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75th Anniversary of VE Day

Prairie Sage

Prairie Sage

Red Shirt
10 Year Member
Today is the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe. Take a moment today to reflect on what that meant/means. I had two uncles who returned from the war different men. They were indeed "the greatest generation."

I know this isn't football but I don't think this should go in the Hot Topics either.
 
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My dad was a D-Day, Omaha Beach, survivor. Never talked much about the war. Was in on the liberation of a concentration camp. His only words about that experience were, "No human being should have to ever endure that kind of suffering from another human being. And, don't ever think that it can't happen, here!"
 
Prairie Sage said:
Today is the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe. Take a moment today to reflect on what that meant/means. I had two uncles who returned from the war different men. They were indeed "the greatest generation."

I know this isn't football but I don't think this should go in the Hot Topics either.
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I had one grandfather who went over right away to North Africa as a fireman in the Air Corps and continued on until becoming part of the occupying force of Italy. He met and married my grandmother in Naples before continuing on in the Air Force for the next 25 years. He used to openly talk about his experiences in the war and about his service overall.
My other grandfather went over as an army field medic after D-Day and made it all the way to Buchenwald where he spent the next 6 months after the war nursing camp survivors. He rarely talked about it. He’d tell me a funny little story here and there about drinking in Paris or stealing wine from a Nazi wine cellar but nothing of what he saw. We knew later on that he carried a wounded man from home over the Ramagen Bridge while being fired on but only found out after the guy he carried told my grandmother. I remember spending the night at my grandparents and occasionally waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of him screaming. I could only imagine the horrors that haunted his dreams. They were both my heroes. To have the Depression steal their childhood and then to go on to survive the war and still come home and raise families and be successful, they definitely earned the title of Greatest Generation.
 
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manawahusker said:
I had one grandfather who went over right away to North Africa as a fireman in the Air Corps and continued on until becoming part of the occupying force of Italy. He met and married my grandmother in Naples before continuing on in the Air Force for the next 25 years. He used to openly talk about his experiences in the war and about his service overall.
My other grandfather went over as an army field medic after D-Day and made it all the way to Buchenwald where he spent the next 6 months after the war nursing camp survivors. He rarely talked about it. He’d tell me a funny little story here and there about drinking in Paris or stealing wine from a Nazi wine cellar but nothing of what he saw. We knew later on that he carried a wounded man from home over the Ramagen Bridge while being fired on but only found out after the guy he carried told my grandmother. I remember spending the night at my grandparents and occasionally waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of him screaming. I could only imagine the horrors that haunted his dreams. They were both my heroes. To have the Depression steal their childhood and then to go on to survive the war and still come home and raise families and be successful, they definitely earned the title of Greatest Generation.
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DAMN RIGHT they earned it.
 




Gives pause to remember the more than 400,000 who never came home to America … wife's uncle survived the Bataan Death March only to be killed in an unmarked transport ship carrying hundreds of POWs sunk by an American submarine in October 1944.
 
Many years ago, during the late 1940s and early 1950s I grew up with the Brokaw boys. Tom, the eldest son and famous Journalist/NBC Anchor, wrote the book, "The Greatest Generation." He drew much of his inspiration from the men and women who built Fort Randall Dam and the town of Pickstown, SD. A lot of the the folks who worked on that project were a diverse accumulation of Veterans who had returned home from various military experiences during WW II and showed the world what a "can do" attitude accomplishes without complaint. You can see a visual of the town and the dam that was part of the Pick/Sloan government project to harness the power/flood control of the Missouri River here: www.pickstownmuseum.com Tom's father is on one of the short video clips. I was part of a small number of people who helped organize and build the museum. If you ever happen to get to South Dakota, it would be worth your effort to visit the museum. It is free.

Another great read by Tom Brokaw is titled, "A Long Way From Home."
 
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Goal-line said:
Many years ago, during the lat 1940s and early 1950s I grew up with the Brokaw boys. Tom, the eldest son and famous Journalist/NBC Anchor, wrote the book, "The Greatest Generation." He drew much of his inspiration from the men and women who built Fort Randall Dam and the town of Pickstown, SD. A lot of the the folks who worked on that project were a diverse accumulation of Veterans who had returned home from various military experiences during WW II and showed the world what a "can do" attitude accomplishes without complaint. You can see a visual of the town and the dam that was part of the Pick/Sloan government project to harness the power/flood control of the Missouri River here: www.pickstownmuseum.com Tom's father is on one of the short video clips. I was part of a small number of people who helped organize and build the museum. If you ever happen to get to South Dakota, it would be worth your effort to visit the museum. It is free.

Another great by Tom Brokaw is titled, "A Long Way From Home."
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Thanks for sharing ... did not know about the museum. Spent many summer holidays at Ft Randall with family from Gregory County
 
Goal-line said:
Many years ago, during the lat 1940s and early 1950s I grew up with the Brokaw boys. Tom, the eldest son and famous Journalist/NBC Anchor, wrote the book, "The Greatest Generation." He drew much of his inspiration from the men and women who built Fort Randall Dam and the town of Pickstown, SD. A lot of the the folks who worked on that project were a diverse accumulation of Veterans who had returned home from various military experiences during WW II and showed the world what a "can do" attitude accomplishes without complaint. You can see a visual of the town and the dam that was part of the Pick/Sloan government project to harness the power/flood control of the Missouri River here: www.pickstownmuseum.com Tom's father is on one of the short video clips. I was part of a small number of people who helped organize and build the museum. If you ever happen to get to South Dakota, it would be worth your effort to visit the museum. It is free.
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My Mom grew up in Butte, NE in the 40's and 50's. My Grandpa was one of the many that built the Dam. I remember hearing stories about it. I wish I could remember the details. I have been there. I tried to imagine what it was like in the 1800s as well as when the Dam was being built. I have a great appreciation and interest in history.
 



During WWII, my father-in-law was assigned to a motor-pool unit on Hawaii. Somehow they ended up on the beach on Okinawa when making a delivery. He said he spent three weeks pinned down in a foxhole there. Since they were motor-pool guys, they were told to keep their heads down and stay out of the fighting. In the only time we ever got him to talk about it, he said it was like a dream, completely unreal, and he couldn't/wouldn't recall any details.

My two uncles, one was a navigator on bombers, one time he and the pilot were the only two left alive when they landed. He only ever talked to my father about his experiences, spent a lot of time self medicating with a bottle. My other Uncle was on the ground in France, he ended up with shell-shock. I remember him as the guy in the corner, not saying anything at all the family gatherings. He and my Aunt, however, were incredible on a big band dance floor.
 
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LDO6290 said:
My Mom grew up in Butte, NE in the 40's and 50's. My Grandpa was one of the many that built the Dam. I remember hearing stories about it. I wish I could remember the details. I have been there. I tried to imagine what it was like in the 1800s as well as when the Dam was being built. I have a great appreciation and interest in history.
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Visit my link about the museum. Very informative.

Speaking of Butte, my great great grandfather, great grandfather and grandfather Homesteaded two miles south of Butte. Been to Butte many times.
 

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