I found this poignant video on Curmudgeonly & Skeptcal. Today, it reminded me of my dad.
Dad only told the funny stories of WWII. We always enjoyed his tales from the front. About the actual subject of the war itself, he was generally silent. He did mention having been in the Battle of the Bulge, but said no more.
If you have the time, and the fortitude, you can read about the Battle itself. Dad's records show him to have been an artilleryman. His unit was moved around a few times - during part of the war, he served with Patton. Despite modern-day depictions of the man, Dad never considered him to waste men needlessly. Of course, Dad always liked ornery SOB's. He was a bit of one himself.
1 comment:
Interesting similarities between our fathers' experiences. My Dad was also in the Army in WWII, but didn't join Patton's corps until after the Battle of the Bulge. He was one of the young replacements, and was in the infantry, but in a mortar company.
He would never rarely talk about battles, but loved to tell stories about his friends, or about the time he spent the night in jail in San Luis Obispo (because the train arrived late ... after curfew). When I asked him once if he remembered being scared, he said he only remembered the funny stories. On purpose, I'm sure.
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