Memorial day

[piece-itpete]

My dad enlisted at the start of Korea, but even though a paratrooper was never deployed there.

So I find the personal stories excellent. Don't stop on my account.

Pete

[BlueStreak]

Folks, Memorial Day approaches and I, for one will be thinking of the War Veterans in my family; My Father, Edward Artuhur Read, my Uncles, Harold Read, Robert Read, C. Robert Wyndham, Benjamin Moody (All USN, WW2) and my brother John Read (US Army, Vietnam.). I also would like to mention the thousands of military folks who continue to serve our nation, at great risk to themselves, overseas, to this day. All deserve our respect and appreciation.

My Dad and his brothers all joined the Navy on the same day in 1939, when Germany invaded Poland and Britain and France declared war. They new it was just a matter of time. Pop went into Aviation maintenance in Jacksonville. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, he and many others were sent to Pearl to help clean up and rebuild. He never saw any direct action, but as he lay on his deathbed my brother and I got to hear the grisly details of what it was like to "clean-up the mess" after the battle.

My Uncle Harold ended up serving in the Navy until his death, by heart attack, in 1974. He wore combat ribbons from WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. He was on the USS Bunker Hill when it was struck by Kamikazes. The man survived three wars only to be done in by his own ticker.......

Uncle Bob Read was a SeaBee. As a heavy equipment operator, he helped build the airstrips in the South Pacific that bombing raids against Japan were launched from. Including Tinian, where the atomic bombs were launched from. He had many stories of working under sniper fire. (And dealing with poisonous snakes. Until his death in 1992, Uncle Bob hated snakes.)

Uncles Bob Wyndham and Ben Moody were both Submariners.

My brother John was drafted in 1968 and served in the infantry in Vietnam.
He rarely speaks of the war, but when he does it's usually because he hears someone say something ignorant and he "schools" them....never a pretty thing. Also we know a couple friends of his who served with him, who say they pretty much caught the worst of it.

I believe we have some veterans here, and I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to them as well. Especially our resident combat veteran, Big Bill.

(Correct me, if I am mistaken or if there are any others I am not aware of.)

Gentlemen, I salute you.

Dave

[bobabode]

Dad's stint was in Patton's Third Army, Tenth Armored Tigers Hdqtrs battalion. He never rose above pfc and was a mailman. Sadly the after action reports burnt up in a fire in St. Louis but along with the Ardennes ribbon and recognition as a liberating unit of a death camp and a Bronze Star there wasn't much else except a hand written ribbon the says 20th AIB Bastogne. I know he wasn't with those guys in Bastogne as I and my siblings would've never been born. He had a lot of friends killed and wounded there. A few years after VE day the general in charge of the defense of Bastogne commented that it was a shame that the Tenth AD CCB never got recognition for their part in saving Bastogne during he Battle of the Bulge. The 101st Airborne would never even got into Bastonge much less held it without those Tenth Armored Tigers.
I sure would like to find out how a mailclerk at Division Hdqtrs won a Bronze Star. As far as I can tell they weren't handed out like candy. The CCB was another unit that received the Presidential Unit Citation alongside the 101st Airborne. CCB came under Gen."Nutz" McAuliffes command once they were cut off and served as the "Bastogne Fire Brigade" during the siege. Whenever the Panzers would try a thrust at the town ,CCB was hurried to push 'em back and plug the holes. They were racing around in their Shermans and tank destroyers fighting off panzers and worse. Tigers and even a few Elephants were thrown at these guys and they fell back grudgingly and made those SS assholes bleed.

[bobabode]

After the war he want to USC on the GI bill and graduated cum Laude and went into the ministry at the Methodist Church. In the mid sixties he volunteered again, not in the Army but in the Peace Corp. We did a 2 year stint in Kingston, Jamaica.

[BlueStreak]

Ya know, Bob. For years, my brother told my parents he did clerical work in Vietnam. He also had an odd habit of hiding during 4th of July fireworks. It wasn't until the day he went off on my Mom about having to shoot boobytrapped children that we fully realized there were things he just wasn't telling us. Then we met his "Army buddy", Andy. Andy told us, John had "....been through the worst of it.".

Maybe there was more to your Dads service that, for whatever reason, he kept to himself? War affects people in different ways.

[JJIII]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Folks, Memorial Day approaches and I, for one will be thinking of the War Veterans in my family; My Father, Edward Artuhur Read, my Uncles, Harold Read, Robert Read, C. Robert Wyndham, Benjamin Moody (All USN, WW2) and my brother John Read (US Army, Vietnam.). I also would like to mention the thousands of military folks who continue to serve our nation, at great risk to themselves, overseas, to this day. All deserve our respect and appreciation.

My Dad and his brothers all joined the Navy on the same day in 1939, when Germany invaded Poland and Britain and France declared war. They new it was just a matter of time. Pop went into Aviation maintenance in Jacksonville. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, he and many others were sent to Pearl to help clean up and rebuild. He never saw any direct action, but as he lay on his deathbed my brother and I got to hear the grisly details of what it was like to "clean-up the mess" after the battle.

