movie. I hope to see it in the next week. The story of common fishermen and boat owners crossing the channel at the call of the British government should be wonderful. One of the rescuers was the former 2nd Officer of the Titanic, Charles Lightoller, who sailed his yacht across and back to rescue soldiers.
The French had built a series of stationary forts called the Maginot Line on their border, really marvelous - except that they could not move and their guns could not be pointed backwards (towards France), so they were useless when the Germans simply drove around them through Holland!
Question of curiosity: Any WWII vets on the board? Wonder how many of us are 1 or 2 generations removed, as so many are now gone. My Dad and a friend hitchhiked to Thunder Bay and joined the Canadian Army before Pearl Harbor - but my grandmother tracked him down and told the Canucks that he was only 15 (true) and got him discharged. His buddy remained, my father joined the USN a year later at age 16 (with Grandma's permission).
My dad was in a nursing home the day 9-11 happened and I was with him by chance with my brother. He couldn't speak (because of a bad stroke) but he understood what was happening and it physically bothered him. He passed away less than a month later. I believe he did because of what he witnessed and his thoughts of the future of this country he fought for.
