war stories?

[barman]

Yeah but capitalism wasn't outlawed in Nazi Germany.
Entrepreneurs were allowed to make profits, the difference with today is that they had to comply with the governments' needs if ordered to. The Nazis had their nose in everything.

I just think that extremes (wether left or right) usually end up sharing a lot with each other.

 

[barman]

There was also the night of the long knives on June 30 1934 when Hitler purged the SA out of the Nazi Party. The SA were the "socialist" branch of the movement.

 

[Tirod]

IBTL - thread drift.

Just an insight why so many veteran's don't talk - the OP did a nice job asking, but things go astray like this.

There are far too many people who won't listen.

IF you want to hear from a vet, ask, wait for an answer, and don't butt in. Don't expect much, either. Most vets did not "See the Elephant." They worked in one of the 10 or 15 support roles, and the upfront combat guys suffered from attrition, skewing the odds further.

So the average vet doesn't really have that much to talk about, and sometimes, even when in contact with the enemy, they didn't even see the "whites of his eyes." Pilots, artillerymen, and naval gunners hope they are getting the grids right and not putting fire on friendly forces they can't even see.

Others, especially since Viet Nam, don't get a warm reception from the home folks. I served six months in a Carribean detention facility guarding detainees, and even when using that as a job reference for a local jail guard position, the HR lady gave the cold stare. As a block sergeant, all I did was supervise MP's. *** is her problem? She's listened to defense attorneys and the liberal press muckrake the issue until anyone associated with GTMO is a goon with a rubber hose.

Others badger soldiers with stupid questions about their personal body count, did you kill babies, what was it like to see women die in your sights, etc.

Unless you are bona fide and have a need to know, most experienced vets just stay away from the subject because of all the stupidity spewed on them. I'm not being harsh to the OP, just the idiots who cheer when they see dead Americans on the 6:00 news.

It gets real personal because we suffered to protect their right to be ungrateful and hateful.

 

[paintballdude902]

tirod good point

usually when i see someone in a vet cap or some one working at the vfw or veteran organization table i simply say thank you where did you serve?

 

[.45Guy]

Here's a funny one. When we first rolled into Tallil in May of 03, my squad found an old aircraft arming hangar. It was open on three sides, with a high berm around it. Well, we adopted it as our hangout to enjoy a Cuban cigar and have a canteen cup or two of hooch on any nights we were free. All was right with the world, until one night we went out and discovered a sheet of plywood and some used prophylactics... Needless to say, we were not pleased. So several nights passed, and we went back out... As we were about to round the corner at the rear, there was a bit of commotion and we saw two white streaks shoot around the opposite corner... But what should be laying there in front of us? Two sets of clothing... One of the sergeants from charlie company had fun explaining why he was walking back to camp bare a$$ed.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Not a war story, but an 'after' story. After two wars, actually, WW2 and Vietnam. I've told this story here before.

Background- I spent a good while working as a "useless civilian" at Fort Bragg, in the Special Warfare Center to be exact. Across the hall from me was the auditorium where SERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance, Evasion) class graduations were held.

One Friday (graduation day for SERE classes was always on a Friday then) I was at lunch with Dan Pitzer and a group of the local "ex-cons" as he called them- former POWs who lived in the area- who often spoke at graduation ceremonies, to share their experiences with the new grads. These were WW2 vets of the regular Army, Army Air Corps etc., or from various services from Korea, Vietnam and so on.

One of the regular ex-cons was Mr. Richard Darden. I call him mister because I cannot possibly imagine any other way to address him. Mr. Darden was among that small category of WW2 POWs who were genuine "guests of the Emperor." He was captured early in the war on one of the islands in the Pacific, transferred to the Japanese mainland, and spent the entire rest of war there. If you want, you can read his story- see http://www.guestsoftheemperor.com/ .

Dan Pitzer, for those who don't recognize the name, was a former POW too- which was why he was honchoing the SERE school graduation. Dan was a retired Special Forces NCO, and had been captured in South Vietnam along with then- SF Captain Nick Rowe. They both spent years as POWs of the Viet Cong in the U Minh Forest in South Vietnam. After four years, nearing death from illnesses, Dan was released to a 'peace delegation' and returned home. A year later, Nick escaped ( http://www.amazon.com/Five-Years-Freedom-Story-Vietnam/dp/0345314603 ), only to be killed decades later by communist rebels in the Philippines while serving as an advisor at JUSMAG.

