My great uncle recalls his service in the Battle of the Bulge.

[rhubarb]

"For the Bronze Star, you're supposed to be doing something out of the ordinary," Smith said. "I thought it wasn't fair to people who did something special to get it. I thought I might have done my duty, but I didn't do anything above and beyond the call of duty."

That was my father's position on the Bronze Star he was awarded in WWII. The few times he spoke of the War he didn't talk about what he did, he only talked about what a fine group of men he had the fortune to be around. Seems typical of the generation. Nobody admits to nothing special; winning a bloody world war fought on two fronts was simply their duty.

I wish I was as much a man. Happy Father's Day, Pa.

 

[Poper]

My Grandfather passed in 1996.
He was in the Army when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. His unit was in the landings at North Africa and Sicily. He fought until Germany surrendered. He only spoke to me about his service a couple of times.

One story he told was about going out on patrol one night as the squad leader and returning to the perimeter to be challenged by the sentry and... "I forgot the password! So I named every damn President and baseball player I could think of!" Gramps had a very distinctive speech impediment, which was part of the reason he rarely spoke. His company commander happened to walk up to the sentry about that time and said, "That's Cyefur. Let the farmer boy in."
He ended it with, "And that's how close I came to being killed by my own unit! Remember that, boy! Not paying attention can get you killed!"

Gramps almost never spoke about his service. He said he hated every minute of it, but he would do it all again.

We found two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart in his stuff after he passed. One BS was a unit citation and the other an individual citation with "V". The Purple Heart was the only one anybody knew about, though.

I really miss that kind, old Farmer!

Poper

 

[V-DOP]

I'm sorry, but wasn't Normandy beach in France?

 

[Poper]

I'm sorry, but wasn't Normandy beach in France?

Yes, Normandy IS the North Coast of France. However, long before the Normandy Landings, the Allies had been fighting the Axis Powers in North Africa and throughout the Mediterranean. Gramps's unit was in Sicily and, IIRC, was also involved in the Anzio landings, too.
From this link: http://worldwar2history.info/North-Africa/

On 8 November 1942 the U.S. Navy put U.S. Army forces ashore near Casablanca, while the British Navy put other United States forces and contingents of British troops ashore near Oran and Algiers. The total invasion force comprised more than 400 ships, 1,000 planes, and some 107,000 men.

I hope this is helpful.

Poper

 

[ZombieHunter]

Japanese aggresion during WWII...look at "The Rape of Nanking"

Thank your uncle for me as well. Or just point him here and let him read