WWII patient at work

[TexasR.N.]

One of the places I work is a rural hospital with an elderly community. Many patients are WWII vets and one of them shared a story today. He told me about having his position over run by Germans and becoming a POW for 15 months. They had orders not to surrender the hill they had and did their best to hold it. He described how he and the men in his platoon were out-flanked by the Germans and finally did surrender. As you can imagine not all of the men survived and it was touching to say the least to hear him retell the accounts of what took place.

Just thought I'd share a unique experience, these guys are getting fewer and fewer in number each day.

Craig

 

[robin303]

It's really sad that 1200 to 1500 WWII vets die each day. My dad was a Capt under Patton and he died last year at 88. I heard this from my USAF buddy that a COL has been in cold storage for the last 3 months waiting to be buried at Arlington.

 

[SPCHardin]

Thanks for sharing. I wish I would have asked my great grandfather more about the war, but when he died i was too young to comprehend them, or their importance.

 

[leonidas]

It is unfortunate that our grandparents generation is dying. We've already forgotten as a nation what it was like back then. It will take another full scale war for our generation or our children's generation to regain our love for true liberty. I'm not referring to the conflicts we've had since WWII, but a fully "declared by congress" war. We forget that the last war that was constitutionally declared (WWII) was the last war we won. Since that time, it has been nothing but conflicts forged by presidents, and we've "lost" everyone of them. I read an article how our current society quitely goes about their lives with the military far away in the background. We might see a soldier, unarmed, in an airport heading home. We thank them and move on. It's not like the days when soldiers with full packs and ammunition where moving to and fro in our train stations or our college campuses with military personal officer training, etc. Our shift in attitude is a bit reflected in the publics general reaction to any individual who open carries a weapon (legally).

 

[San Antone RR]

My neighbor upstairs was sent to Europe 6 days after D Day. It is fun to hear his stories, so I buy him a cup of coffee once a week or so.

 

[Texas1911]

If you can, record him. Preserve history.

 

[Texan2]

If you can, record him. Preserve history.

i second that motion. i tell folks that have grandparents that can still recall their stories to record them

 

[TexasR.N.]

I never miss an opportunity to listen to these men, and I have been blessed to hear quite a few men tell their stories.

Craig

 

[robin303]

The Vets of WWII, Korea and Vietnam that truly saw action and went through hell will never talk or spill their guts to there family. If you can just open this man up in a subtle way would give a weight off his and others shoulders. You have no idea how you can help and relieve the pain and torture the have burdened themselves that they carry in their souls.

 

[TexasR.N.]

Something I have noticed about these men....none of them are "heroes". It's always the guys they served with that are the heroes. "My buddy...", "There was this guy from..." "We had a Capt that..." "There was this Sgt..."

It's just a pleasure to be around these fellas.

Craig