June 6th Our Kids Being hit by Elk Hunting rounds

Jagerdad · Jun 5, 2019

D-Day is always on my mind. I knew men in the Pacific and in Europe later, as a Child talking with Neighborhood Men.

On D-Day I was not Born. I was inside a Nazi as an egg. This is after all; Campfire where guys chat + Possibly tell Truth or a Great Lie. I'll leave the Lying or truth Stretching to my Brother Elk.

I shall offer a couple Links and, I do not make this Post to diminish Stevie Wiz + The Wiz Family.

Link #1 = Wide Open Country:
https://www.wideopencountry.com/sam-elliott-wwii-veteran-ray-lambert/

Link #2 = https://www.army.mil/d-day/

Neither Link #1 or #2 represents what all of you could add if you wrote reply. I did live back East while a GS-14 in Washington and was SHOCKED at the number of NY Kids in all prior Wars. If you (Like I now) Live West of the Mississippi... It seems impossible to tell the stories properly.

So, If possible, add your feelings or Family memories below.

Jagerdad

eelgrass · Jun 5, 2019

My Dad landed on Utard beach. It was probably the least defended beach and he didn't see much action.

A few years after he died, I did a search and found a WWII forum on his Company. I contacted a lady who's Dad was in the same Company. Her Dad had already passed too, and she was looking for any information she could find. I digitized some photos I had and emailed them to her. It was pretty cool.

I also have a map that Dad had that showed the history of 373rd Engineers. It shows where they landed and all the places they were and where they were when the war ended.

She was very happy to get all of that.

Her Dad didn't talk about it much but did mention all the dead bodies on the beach when they landed.

Lhedrick1 · Jun 5, 2019

My great grandfather landed on Normandy somewhere around the 10th hour. Not sure which beach but he did not see much combat there. He didn't talk much about the war but did say there were boats that unloaded cattle on the beaches. The cattle would set off the land mines so the U.S soldiers could get on the beach.

Fast forward 60+ years. My Dad is in a WW2 museum in New Orleans and didn't see anything mentioned about the cattle so he asked the historian. The historian shook his head and said that's what some of the troops were told so they didn't lose it when they saw the carnage.

On a brighter note, there is a family photo somewhere of my OTHER great grandfather with Mickey Rooney somewhere in Europe. Not sure on the circumstances of the story though.

eelgrass · Jun 6, 2019

James Doohan: The Star Trek Actor Who Took Out Two German Snipers In World War II

https://allthatsinteresting.com/james-doohan

DeerMadness · Jun 6, 2019

Jager,
Very great stuff. World War 2 was fascinating reading yet hard to stomach and understand the real magnitude of it all u less you were there.
That being said I spent 15 bucks on their. Magazine 75th Anniversary Special Edition of D- Day. I'm going to read it several times and save it.

Jagerdad · Jun 6, 2019

Thanks DM. I thought more folks would of had Family Stories of WWII but, I guess this is all that get's Posted on this Date.

Jagerdad

Homer · Jun 6, 2019

My great uncle...Julian was in the army Infantry and fought the japanese in 5 different pacific campaigns..when he got home he never spoke about it to anyone....my dad and uncles never heard a story. When I was in junior high and high school I helped him shovel rows and irrigate cotton....I questioned him mercilously...till the point that we would sit in the dirt on the ditch bank...he'd stuff and light his pipe and let it all out....WOW!! no wonder he never talked about it.

He always told me to join the Navy....you might get killed but you won't be filthy and hungry when you die.....

DeerHunter53 · Jun 7, 2019

My father was a tail gunner on a B-52 on the bottom of the plane. Worst place to be if the landing gear was shot up as they could not get you out, you were loaded in on the ground.

Uncle was a mechanic on a submarine and I found all of his uniforms and rifle after he died.

Great generation they are responsible for our freedom and future. We live today the way we do because of them.

Can't say enough about this generation they were special.

eelgrass · Jun 7, 2019

Very few people did talk about the war. 22 million dead people isn't that romantic. As heroic as D Day was, between June 6th and about mid August, about 60,000 French civilians were killed in the crossfire.

Ropinfool · Jun 7, 2019

had two uncles that fought in WWII. one fought the germans, the other the japs. truly the greatest generation.

Comules · Jun 7, 2019

To Bad they don't still teach history in school anymore so the kids growing up today could understand what the two previous generations went through to protect this nation and the cost in lives to do it. To them the biggest worry that they have climate change.

My Dad served in the USAAF in WW2 in the 464th Bomber Group stationed in Gioia Air Base in Italy then they moved to Pantanella Air Base in the boot of Italy. He was a waist gunner on a B-52 liberator Bomber on his 13th bombing mission D Day 6/6/44 they were shot down on a bombing mission over the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania. They took direct fire from a German MZ fighter to the nose of the plain, the nose gunner was killed and two of the engines were on fire and the plain was in a dive towards the ground everyone bailed out of the plain except the nose gunner that they could not get out of his station.

My Dad landed outside a town north of Ploesti call Brasu and was taken prisoner and put in a prison camp in Timus de jos after doing a lot of research I managed to find the prison camp buildings and an old cemetery behind the buildings on Google Earth. He was a POW until the end of Sept. 44 when the Germans surrendered to the Soviets and all the POWs in Romania were air lifted to Italy in a daring mission to rescue the POW soldiers from Romania.

My Father as many other servicemen that served in the war did not talk about it and I now can understand why. At a young age of 20 years old what they saw had to be pretty hard to deal with. I read most of the MACR reports (Missing Air Crew Reports) of my Dads Bomber Group and can understand why they didn't talk about the war and why I sure what they saw haunted them for the rest of there lives. I just can't imagine seeing a plane blow up in midair with 12 service men that you based with and knew.

