John Basilone, Gunnery Sergeant USMC, is a somewhat rediscovered American hero thanks to HBO's "Pacific", the partner mini series to the "Band of Brothers". He won the Congrssional Medal of Honor for action on Guadalcanal. He returned to the US to sell war bonds and then train new recruits. Rather then leave the service when his enlistment was up he stayed in, went to Iwo Jima with his men and died fighting there.

I am sure this does not fully depict the hell he endured but it may give some understanding of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQV9RJUjzfo

Pictures
 

Speaking of pictures, here's a coule of pictures of my old crew and our aircraft, 44-61843, an RB-29 we flew out of Yokota, Japan to various places we were not supposed to be. Cheers, Tom

http://www.rb-29.net/HTML/91stSRSHis...ans/01.00.html

Something to ponder while we remember the fallen on Memorial Day.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”

Gen. George S. Patton

Pete,
Every year as long as I can remember the town of Raritan, NJ. holds a parade and celebration in Sept. in the memory of John Basilone. It's quite an event and almost makes you feel as though you are back in 1942. We still have relatives there so we make the trip with my parents and enjoy a truly small town America event. I forget to mention my dear friend of 35yrs., Howard Donahue who flew B-17's in the 8th AF out of England during the war. He was only 20yrs. old at the time and flew over 33 missions as the pilot of this wonderful aircraft. I wish I had video taped his stories. He was a wonderful story teller and quite a character. He sold me my first Parker, which I still have, and taught me how to reload, drink bourbon and eat raw beef w/onions. He wrote a fascinating book on the Kennedy assassination, "Mortal Error". You can find his TV interview about his book on You Tube. I wish I knew how to provide the link but if anyone is interested you should be able to find it. I could'nt imagine being that young with that much responsibilty thrust upon me. They really were the Greatest Generation.

My high school girl friends father was in WW2 in the Pacific and he joined at 15 years old, he told me how his older brothers had all joined and he asked his mother to give him permission and of course she refused so he forged a letter stating that he was sixteen with his parents permission... which was acceptable back then... well his Captain found out when he got to his first duty on a destroyer and they where in port...Hawaii... he said the Captain restricted him to the ship until he was 16 which ended up being almost two years before he stepped on Terra firma again. Charlie was a great guy and would tell stories about the kamikazes pilots and had a number of pieces of shrapnel still in his back and arms.

I too had a recent discovery on the internet about my father and WW-II. My father served on LST-866 and was at the battle of Okinawa, although he NEVER talked about being there. I have done some serious family research since his death and I have uncovered his military records which included an accommodation he received from actions during the battle. My internet discovery has as much to do with me as with him, you see when he returned home I was a true baby-boomer with a brother and sister well into their teens when I was born. My birth was the cause of an argument between my parents; my father insisted that I be named after a shipmate of his from Minnesota that he survived the battle with and my mother objected, a man named Wallace Verner. Long story short, I was named Wallace Verner Lewis.

I was told this story but never anything about the man I was named after. Last week, while searching the internet I discovered the wartime roster of LST-866 and there on the roster was Wallace V. Ostlund born 1925 in Minnesota. I am quite sure this is the man who gave me his name. Sadly, with a little further research I found that he died 9 Dec 1977, that was just 9 months after my fathers death. It was my hope that I would get a chance to talk to him about my dad and why he insisted I be named for him, but that was not to be.

When I was a child I think every male in my family and all of their friends were veterans of WW-II. In my life, I knew many, many men who survived that war........ sadly, not a one remains today. They may be gone but they are forever etched into my memory. I truly miss them.

This is a great thread. I'm sure many of us Baby Boomers have a story to tell about family that served. My story isn't quite so inspiring. My Dad was an engineer for the Bridgeport Brass Co. and because of that he was kept out of the service as his position was deemed vital to the war effort. The Bridgeport Brass Co. during the war was running full bore making ship fittings and shell casings etc. In fact he met my Mom during this time when she was on the 50 caliber shell casing lines.

My now deceased father-in-law was Army Corps of Engineers and took part in D-Day. All I could get from him was that he was one of the first on the beach for obsticle clearing. He was a very religous man and I often wondered if his experiences in combat had something to do with that. After his passing we found many of his service records and citations. Men and Women of this era were truly a tough breed and I am full of admiration for what they did for us all.

All the men and women who have served and are serving now are part of this legacy and all I can say is "Thank You".....:usa:

My dad passed away last June---he was a tank commander served in Europe went in a couple of days after D-day and was at the Battle of the Bulge. He received two Bronze Stars for bravery in combat. He only told me one war story about his capture of a German anti-aircraft emplacement. After the war he never picked up a gun again, but he bought me my first shotgun and .22 and encouraged me to hunt and enjoy the outdoors. He was a kind and gently man, hard to believe what that generation did for us.
My father-in-law was a Navy pilot in the pacific, he flew a PBY. last year at the Ohio Collectors Show they had the exhibitors dinner at the Air Force Museum and we had cocktails under the wing of their PBY------very cool in that my wife and I could see the plane her dad flew in WWII. Craig

This is definitely an inspiring thread. We owe such a debt of gratitude to all the men and women who have served and who currently serve our flag and our country and a very special prayer of thanks to those who died in the line of duty.
Let us always keep in mind that one does not "win" a medal of valor or bravery in wartime, rather, one earns it - never having vied for it.
Today we are what we are because of all of those who have served.

Thank you all.

I Remember every day !
 

I Remember every Day..Lest we forget !