God Bless em all, Brother, and your Dad. We are forever in his and death of his compatriots for the freedoms that he and so many others vouchsafed for us. My dearest friend's father was one of them as well. He died with his 116th teammates on the invasion beach at Omaha. He called me today in tears to tell me that, he a State Trooper with 21 years OJT, following a tour and half in the battle for Hue. Capt. USMC.
@Pitter, I don't know about the hat color. My guess is it is so that they won't lose their way from each other on the heavily populated streets without their Mommies around. I could offer other commentary as to those individuals, but frankly, they aren't worth my energy.
They/we are the silent minority now brothers! The pain, suffering, resentment(when returning "home") is still there. Very, VERY few understand that today.
Semper Fi My Brothers!
RD
I agree completely...I'd really like to see mandatory military service, involuntary conscription, two years, irrespective of gender, actual, claimed, or otherwise. And were I to have my way, it would begin with the offspring of all elected officials, top down. Indeed, no one could run for elected office without military service completed. I might consider, if I had my way , allowing First Responder service as a substitute.
anthonysemone wrote:
I agree completely...I'd really like to see mandatory military service, involuntary conscription, two years, irrespective of gender, actual, claimed, or otherwise. And were I to have my way, it would begin with the offspring of all elected officials, top down. Indeed, no one could run for elected office without military service completed. I might consider, if I had my way , allowing First Responder service as a substitute.
The Isreali's have it correct brother(s)! Mandatory over 18. It shows in their mentality and their might! Our Auzzie/NZ mates also during Vietnam.
Mandatory service teaches discipline! Now what they do with that AFTER they serve, is another story!!!!
I saw in a tv propaganda blurb that we are now "assigned" a gender at birth! Say WHAT?
RD
I think that some time of service for everyone is a good idea. Coming from the Marines which has the highest boot camp wash out rate of any service, it is about double the rate of all other US branches, I have seen that not everyone is cut out for the military but there would certainly be other areas they could serve.
I don't know if you ever read the book Making the Corps by Thomas Ricks. It is a good read and talks about the history of the Marines. It also addresses some of the issues of our congress, executive branch and other political leaders. Many make bad decisions about sending our brothers and sisters into situations that maybe we should NOT be in.
It is always interesting the way folks that have never been in the sh_t are so anxious to get us in it when it is probably not the right decision because they only have a John Wayne movie perspective. Once in the sh_t you know that ain't the way it is and if you are going to send your brothers and sisters in it it had better be worth it and then you need to give them 100% support. Those that have served usually have a real perspective and are probably less likely to get us into things we should be involved in.
Another big benefit from serving is the entitlement mentality seem to become less an issue because serving teaches you first hand the real upside to team work and that there is always something more important than the individual. Without the bigger than the individual mentality, D Day would have failed. If it were the all about me mentality in WWII we surely would have lost the battle on D-Day and we would have lost the war. There was rationing, there were blackouts and there were other things that suppressed personal freedom. But that generation pulled together for a greater good.
This is me at Pointe du Hoc over the Omaha Beach in Normandy in 2011. I went to the D-Day's 75th Anniversary at the D-Day Memorial in Bedford Virginia last year. It was another moving experience. Most of the young folks who went to fight our wars were so young, so many of today's 17 or 18 year olds are snow flakes, including my two American born children. But at least they are educated and make a decent living themselves.
Douglas, was this one of the German gun implacements above the beach? I am reading a very interesting book on D-Day from the German perspective written by a German interviewer just after the war.
It seems, in many instances, our ordinary infantry soldiers were more alike than different in thoughts about D-Day.
If you teach, or they are taught, true history what they choose to "take from" the history should NOT reflect on you/parents. I am sure if the time came for them to "run towards the fire", they would.
I envy you and my brother Tony, the opportunity to visit these places.
Dan
I wish my Dad would have lived long enough to see the WWII memorial in DC. I doubt he would have gone back to Normandy but that is a place I would love to see. Thanks for posting these photos Anthony and kdrk888.
Danpbphoto wrote:
Douglas, was this one of the German gun implacements above the beach? I am reading a very interesting book on D-Day from the German perspective written by a German interviewer just after the war.
It seems, in many instances, our ordinary infantry soldiers were more alike than different in thoughts about D-Day.
If you teach, or they are taught, true history what they choose to "take from" the history should NOT reflect on you/parents. I am sure if the time came for them to "run towards the fire", they would.
I envy you and my brother Tony, the opportunity to visit these places.
Dan
Yes, Dan. It's one of the emplacements. We couldn't drive close to the cliff, the tour bus stopped at a parking lot and we took a short walk to to cliff, the craters created by bombs are very visible on the grounds. I wondered what kind of courage the rangers had to have to climb up that cliff while being shot at by machine guns. I had not gone to a movie theater for many years, until Saving Private Ryan was released. The main reason we went to France was to visit the American Cemetery in Normandy. If one is not humbled, and grateful, looking at rows after rows of white tomb stones, there is something wrong with his/her heart.
airfrogusmc wrote:
I wish my Dad would have lived long enough to see the WWII memorial in DC. I doubt he would have gone back to Normandy but that is a place I would love to see. Thanks for posting these photos Anthony and kdrk888.
Thank you to your dad for his service and for YOUR service! I think it was ridiculous that the WWII Memorial was the last war memorial to be built in DC. That too was vandalized few days ago. The picture below was taken in the early morning of this past Memorial Day.
kdrk888 wrote:
Yes, Dan. It's one of the emplacements. We couldn't drive close to the cliff, the tour bus stopped at a parking lot and we took a short walk to to cliff, the craters created by bombs are very visible on the grounds. I wondered what kind of courage the rangers had to have to climb up that cliff while being shot at by machine guns. I had not gone to a movie theater for many years, until Saving Private Ryan was released. The main reason we went to France was to visit the American Cemetery in Normandy. If one is not humbled, and grateful, looking at rows after rows of white tomb stones, there is something wrong with his/her heart. ...Show more →
This might interest you Douglas. I am finding it fascinating in many ways. It has 1st hand accounts from the German soldiers that manned these bunkers with artillery and other weapons above all the beaches in the invasion.
Dan
, allowing First Responder service as a substitute. 
?
^^^^^