Anyway, Dan was having a light lunch that day. He ordered a bowl of chicken soup. Now you have to understand that after his experiences as a POW, Mr. Darden positively LOATHED anything oriental- anything at all. It was a well known fact among those who knew him to any degree at all.

Dan's bowl of chicken soup arrived. It was not one of the NCO Club kitchen's better efforts, I have to say. There were a few forlorn bits of various vegetables bobbing around in what looked very much like dirty gray dishwater, along with some small scraps of chicken, a few globules of chicken fat floating here and there.

And

some

rice.

It must have sparked memories of things Dan would have preferred to forget. But his reaction wasn't revulsion or disgust. Ohhh no.

Dan got a twinkle in his eye. He spooned up some of that dishwatery broth, making sure to capture a globule or two of chicken fat-- and several grains of rice. He leaned across the table toward Mr. Darden, who had not noticed the proceedings, offered his spoon, and cheerfully said, "Hey Dick, you want some rice?"

The spluttering explosion which followed would peel wallpaper in most places. Mr. Darden called Dan everything but his name and a child of God, and the rest of the ex-cons at the table just howled at the joke.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

lpl

 

[mugsie]

I'm a Vietnam vet, having served in the Special Forces. Graduated SF school in Bragg in 68, volunteered for Nam, and spent the latter part of 68 in all of 69 in country. I can tell you that I was never closer to the men (we were just boys then) on my A-Team than anyone else in my life. To this day, those of us that are living, will never have shared experiences nor have buddies like we had in each other. Aside from the difficult times, I loved the people (I worked with Cambodes exclusively), the country and my team.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

My buddy is madder than hell about how we're handling Iraq/Afghan war vets, according to his theory, to-wit:

In World Wars I & II, and Korea, the vets took a long boat ride back WITH their units/fellow fighting men/friends, and thus had time to "decompress" with their buddies and share experiences, and that this went a tremendous ways toward alleviating psych disorders in the aftermath of combat - sort of an extended psycho-therapy session - they hashed out and reconciled the whys/hows, etc. together.

Then, in Vietnam, we would cycle the troops in and out and they'd hit the airport in USA with southeast asian mud on their boots, and were thrown immediately into society, without the ability to decompress with their fellow soldiers/sailors/marines.

He says that studies have proven that this is the reason for the greatly increased PTSDs and other pscyh problems with vietnam-era grunts, and that even though we KNOW this, we're doing the exact same thing with Iraq and Afghan vets, and the same thing is happening again!

Thoughts?

 

[Gambit88]

Another one. My Great grandpa was on PTboats in WW2, and my cousin told me a story on why he couldnt eat rice. I guess in the Pacific they had alot of rice, sometimes maggot infested but thats all they had to eat. Needless to say my Grandfather got violently ill whenever he saw someone eating rice, as it brought back memories of what him and his buddies had to eat during the war.

 

[d2wing]

Even on a vet friendly forum you will get few if any takers. Non-vets might hear the words but it's not the same language.

 

[Afy]

I come from a family where in double digit generations, I am the first one not be in the forces. A few decorations, including the Military Cross etc... never did hear the full story.

 

[spittle8]

Here's a funny one. When we first rolled into Tallil in May of 03, my squad found an old aircraft arming hangar. It was open on three sides, with a high berm around it. Well, we adopted it as our hangout to enjoy a Cuban cigar and have a canteen cup or two of hooch on any nights we were free. All was right with the world, until one night we went out and discovered a sheet of plywood and some used prophylactics... Needless to say, we were not pleased. So several nights passed, and we went back out... As we were about to round the corner at the rear, there was a bit of commotion and we saw two white streaks shoot around the opposite corner... But what should be laying there in front of us? Two sets of clothing... One of the sergeants from charlie company had fun explaining why he was walking back to camp bare a$$ed.

Prophylactics, i.e. condoms? In Iraq? Who was boinking all the way over there in a Muslim country?