WWII

[84Cat]

WW1 but I didn't want to start a new thread

[UAEebs86]

[Merkin]

^ That is quite a life story.

This is awful: Brooks was assigned as a caretaker to three white officers. His job was to cook, drive and take care of their clothes.

but like he said, it kept him out of the combat zone. I would probably be OK with doing that too.

Along with other dangerous tasks assigned to African Americans at the time, such as ammo loaders. This is Port Chicago in Oakland, CA, where hundreds of African Americans died when munition ships exploded.

[Carcassdragger]

I've done quite a bit of reading on WW 2. I've been through almost all of "The Things Our Fathers Saw" series and " The Pacific" and quite a few real good books on the European air war as well as several on the American submarine campaign in the Pacific.

One of the very best is "Citizen Soldiers" by Stephen Ambrose. It follows Charlie Company of the 101st Airborne from the day after D Day to the end of the war. It describes the terrible carnage, suffering, and just vicious warfare these guys endured. Very highly recommended.

I just started "Lightening Down" about a P 38 pilot that was shot down and ended up in Buchenwald which is a notorious concentration camp. So far it's a good read.

[scumdevils86]

Wat. Do you mean Band of Brothers about E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division? Citizen Soldiers is about stories of soldiers across the ETO from after D-Day to VE Day.

[Carcassdragger]

Yeah you're right. It follows many units. It's been a while since I read it. But it left a strong impression on me.

[azgreg]

[Merkin]

Well that was well done, not sure why the American was so fat though. Americans are fat yes, but the military is quite strict about weight.

The Chinese set should have had some missing rifles too, during the Korean War they didn't have enough rifles so some soldiers had to wait until others were shot.

Loved the DPRK rocket, and the German Panzerfaust.

[UAEebs86]

[azcat49]

https://climaterwc.com/2022/03/21/diver ... wood-city/

Amazing read from a diver who dove into the Arizona and Oklahoma after Pearl Harbor

[azgreg]

[azcat49]

Hard to let this day go by and not remember Those brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy to liberate a continent and save the world. Incredible bravery

[scumdevils86]

So very few of them left. Your youngest WW2 veteran today is probably about 95-96 years old. The average age of an army infantryman in 1944-45 was 26. That'd make them 104 today. In 10 years they'll be all gone.

[Merkin]

Amazing how much the world has changed since then. In today's world, Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump would be praising Hitler for his successes against communism, along with "Germany has done nothing against us".

[Chicat]

Crazy to think that on June 6th we were losing half our men of the first wave to hit Omaha Beach and by the morning of June 7th it was a working port unloading tens of thousands of troops and thousands of tanks and artillery pieces to unleash hell on Hitler’s armies.

The effort that must have taken, and the sacrifice, is almost unfathomable.

Amazing how much the world has changed since then. In today's world, Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump would be praising Hitler for his successes against communism, along with "Germany has done nothing against us".

Not sure the world has changed that much. We had a thriving American Nazi Party in the 1930s and Father Coughlin played the role of Tucker Carlson.

This country has always had a strong pro-Fascism/White Male Supremacy movement. It’s the reason we aren’t a more egalitarian society today.

[Merkin]

Very true Chi. I was part of a discussion on FB where there were posts stating that German-Americans on the east coast were treated as badly as the Japanese-Americans were on the west coast.

What kind of revisioning bullshit is that?

It's no wonder I keep getting put in FB jail.

[Chicat]

LOL, as if feeling like you need to tell people you’re Swiss or Dutch instead of German is the same as being kicked out of your home, forced to give up your business, and shipped to some Idaho concentration camp.

[UAEebs86]

I am of German descent on both sides of my family (in the 40's they were all in Wisconsin) and I have never heard one word about discrimination against German-Americans in my whole life.

[EastCoastCat]

My Mother, who has since passed, lived through that period as a young girl growing up in Rome during the height of WWII. She had some interesting perspectives of what went on during that time period based on the information they were privy to. Not like there was cable TV nor the internet. Needless to say she had acquired quite a mistrust for Governments coming out of that experience.

But she told me one story that she never got out of her mind (which says a lot about the absurdity of war):

It was towards the end of the war and the U.S. was marching "up" through Italy and the apartment they lived in was across from a bridge that the Germans were holding. At one point they realized a huge US division was on its way totally outnumbering the German troups who were guarding this bridge. So they pulled out quickly but left 2 young soldiers - my Mom said they had to be no more than 18 years old - only armed with rifles to guard the bridge. So basically it was a suicide assignment but the 2 young soldiers didn't move a muscle. They just stood guard. My Mom said she couldn't help but watch those young kids stand their post without moving until the US forces finally showed up and mowed them down. It left a mark with my Mother for quite a long time.

Waste of young lives no matter where one is from and just one story out of millions that people during that time had to endure.

Just sad.

[azgreg]

[UAEebs86]

[scumdevils86]

The very last member of the "Band of Brothers", E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment passed away this weekend. RIP Brad Freeman.

[Merkin]

I am of German descent on both sides of my family (in the 40's they were all in Wisconsin) and I have never heard one word about discrimination against German-Americans in my whole life.

My German ancestors came over in 1882 to find relatives in the area and ended up Minnesota to get out of putting their sons into combat with the Prussian Army. My G-G-G-GF served in the Prussian army with a minor battle against the Austrians and decided it wasn't a life for him and his family.

Never heard any stories of my family having issues with anti-German sentiment. But with me living out west in an agricultural area, the Japanese influence was really strong and from what I can perceive out here, readily accepted as a part of the community and were welcome to return home as many non-Japanese farmers managed their farms for them while they were in the camps. Although many did lose their farms and homes while gone for years.

