That picture capyures it. My dad is a Marine, WW2 vet who served in the Pacific theater. Started in the Philippines and went all the way to IWO. He said the scariest part of the landings was when that door opened up on the landing craft, but they did it because of the USA. Thanks for posting, really enjoy your site.
BRTWalker... I struggle to imagine what it must have been like to be standing behind that ramp. Or getting into a bomber every day and taking to the air. A different time, a different breed of men. I don't know. These kids today are brave as hell, too. Their wars are different but require no less courage.
Old Bob: My theory - because we were in the global fight of our lives. As you know, less than 40% of the military population has been fighting the the fight - ergo Servicepeople having 5 and 6 tours. When war was declared in 1941, ALL of us were in the fight. The "tour" was "the duration (surrender) plus 6 months". You knew we all weren't involved in the post-11SEP01 fight when the malls were still bristling with draft age individuals. Folks 1) don't have a problem with a volunteer armed force doing their fighting, bleeding, and dying (Kipling's "Tommy")and 2) don't realize or recognize terrorism really is a global war and won't be stopped with "down grading and destroying" or "surgical strikes". Russian Afghan vets told us that their failure was having a lumbersome, uniformed force go after guerillas. You fight guerillas with guerillas. When you read "Horse Soldiers", the author said that type of strategy was winning AND the Afghans were doing the fighting. Then "mission creep" combined with the prospects of right shoulder patch / battle commands OER bullets / etc took over and we began to homestead. Sorry, for rambling.
That picture capyures it. My dad is a Marine, WW2 vet who served in the Pacific theater. Started in the Philippines and went all the way to IWO. He said the scariest part of the landings was when that door opened up on the landing craft, but they did it because of the USA. Thanks for posting, really enjoy your site.
ReplyDeleteMADDOG... Our America has certainly changed...
ReplyDeleteBRTWalker... I struggle to imagine what it must have been like to be standing behind that ramp. Or getting into a bomber every day and taking to the air. A different time, a different breed of men. I don't know. These kids today are brave as hell, too. Their wars are different but require no less courage.
Thanks for stopping by ;)
The ordinary people of this country were divided about war until December 7, 1941.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't something like that happen after September 11, 2001?
Old Bob: My theory - because we were in the global fight of our lives. As you know, less than 40% of the military population has been fighting the the fight - ergo Servicepeople having 5 and 6 tours. When war was declared in 1941, ALL of us were in the fight. The "tour" was "the duration (surrender) plus 6 months". You knew we all weren't involved in the post-11SEP01 fight when the malls were still bristling with draft age individuals. Folks 1) don't have a problem with a volunteer armed force doing their fighting, bleeding, and dying (Kipling's "Tommy")and 2) don't realize or recognize terrorism really is a global war and won't be stopped with "down grading and destroying" or "surgical strikes". Russian Afghan vets told us that their failure was having a lumbersome, uniformed force go after guerillas. You fight guerillas with guerillas. When you read "Horse Soldiers", the author said that type of strategy was winning AND the Afghans were doing the fighting. Then "mission creep" combined with the prospects of right shoulder patch / battle commands OER bullets / etc took over and we began to homestead. Sorry, for rambling.
ReplyDeleteYour last sentences... So correct. Sad. Thanks for the commentary. ;)
ReplyDelete