World War II in HD....

Roy,

I have been following the series or at least trying to.  It is excellent.  I love stuff that has to do World War II.  My father was with the Army Air Corp (which later became the US Air Force).  He was in the CBI Theater (China Burma India) with the famous Flying Tigers.  He wasn't a pilot, he drove the fuel trucks onver the Himalayan Mountains in India.  I loved his stories but sadly he is gone.  I wish I had more time with him to learn more (he died when I was 27..he was 77).  Actually all of my uncles were in the war stationed all over Europe...so were pilots...some infantry...some were part of the D-Day invasion.  Unfortunately, they are all gone now.  From what I see when they do documentaries on WWII they hardly mention the CBI Thearter.  I am working with the local Vets Administration to trace my father's locations during the war.  Maybe cuz I have such a close connection, the "Greatest Generation" is very special to me and it is amazing what they all went through those 4 plus years...

Barry

Hey Barry,

My father missed the war, but was stationed in Germany after during the occupation. His older brother, my Uncle Marv, was actually held prisoner in a Nazi prison camp. May dad wasn't the biggest guy in the world, but Marv was bigger and more rugged, an outdoors type. By the time he was rescued from the camp, he weighed about 86 pounds. I remember him saying many men died of starvation and dysentery, They'd eat anything, including burnt wood, to stay alive. He rarely if ever, talked about the war. I know one night my dad got him very drunk and apparently, he told my dad everything. It was something he never shared with us; I'm sure it was too horrific.

Uncle Marv used to take me fishing up north when I was a little boy. Those were some of the best times that I ever spent during my youth. He called me his "little buddy". I miss him and my dad very much......

And yes, they were our "Greatest Generation".

Roy

Very interesting posts.  I can't agree more how special the 'Greatest Generation' was, both overseas and abroad.  Both my uncles served, one in the pacific servicing B-29s that fire-bombed Tokyo and dropped the atomic bombs, and the other an intelligence officer in the ETO.  Aside from getting a photograph of the Enola Gay, neither of them spoke of the war in my presence.
My father also served, but due to a disability (he lost an eye in childhood and had to get special congressional permission to enlist) stayed stateside during the war.  Originally he was a medic and later commanded crews on hospital trains returning seriously wounded burn victims to their families.  It was only near the end of his life that he talked about those experiences and what he told me was how remarkably brave those soldiers were and despite the seriousness of their wounds remained incredibly optimistic and grateful to be alive.  He made the military a career and I grew up an Army brat surrounded by veterans from that war.  Curiously very few discussed the war - I'm sure it was too horrific to relive and instead chose to just go on with their lives.