[84Cat]

[pc in NM]

I was fortunate to have met him, and two of the other Code Talkers in Farmington, New Mexico in 2005.

I was a member of the New Mexico Advisory Committee to The U S Commission on Civil Rights, and the committee conducted a 30-year follow-up hearing to its 1975 report The Farmington Report: A Conflict of Cultures.

That report "examines issues relating to community attitudes; the administration of justice; provisions of health and medical services; alcohol abuse and alcoholism; employment; and economic development on the Navajo Reservation and its real and potential impact on the city of Farmington and San Juan County. From testimony of participants during a 3-day open meeting in Farmington and from extensive field investigation, the Advisory Committee has concluded that Native Americans in almost every area suffer from injustice and maltreatment." At the time, it was pretty explosive stuff, showing significant parallels to the 50's & 60's civil rights violations in the South.

The follow-up hearings (Three days) were to examine the current status of the civil rights findings from the 1975 report. The members of the Navajo Nation that testified were most impressive overall, and the local government of Farmington (Republican Mayor and Council) were also very good. However, there were still significant issues with Law Enforcement, disparities in health care access and employment discrimination that continued.

None of the Code Talkers testified, but each, along with most of the Navajo people in attendance, personally thanked each of the commissioners at the end of the hearings.

One of the most moving events of my life....

[84Cat]

[Merkin]

[CatsbyAZ]

Learned about Parade of the Vanquished earlier this week when told about it on its July 17 anniversary earlier this week.

After the Soviets took control of the Eastern Front over one hundred and forty thousand German troops were captured. As a visual display of victory, Moscow decided to march thousands of captured troops through the city. 57,000 were chosen based on their physical ability to do the march. They were not allowed to tidy up their uniforms so as to look haggard and defeated.

After their forced march through Moscow, they, along with those not chosen for the march, were placed into rail cars and shipped to gulags across Siberia. Many died. The small percentages who survived their roughly decade long custody were allowed to return to East Germany in the 1950s.

Video linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1YZoAc1NFc

[Merkin]

That documentary said the Germans were well fed. I had read prior that the German POWs were fed cabbage soup either due to the food shortage, or to further humiliate themselves by giving them intestinal distress and having them shit themselves.

Could have been urban legend though due to the cleanup afterwards.

[Merkin]

[UAEebs86]

[Merkin]

That's amazing, only 52 lost during the duration, especially dealing with 2 major oceans. But even which so low losses, being a submariner was the most dangerous place to be in pretty much every military branch.


Excluding special underwater craft such as midget submarines, the German Kriegsmarine lost 765 submarines to all causes during World War II[6] in addition to 150 submarines scuttled in German-held ports in northern Europe during the first week of May 1945 by their crews to avoid surrendering them to the Allies,[7] while Japan lost 129 submarines[8] and Italy 91.[9] The Royal Navy lost 73[10] and the U.S. Navy 52 submarines,[11][12][13][14] while France lost 59.[15] The Soviet Union′s submarine losses are not necessarily fully known, but the Soviet Navy probably lost 98 submarines.[15]

[Carcassdragger]

That's amazing, only 52 lost during the duration, especially dealing with 2 major oceans. But even which so low losses, being a submariner was the most dangerous place to be in pretty much every military branch.


Excluding special underwater craft such as midget submarines, the German Kriegsmarine lost 765 submarines to all causes during World War II[6] in addition to 150 submarines scuttled in German-held ports in northern Europe during the first week of May 1945 by their crews to avoid surrendering them to the Allies,[7] while Japan lost 129 submarines[8] and Italy 91.[9] The Royal Navy lost 73[10] and the U.S. Navy 52 submarines,[11][12][13][14] while France lost 59.[15] The Soviet Union′s submarine losses are not necessarily fully known, but the Soviet Navy probably lost 98 submarines.[15]

If you haven't done it, go to the submariner WW2 monument at Liberty Station in San Diego. There's a separate monument stone for every sub lost with the names of the crewmen on each stone.

Pretty sobering.

[Merkin]

If you haven't done it, go to the submariner WW2 monument at Liberty Station in San Diego. There's a separate monument stone for every sub lost with the names of the crewmen on each stone.

Pretty sobering.

Thanks for the heads up. My youngest son lives there so that will give me a destination next time I go.

Das Boot, the book and the miniseries, has to be one of the most realistic submarine drama ever done. I keep meaning to rewatch it.

[scumdevils86]

I'm deeply invested in the submarine discoveries. My uncle was killed on the USS Wahoo in October 1943.

[Carcassdragger]

If you want to read a GREAT book that incorporates submarine history with a modern day true adventure, read "Shadow Divers" All true and very outstanding.

[UAEebs86]

[Merkin]

[EastCoastCat]

My mother was actually there when the allies came through Rome. She used to tell a story about looking out her family’s apartment window and watching the Germans retreating but before they left they ordered 2 young German soldiers to stay and guard this bridge while the rest of them took off - basically a suicide order.

My mom watched them stay on that bridge and not move until an allied unit arrived and mowed them down.

It was an image my Mom would never forget and she said to herself if she ever had a son she would do whatever she could to keep him from going to war.

[azgreg]

[Merkin]

[UAEebs86]

[azgreg]

[azcat49]

All of this is so moving. These brave men are all late 90’s to 100+. Can’t imagine being the last guy from your country in anything.

[Merkin]

Heard on Reuters or NPR this morning this is the last one where they expect to have any veterans alive.

[azgreg]

[UAEebs86]

[UAEebs86]

[Merkin]

Doohan had a finger shot off, which he hid fairly well on screen, and continued to fight.

[Merkin]

and where MAGA would be in 1939.