PTSD, dementia, frost-bite, TBI, CTE, “shell shock,” whatever random chemicals the USMC/Army was pumping into them, etc. Survivors were still casualties too. Brutal to watch play out in slow motion.
an older relative was in the Navy during WWII. In the Pacific.
He used to write hilarious (and true) letters home because he didn’t want to scare or depress the rest of his family.
(Hilarious and true because he wrote about the off-duty antics of his shipmates at sea)
In one letter he mentioned that the famous journalist Ernie Pyle was with his guys. (It was during one of the Pacific “island hopping” assaults but I don’t know which island)
And of course the Ernie Pyle column about that day and about that island assault hit the wire services and the local papers.
And that’s how his family found out a little of what some of the the worst parts of his Navy experience were like.
But he came home ok and had a good life. Which made him one of the luckier ones.
The Chosin Few had meetups periodically. Most people have no idea who those men are unless you were in the Marine Corps. Just picking one at random here but:
We’re still living GWOT men, watching to its conclusion will be brutal. I pray that mental health becomes a more realistic concern. All men want is to take care of and protect the things they love (women, children). Accidentally hurting someone you consider so precious, compounded by TBI/CTE, etc. Then it compounds.
Anyways, turn that frown upside down! Stop being a Negative Nancy, start being a Positive Patricia!
Love you guys!
@f00l Fuck that. Jack was a good man. I knew him, I loved him. All of the Chosin Few were solid men. It was a goddamn honor and privilege to know them.
@Kyeh Wow. Thanks. That’s a powerful article. After reading it, I’ll never say the "hankyouforyourservice” line ever again and if I’m in a place where a veteran and I have time, I’ll ask him to tell me his story.
@ItalianScallion Thanks for the working link. I don’t know how I got the weird one.
Yes, I do want to respect veterans, but not in a perfunctory way … it’s terrible that there are so many of them who seem to have gone through hell for such terrible causes.
I appreciate being thanked for my service. I remember coming back and being called all kind of names. Back in the 60’s & 70’s many didn’t appreciate the military. We went, we did our best, sure, war is hell, but insults from an unappreciative public is not what we needed upon returning. So, yeah, when i hear, Thanks for your service, I welcome it. Anyone who thinks service means serving drinks is an idiot. It means serving your country. It means fighting a war you didn’t cause, didn’t want, didn’t need, but if you didn’t go, someone else would.
When someone says thanks, I just smile and say you’re welcome. It’s much more satisfying then being called insulting names like way back when. We’ve come a long way and I’m glad for it.
@gitliani@ItalianScallion@Kyeh
As a first generation American, born of parents who immigrated after WWll I will generally thank veterans for their service and go on to explain that if it wasn’t for the American military I would speak German instead of French.
Over the years I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a good many vets as patients in my ER. I even had the opportunity to meet a few of the Tuskegee airmen since Tuskegee is just ‘down the road a piece’.
My father was in Southern Italy in WW-II. He had a position I still don’t fully understand. This was after the Allies regained control of that part, primarily the British. Somehow he got added as some sort of attaché or something but was never in a military. I think. Because he spoke fluent Italian and good enough English. He did have a story of hearing the sailors saying “Salamabitch” and he didn’t know what that meant. It sounds like by that point it was a fairly cushy job. There was a story that there were still some bombs from German planes, and the British were having tea and so they didn’t want to be interrupted. Anyway he survived and came to America because he liked Zane Gray western books and wanted to see it. Which is why I’m here, I guess.
My brother-in-laws father was in the U.S. military in Northern Italy which was still in major combat. From his stories it sounds like it was pretty rough. But he also survived hence the existence of my brother-in-law.
Smart of the British to stay in comfy Rome and send the U.S. troops up into mountain combat.
I know it’s a day late, but I wanted to remind everyone that Memorial Day is to honor those members of the military who died in the line of duty; Veterans Day is to honor all those who were in the military, whether or not they died in the line of duty.