In closing of my long winded story, This might be why so many of my generation grew up with respect for others, we learned it from our parents and i'm sure my Dad learned a lot about discipline and respect in the service.

God Bless all the Men and Women who have served to protect our great nation!

I just hope all these new millennials can understand there sacrifice!

eelgrass · Jun 7, 2019

That's a great story Comules.

Jagerdad · Jun 7, 2019

Comules, What you took the time to write, must of had you near tears. I Thank You deeply for you sharing with us, your Father's WWII History.

The Same Thank You for Homer and his Family. Great Men indeed.

Jagerdad

DeerMadness · Jun 7, 2019

I have one of my family. Hold on and I will find it. Patience Obi -One !

DeerMadness · Jun 7, 2019

My oldest Uncle was on a maintenance ship a distance from Iwo Jima Feb 23, 1945. He handed the telescope to the ships captain and the captain witnessed the flag being raised. The captain told my Uncle thank you and it was the proudest moment of his life. The boat was the USS Harry Lee.

Stonefly · Jun 7, 2019

LAST EDITED ON Jun-07-19 AT 09:36PM (MST)[p]My dad was just a tat to young for ww2, he served in Korea. When you ask him about war stories he would tell about his cousin "Dub", who on D Day, was shot 3 times when he jumped from the boat before hitting the water. "Dub" Survived and had a Lung removed. He became a mailman and walked his delivery route, to improve his helth. I met Dub,when he was in his late 60s on an Elk hunt. I was a young pup, MAN could that old boy go up and down the mountains.

NVPete · Jun 7, 2019

Just a tad late in responding to this post. And thanks to those who shared. I was born in Fall of 1946, the eldest of 5 children, so I was part of the "baby boomers" generation. I had a childhood fascination of anything that had to do with WWII. I especially remember my 5th grade teacher Mr. Schocket. He was a survivor of D-Day, and Normandy, as well as other campaigns. I still remember his very graphic accounts of battle- bazookas, the hedgerows, tiger tanks, German machine guns, "bouncing betty" land mines, "screaming meemies (either Stuka Ju 87 dive bombers, or the whine of the dreaded 88mm guns coming at you). I was so enamored that I even drew sketches of aircraft strafing tanks on some of the tests and homework turned in (not sure how long that was allowed!). Even one grading period: "Peter is a good student; however struggles with concentration as his mind is up in the air!"
On a different tack, my Dad was a sailor, who joined the Navy in 1939, and mustered out shortly after the War's end.He was one that was willing to share some of his stories, especially as I got older and spent many gatherings on fishing or hunting trips around the campfire. he was at D-Day on the USS Arkansas BB-33 as a Gunner's Mate 2/c on I believe a 6- inch gun crew. He told me that The Ark's main batteries (12-12 inch guns) buckled the ships deck plates after firing, so limited them somewhat in fire support that day.
We need to NEVER FORGET those of their generation, the sacrifices made to protect our very way of life.A lot of what I learned about especially the horrors of the Axis regimes (the Nazis, the Japanese Empire, Mussolini and Italy and the Fascist State)...I could only just imagine how UGLY that would have been.
Anyway, I could go on and on. Here's a pic of my Dad's ship the Arkansas firing on D-Day...in support of the 4th Infantry Division...my unit far later in my future in Viet Nam! ;-)

Comules · Jun 7, 2019

LAST EDITED ON Jun-08-19 AT 01:36AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jun-08-19 AT 01:27?AM (MST)

Thanks for the comments, i?m still not done with my research I have been working on it for about 4 months but now that summer is here it may go on the back burner for awhile. But I will pick it up again. I started with a little info that I got from my Brother that he had gotten from our Dad while they were setting on a deer stand in Calif. and started to dig in with the info I had. It is amazing how eye opening this has been to me as to the info I have been able to find.

OutdoorWriter · Jun 8, 2019

LAST EDITED ON Jun-08-19 AT 06:19AM (MST)[p]My uncle on my mother's side of the family landed on Omaha beach and was wounded early on. A week or so later, my grandmother and his sister went to the local movie. Back then, they showed a "news reel" in between the double features of the time. In this one, they showed my uncle waving to the camera as he was carted back to an LST on a stretcher. At the time, my grandmother didn't even know he had been wounded.

My dad was in the 7th Armored Division somewhere else in Europe. He told me about his squad finding an empty hunting lodge that had a fully stocked wine cellar in the basement. They thought they had died and gone to heaven. He said they kind of over indulged. To the day he died about 10 years ago, he never touched another drop of wine.

He later earned a Purple Heart medal when a piece of shrapnel from an exploding shell tore off his rear pants pocket and a chunk of his ass. I still have the medal.

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

kilbuc · Jun 8, 2019

My dad was at Normandy on D-Day. Was in Calvery Recon so didn't land til the next day.

He was only one of 2 in his unit that made it thru the whole war. The others were either killed or severely wounded.

Was in the 1st vehicle during the fall of ST. LO. Did manage to recieve 3 purple hearts and a Silver star.

Like others never talked much about it.

Jagerdad · Jun 9, 2019

Here is what changed America back HOME after the war... Housing Tracks, Men of many skills abundant and it kept going. Kinda like an Old Clint Eastwood: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Perception is; Reality.

I am Proud of our Engineers...

You should also. But too much of a good thing kept rolling forward.

Jagerdad

eelgrass · Jun 9, 2019

The 373rd Engineers went to England and built the invasion camps where all the troops gathered before D Day. Since Dad was a welder, the British "borrowed" him to weld on the Mulberry Harbor project. He had no idea what it was at the time. The remains are still there today. My sister went there to see it a few years ago.