darn i thought i was being very clever oh well you would hate on them too if they killed somebody you are related to
I heard stories about it before and seen documentaries, but remembering know way in hell. If I did....I would be sort of old right now.
I was at Pearl Harbor a year and half ago in Hawaii...I got to meet a Pearl Harbor survivor. It was pretty cool. I will post some pics later on when I have a chance.
I want to go to the Arizona memorial sooooo bad.... Today is also my Father's birthday, he was celebrating his first birthday as the Japanese were bombing Pearl Harbor. DD
My Grandfather was stationed on the Arizona but a few months before Pearl Harbor but he finished his tour and came home for the birth of my Uncle. but, as you can imagine, alot of his buddies were still on the boat. Many years later my Grandparents went to Hawaii and to the memorial and my Grandfather couldn't step onto the Memorial (apparently some platform is over the spot the boat sunk -- not so sure of the details)
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My Grandfather was a WWII vet, but he never told me a single story. He never told anyone a single story, not even my Grandmother. Never talked about the war, ever. That's pretty much all you need to know about WWII and the generation that fought it.
my grandpa is a WWII vet too, he seldom talks about it. maybe cuz i haven't been around much. i hear more about it from my parents/uncles about my grandpa, not directly from him though.
My wife's grandfather was in Europe fighting. He never told stories. One night we were visiting him. He and I went out on the porch...and he unloaded on me these horrific stories...the man was in his 80's and had never shared some of these before. It was just amazing. I wish I would have had a tape recorder....but it would have ruined the moment entirely.
As both of you said, without directly saying it, is that those who "saw the elephant" really don't talk about it. There are exceptions, but the people who make the most of their war experiences are probably talking out of their hat. The only reason I know my father saw combat was that when I was in my 30's, and he thought, correctly, that he didn't have much more time with us, he told me about it when we were alone. Never told anyone else in the family that I know of. One of the things he mentioned was being in a hospital above Pearl, recovering, when suddenly every gun in the harbor and surrounding it seemed to go off. Still fighting the Japanese, some thought they had somehow, against all odds, struck again. Turned out it was VE day. We had just found out that Germany had surrendered. He said the doctors and nurses found some "medicinal alcohol" and they had a party. I've been lucky enough to visit Pearl. An experience I won't forget.