@f00l Cemeteries are quite a peaceful place and somewhere you can rest your mind and think about things. Memorial Day is a good day to reflect on the cost of war to those who died and their families, and the cost to humanity.
@f00l@ItalianScallion One of my early trips to D.C. I took a metro and walked around Arlington National Cemetery. No doubt it is serious and solemn. Sat for a while at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as the Sun was rising over D.C. With the deliberate pacing of the honor guard. At one point some tourist tried to go past the barrier, and a Marine (I think) said in an authoritative voice visitors are instructed to remain in their seats.
At Arlington you don’t mess with the honor guard. Youtibe has some examples of what happens to people who try.
Nothing brutal. But definitely they control things as soldiers do.
—
At the center of the old cemetery is the Robert E Lee house
One of the battles was fought there and the Yankee soldiers wanted to make sure Robert E Lee and family would never want to live in that house again
So they deliberately dug graves near to the house
And then the cemetery just kept expanding
After the war, General Lee and his family negotiated with the federal government over the land and finally reach a deal and turn the land over to the federal government
I can still vividly remember visiting the US cemetery in Luxembourg when I was a teen (late 60s). One of our family friends was (chief?) caretaker there. It made quite an impression, hammering home the fact that so many US soldiers never got to make it home. Patton is buried there among the approximately 5100 tombs.
Nothing on the scope of Arlington but still pretty impressive.
Thanks to the US military I speak French not German…
@chienfou Also made you a better chef?
Dang. Small turnout.
Ideally everybody is out there getting hammered for the boys (and gals) and yelling some names. A lot of us lost someone in the GWOT, but don’t forget about the old timers, don’t forget about our OG’s.
PTSD, dementia, frost-bite, TBI, CTE, “shell shock,” whatever random chemicals the USMC/Army was pumping into them, etc. Survivors were still casualties too. Brutal to watch play out in slow motion.
@FlatPacker
an older relative was in the Navy during WWII. In the Pacific.
He used to write hilarious (and true) letters home because he didn’t want to scare or depress the rest of his family.
(Hilarious and true because he wrote about the off-duty antics of his shipmates at sea)
In one letter he mentioned that the famous journalist Ernie Pyle was with his guys. (It was during one of the Pacific “island hopping” assaults but I don’t know which island)
And of course the Ernie Pyle column about that day and about that island assault hit the wire services and the local papers.
And that’s how his family found out a little of what some of the the worst parts of his Navy experience were like.
But he came home ok and had a good life. Which made him one of the luckier ones.
@f00l I had a whole thing written but
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-battle-of-chosin-reservoir-the-korean-wars-hills-of-hell/
The Chosin Few had meetups periodically. Most people have no idea who those men are unless you were in the Marine Corps. Just picking one at random here but:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56618264/john-tyler-mcgaughey
We’re still living GWOT men, watching to its conclusion will be brutal. I pray that mental health becomes a more realistic concern. All men want is to take care of and protect the things they love (women, children). Accidentally hurting someone you consider so precious, compounded by TBI/CTE, etc. Then it compounds.
Anyways, turn that frown upside down! Stop being a Negative Nancy, start being a Positive Patricia!
Love you guys!
@f00l Fuck that. Jack was a good man. I knew him, I loved him. All of the Chosin Few were solid men. It was a goddamn honor and privilege to know them.
I just read this article, which I thought was phenomenal. I’ve always been uncomfortable with the automatic knee jerk “thankyouforyourservice” that’s become customary and this writer explains so insightfully how it can be a problem.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/war-veterans-thank-you-service-think-twice_n_6834eff4e4b034e8d051394bhttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/war-veterans-thank-you-service-think-twice_n_6834eff4e4b034e8d051394b
@Kyeh Wow. Thanks. That’s a powerful article. After reading it, I’ll never say the "hankyouforyourservice” line ever again and if I’m in a place where a veteran and I have time, I’ll ask him to tell me his story.
BTW, the URL for the story is duplicated above. Here it is so you can click on it
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/war-veterans-thank-you-service-think-twice_n_6834eff4e4b034e8d051394b
@ItalianScallion Thanks for the working link. I don’t know how I got the weird one.
