Every now and then I come across vets, even now, and they are very much as described a self effacing non assuming group of heroes. yes heroes . we owe them a hell of a lot for setting the world back on track. And that includes both side not that there isnt an occaisional A-- H--- among them( euphemism for rectal opening not adolph Hit...) there was this guy who rambled and laughed about running across a wide boulevard in Achen with the spare barrel to the MG and a box or two pf ammo and his catridge belt fell down around his knees. and he laughed about how funny he looked with rounds zinging all around him and how long it took to reach cover.
the vet who lost his belt you could tell he had told the story nmany times to his family and they no longer were interested in grandpas war stories. but it was open house at the National Guard Armory, and we listened
wounded near Kolmar I met a vet who was collecting money for purple heart veterans outside Wal-mart he had a german mortar fragment in his hip, a German medic,sanitater put a grey German blanket on him because he had no other supplys Sgt Rassmussen ditched it because he was afraid he would be mistaken for a German and shot by his buddies he also picked up a bullet in the leg from a German MG his buddies silenced that one with grenades
On my recent European tour, I took the ferry from Dover to Calais, on the ship I met two British Gentlemen who fought in WWII. They were on their way to Belgium to visit some WWI memorial where their fathers fought and died. We had some interesting conversations.
When I was a kid I asked my uncle"What impressed him the most?" He told me that the absolute devastation on every road leading toward Germany was unbelievable.All the roads were choked with wrecked vehicles,dead animals and people.Other than this I don't remember him talking about the war.
Many of them didn't. Some simply could not talk about what they had been through, others felt that no one would understand, and there were no doubt many other reasons as well. Only recently, with the passage of so much time, have more veterans begun relating their experiences in the war. And even after sixty years, they usually break down and cry when they do. I, for one, do not blame them one bit.