My Uncle Harold ended up serving in the Navy until his death, by heart attack, in 1974. He wore combat ribbons from WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. He was on the USS Bunker Hill when it was struck by Kamikazes. The man survived three wars only to be done in by his own ticker.......

Uncle Bob Read was a SeaBee. As a heavy equipment operator, he helped build the airstrips in the South Pacific that bombing raids against Japan were launched from. Including Tinian, where the atomic bombs were launched from. He had many stories of working under sniper fire. (And dealing with poisonous snakes. Until his death in 1992, Uncle Bob hated snakes.)

Uncles Bob Wyndham and Ben Moody were both Submariners.

My brother John was drafted in 1968 and served in the infantry in Vietnam.
He rarely speaks of the war, but when he does it's usually because he hears someone say something ignorant and he "schools" them....never a pretty thing. Also we know a couple friends of his who served with him, who say they pretty much caught the worst of it.

I believe we have some veterans here, and I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to them as well. Especially our combat veterans, Big Bill and JJIII.

(Correct me, if I am mistaken or if there are any others I am not aware of.)

Gentlemen, I salute you.

Dave

For the record, I'm not a combat veteran. My son is though. (Iraq) I will not and cannot claim that distinction and I salute those that can. I spent my enlistment in the wilds of FT. Stewart, Ga. battling mosquitoes and wild hogs.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by JJIII

For the record, I'm not a combat veteran. My son is though. (Iraq) I will not and cannot claim that distinction and I salute those that can. I spent my enlistment in the wilds of FT. Stewart, Ga. battling mosquitoes and wild hogs.

Okay, I stand corrected. Somehow, I had the impression you were. At least you stood firm against mosquitoes and wild hogs....A contribution we can all respect.

That being said, I do sincerely thank your son for his service!

Dave

[Rex E.]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Ya know, Bob. For years, my brother told my parents he did clerical work in Vietnam. He also had an odd habit of hiding during 4th of July fireworks. It wasn't until the day he went off on my Mom about having to shoot boobytrapped children that we fully realized there were things he just wasn't telling us. Then we met his "Army buddy", Andy. Andy told us, John had "....been through the worst of it.".

Maybe there was more to your Dads service that, for whatever reason, he kept to himself? War affects people in different ways.

My father is the same way about his experiences in Korea as a 16 year old Marine Corps Tank Commander and Sharp Shooter (aka sniper). He's briefly mentioned a few things but I could tell how deeply they disturbed him and never pressed him for any details or more stories. His accounts of being in Vietnam and Laos long before the Vietnam war started (as a Marine Corp sniper working for the CIA) always intrigued me but I never pressed for details (and I'm not sure he'd share anyway)

To all that have served, are serving and will serve THANK YOU!

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Maybe there was more to your Dads service that, for whatever reason, he kept to himself? War affects people in different ways.

Thanks Dave! Yep, most of those of the great generation are reticent about their service. I think that it has to do with not only what they may have experienced but also that there were so many that also served with them. It's rare to see any of them up and boast about anything. Growing up during the Great Depression had taught them many hard lessons and was a factor in their successes.
You didn't dare leave a morsel on your plate or waste anything around those guys and gals. I like to think that I am following in his footsteps but thank my lucky stars that I never had to follow them into war. Lucky I guess, I came of age in 1975 and they weren't hiring so thankfully I missed the boat I have to say.
Dad's gone to his reward several years ago and so far hasn't returned my calls from the great beyond. He related one experience delivering "the mail" as it were. He's driving a jeep through some beautiful Belgian or Luxemborg town at dawn and got turned around he said. They had almost sped through the little village that was all of two blocks long when the Wehrmacht started pouring out of the houses trying to pull their pants on while drilling Dad and the guy in the back of the jeep full of holes. The guy in the back was manning the .30 cal and shot at the German soldiers and they hit the dirt. Dad said he just put his head down and floored it. They rapidly put that little burg in the rear view mirror-turned a bend in the road and that was the end of it. He never said that was what he got any medal for. The family really had no idea of the Bronze Star until after he had passed away and the Bureau of Records search that I initiated came back snafu as the service records were gone in the fire.
I do have a wicked war trophy of his- it's a dress dagger from one of the Air Raid Service guys in Germany. Eagles and swastikas, I have to admit it's creepy and all but it's a relic of a failed doctrine named fascism who's like should never come to be again. When I see Americans embracing or glorifying the Third Reich my skin crawls and I'm disgusted but it is a free country. Just don't expect anything less than a brick if you march up my street waving swastikas.

[BlueStreak]

I hear ya, Bob. My parents didn't seem to like war very much, more so Mom than Pop. But, he did make me shut off "The Green Berets" one time. No explanation, "Shut that damn thing off! I'm sick and tired of Wayne and his phoney, flagwaiving BS."

Mom once sarcastically told me, "When you spend half your life watching perfectly good young men go off to war and come back broken, dismembered, screwed up in the head , dead or not at all, you get a little sick of it."

Dave