Yes, I do want to respect veterans, but not in a perfunctory way … it’s terrible that there are so many of them who seem to have gone through hell for such terrible causes.
@ItalianScallion @Kyeh
I appreciate being thanked for my service. I remember coming back and being called all kind of names. Back in the 60’s & 70’s many didn’t appreciate the military. We went, we did our best, sure, war is hell, but insults from an unappreciative public is not what we needed upon returning. So, yeah, when i hear, Thanks for your service, I welcome it. Anyone who thinks service means serving drinks is an idiot. It means serving your country. It means fighting a war you didn’t cause, didn’t want, didn’t need, but if you didn’t go, someone else would.
When someone says thanks, I just smile and say you’re welcome. It’s much more satisfying then being called insulting names like way back when. We’ve come a long way and I’m glad for it.
@gitliani @ItalianScallion @Kyeh
As a first generation American, born of parents who immigrated after WWll I will generally thank veterans for their service and go on to explain that if it wasn’t for the American military I would speak German instead of French.
Over the years I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a good many vets as patients in my ER. I even had the opportunity to meet a few of the Tuskegee airmen since Tuskegee is just ‘down the road a piece’.
My father was in Southern Italy in WW-II. He had a position I still don’t fully understand. This was after the Allies regained control of that part, primarily the British. Somehow he got added as some sort of attaché or something but was never in a military. I think. Because he spoke fluent Italian and good enough English. He did have a story of hearing the sailors saying “Salamabitch” and he didn’t know what that meant. It sounds like by that point it was a fairly cushy job. There was a story that there were still some bombs from German planes, and the British were having tea and so they didn’t want to be interrupted. Anyway he survived and came to America because he liked Zane Gray western books and wanted to see it. Which is why I’m here, I guess.
My brother-in-laws father was in the U.S. military in Northern Italy which was still in major combat. From his stories it sounds like it was pretty rough. But he also survived hence the existence of my brother-in-law.
Smart of the British to stay in comfy Rome and send the U.S. troops up into mountain combat.
I know it’s a day late, but I wanted to remind everyone that Memorial Day is to honor those members of the military who died in the line of duty; Veterans Day is to honor all those who were in the military, whether or not they died in the line of duty.
@ItalianScallion Oh, good reminder.
@ItalianScallion
Aware. As always.
But my commentary doesn’t mean much perhaps to those lost.
When I am near a US National Cemetery on Memorial Day, I visit.
If I am near an unvisited US National Cemetery at any time, I visit.
@f00l Cemeteries are quite a peaceful place and somewhere you can rest your mind and think about things. Memorial Day is a good day to reflect on the cost of war to those who died and their families, and the cost to humanity.
@f00l @ItalianScallion One of my early trips to D.C. I took a metro and walked around Arlington National Cemetery. No doubt it is serious and solemn. Sat for a while at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as the Sun was rising over D.C. With the deliberate pacing of the honor guard. At one point some tourist tried to go past the barrier, and a Marine (I think) said in an authoritative voice visitors are instructed to remain in their seats.
@ItalianScallion @pmarin
At Arlington you don’t mess with the honor guard. Youtibe has some examples of what happens to people who try.
Nothing brutal. But definitely they control things as soldiers do.
—
At the center of the old cemetery is the Robert E Lee house
One of the battles was fought there and the Yankee soldiers wanted to make sure Robert E Lee and family would never want to live in that house again
So they deliberately dug graves near to the house
And then the cemetery just kept expanding
After the war, General Lee and his family negotiated with the federal government over the land and finally reach a deal and turn the land over to the federal government
The house is open to the public
/image Arlington National cemetery Lee house
I can still vividly remember visiting the US cemetery in Luxembourg when I was a teen (late 60s). One of our family friends was (chief?) caretaker there. It made quite an impression, hammering home the fact that so many US soldiers never got to make it home. Patton is buried there among the approximately 5100 tombs.
Nothing on the scope of Arlington but still pretty impressive.