Will certainly. And prayers to you guys as well.
Contest - Memorial Day / Decoration Day
- Thread starter Captain Pre-Capsize
- Start date
My Uncle Johnny fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded in battle and
lost the use of his right arm. For my entire childhood and early adolescence, he
successfully hid this disability. He was never bitter or asked for pity. On the
contrary, he always smiled and had a hearty laugh. He loved a can of Rheingold, a
Phillies blunt and his NY Yankees. He never discussed his war experiences with me
or even his own daughter. This disqualifies me from the drawing but it is a story worth
telling. The greatest generation indeed...
lost the use of his right arm. For my entire childhood and early adolescence, he
successfully hid this disability. He was never bitter or asked for pity. On the
contrary, he always smiled and had a hearty laugh. He loved a can of Rheingold, a
Phillies blunt and his NY Yankees. He never discussed his war experiences with me
or even his own daughter. This disqualifies me from the drawing but it is a story worth
telling. The greatest generation indeed...
FarmerTan
"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
On the contrary my friend. Your friendship and love for that great man your Unkle qualifies you as much as anyone else on here, certainly as much as me since none of my unkles ever told anything but the humourous stories (as did about 99.9% of that generation).
Which reminds me of another story that cracked me up about my late uncle George.....
Nice that you are doing this. I have stories of relatives and friends and my own. Both my grandfathers served in the Navy and my cousin did as well , I was Army . I think its nice people are posting about the older wars but I want to post that everyone needs to remember we now have "New" combat veterans from current day and remind everyone that they have some interesting stories and also tragedies also.. I know several people I Served with that are no longer here because of our current battles. Talk with the recent generation of vets because their stories will surprise you or traumatize you also. Be nice to all who served whether it is ancient combats or recent conflicts.. I still remember being shot at ( and being shot ) but thats another story. Our current generation of combat veterans need our support also . This is a time to honor All !!
FarmerTan
"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
My uncle George was one of the most gentle souls I ever met.
He was inebriated once on a train being transported somewhere during his time in the US Army during WW2. So at a stop he decided to relieve himself of some excess baggage. So he said he dropped his trousers and sat on the toilet and dropped his baggage. Unfortunately in his state, he realized that he had on long underwear, with no flap. (He ended up being an engineer after the war, a genius actually.) So as he told it, he thought fast, because he heard the whistle blow letting the men know it was time to board the troop train!
So he sat a second and decided to grab his jackknife and make a flap! He said the baggage just plopped down to where he had originally intended, and he cleaned himself up and got back on board and no one was the wiser!
He became a tea todeller (spelling?) and never touched a drop after he quit drinking.
I should start a thread on his "inventions" some time....
He was inebriated once on a train being transported somewhere during his time in the US Army during WW2. So at a stop he decided to relieve himself of some excess baggage. So he said he dropped his trousers and sat on the toilet and dropped his baggage. Unfortunately in his state, he realized that he had on long underwear, with no flap. (He ended up being an engineer after the war, a genius actually.) So as he told it, he thought fast, because he heard the whistle blow letting the men know it was time to board the troop train!
So he sat a second and decided to grab his jackknife and make a flap! He said the baggage just plopped down to where he had originally intended, and he cleaned himself up and got back on board and no one was the wiser!
He became a tea todeller (spelling?) and never touched a drop after he quit drinking.
I should start a thread on his "inventions" some time....
Teetotaler. Always thought that was such a weird word.
FarmerTan
"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
Ya know, with my dyslexia I don't think I'm qualified to comment on this choice of spelling. And that werd has always struck me as weird too. English is as hard as math for me!
Not trying to enter twice with this post...just recalling. I had the opportunity to serve a Vietnam veteran, a man greatly loved at our parish. He was a paratrooper and had seen a great deal of action. He was an advisor to the South Vietnamese Government at the time and, as he told me, he was speaking with some officials one day, both military and civilian, when they suddenly came under fire. Well...as you might imagine, everyone ran and in all different directions. But Don...Don is the gentleman's name...whirled around so quickly that his false teeth flew out of his mouth and dropped into the water in a rice paddy which wasn't far from where they had been standing at the time the bullets started flying. He laughed! He said he spent the next two minutes groping around in the water looking for his teeth.
That's the kind of guy Don is. Even though he has passed into eternal life...I say is...not was. Although highly decorated, he never saw his time and actions there as heroic in any way. As he shared with me, he was just someone who was there at that time. He said to me...I never hated the enemy. Don is greatly missed by so many. I thought it ironic that at his funeral mass, the priest who was the celebrant was a native of Vietnam. I was honored to assist at that mass and was asked by the priest if I knew the man who had died and if I did, could I give the homily. I spoke about his humility. It was what I was struck and moved by most often every time I visited him. He had told me other stories...all of them amazing to me...but this one made him laugh...and me too.
That's the kind of guy Don is. Even though he has passed into eternal life...I say is...not was. Although highly decorated, he never saw his time and actions there as heroic in any way. As he shared with me, he was just someone who was there at that time. He said to me...I never hated the enemy. Don is greatly missed by so many. I thought it ironic that at his funeral mass, the priest who was the celebrant was a native of Vietnam. I was honored to assist at that mass and was asked by the priest if I knew the man who had died and if I did, could I give the homily. I spoke about his humility. It was what I was struck and moved by most often every time I visited him. He had told me other stories...all of them amazing to me...but this one made him laugh...and me too.
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My Dad was in the US Navy during WWII. He told me his first assignment after reporting to his ship in Pearl Harbor was cleaning out some sealed spaces after the ship was damaged by a Kamikaze fighter attack. It was more than just a janitorial job as there were still the remains of crew members that had to be removed and the space cleaned before repairs could begin. That story stayed with me up until today, imagining a young seaman, fresh out of boot camp, and having to face the horrors of war in that manner.
My Dad served in the US Army Reserve during peace time. His date of service started in 1956. I know a lot of people and have been told a lot of stories mainly from WWII, Korea and Vietnam. A couple of my favorites involve the lighter side of a purple heart. I know a Vietnam Vet who received a Purple Heart from fracturing his leg in a tank accident. The accident occurred because of horse play. A friend of mine received a Purple Heart after the invasion of Panama from cutting his hand cleaning up after the invasion.
I recently had the honor of vaccinating a 101 year-old WWII vet. He was excited to get back out and socialize said he could not wait to go dancing again.
My grandpa served in the army he passed away when I was only about 13 years old. He was in the Korean and Vietnam war. I remember he had a glass jar full of medals from serving, one of them that stuck out was a purple heart.
- Thread starter
- #33
Thank you guys for all of the interesting stories, we do appreciate all who entered.
Random.org has selected our three winners and they are:
1. @BigFoot
2. @ewk
3. @Pressroll
Congratulations to our winners!
If you are a winner you have $50.00 to spend right here: All Products — Captain's Choice - https://www.captainschoicestore.com/all
You can email me your selection at: [email protected] or PM me here on B&B.
Please include your selection as well as your shipping address.
~ The Captain
Thanks Cap!! I really appreciated this thread and I really enjoyed reading everyone's responses. Can't wait to get a few more of your products.
FarmerTan
"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
EXCELLENT! And all well deserving winners! Thanks Captain!
Many thanks to the Captain. Even more thanks to those sharing very moving stories.
Congrats to the winners!
congrats to winners of the contest.. Thanks @Captain Pre-Capsize for doing this contest and remember all the Vets everyone
Hey this is awesome. Thanks for doing this Scott.
FarmerTan
"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
And now that you've grown a tail you'll have more to shave!
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