June 6, 1944: D-Day

[Ace-Garageguy]

[Belugawrx]

The one and only plane kit I ever built..7 years ago today

[bamadon]

There's a bunch of young people who have no idea what the significance of today is.

[rattle can man]

It is sad that the media has to explain D-Day. 

[Engine 51]

My Father in law was part of that. Was wounded not too long after landing. The wounds he sustained there caused him trouble the rest of his life. May God bless the memory of those that were there, and what they accomplished.

[meechum68]

The one event in World History I will never forget, aside from Pearl Harbor and the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 

The young folk and most of the folks in my age group (Gen X) don't realize the importance of D-Day.

[slusher]

My wife’s grandfather was there  he died 3 years befor we met.   I would have liked to have herd his stories.

[bobss396]

We grew up in the shadow of WWII. Just about anywhere I worked, there were vets. TOUGH as nails for the most part. 

My dad was one, stationed in Morocco and Italy with the 461st BG which was a B24 squadron.

[johnyrotten]

10 hours ago, meechum68 said:

The young folk and most of the folks in my age group (Gen X) don't realize the importance of D-Day.

I have the same opinion (born in '81). 

[bobss396]

I worked with a lot if WWII vets, most of my neighbors too served.

By the time I was 18, I could tell who had served over seas and who had stayed at home.

Then there were the real combat vets. I worked for one guy, I knew he was in some sort of accident but never asked him. Eventually I had learned that he was in some WWII battle in Europe and somehow survived it.

In general these guy tended to be real quiet. The same went for Vietnam vets I knew.

[johnyrotten]

10 hours ago, bobss396 said:

In general these guy tended to be real quiet.

Anyone I have known that served and went through things are this way. I worked with a kid that did two tours in Afghanistan, didn't say much about it, you could tell something was right below the surface. He had a T.B.I. and P.T.S.D, medical discharge from the Marines. 

[OldTrucker]

11 hours ago, bobss396 said:

I worked with a lot if WWII vets, most of my neighbors too served.

By the time I was 18, I could tell who had served over seas and who had stayed at home.

Then there were the real combat vets. I worked for one guy, I knew he was in some sort of accident but never asked him. Eventually I had learned that he was in some WWII battle in Europe and somehow survived it.

In general these guy tended to be real quiet. The same went for Vietnam vets I knew.

Many of our neighbors and some family members were WWII Vets and yes the ones that saw the worst were very quiet about it. The only ones that they can talk to about is is another vet that was there too!

They told funny stories about the ship ride over there training in England and talked about the girls and the food but little else.

Most put it behind them and concentrated on jobs and family moved on and did well for themselves. There were those that did not have that same fortitude and that is understandable.

Personally I never heard one whine or complain about what they went through. One of the best WWII vets I knew lived next door. He was a Bank Loan Officer. He lost a leg on D Day. Said his fight ended about twenty steps onto the beach when a mortar round knocked him down, said he jumped right up to run forward and fell on his face. Another soldier jumped on him and told him to stay down and pulled his belt off to tie off his leg that was the first he realized he was hit! 

For Viet Nam Vets I can tell you it was a whole other story.

There will never be another generation like them!

God Bless Them All!

 

[bobss396]

My dad shipped out from NJ in 1942, out of Fort Dix. They went over in a convoy of troops ships. One of them was blasted and sank by a U Boat.

Another guy I worked with was a Merchant Marine, his boat was a also sank. He was one of the few survivors. He was a huge drinker, dead by age 54 with a shot liver and terrible gout. He looked like he was more like 80.

[johnyrotten]

2 minutes ago, bobss396 said:

My dad shipped out from NJ in 1942, out of Fort Dix. They went over in a convoy of troops ships. One of them was blasted and sank by a U Boat.

Another guy I worked with was a Merchant Marine, his boat was a also sank. He was one of the few survivors. He was a huge drinker, dead by age 54 with a shot liver and terrible gout. He looked like he was more like 80.

The kid I worked with drank heavily, part culture,part coping I figured. 

[bobss396]

7 minutes ago, johnyrotten said:

The kid I worked with drank heavily, part culture,part coping I figured. 

My next door neighbor did his time in Vietnam. I'd say he came home around 1971. He was real quiet and my dad would talk with him..  said he smelled like a distillery.

He did become a bartender at one of our favorite watering holes. He was only 5 years older than me. He passed about 10 years ago.

[TonyK]

On 6/8/2025 at 3:28 AM, bobss396 said:

In general these guy tended to be real quiet. The same went for Vietnam vets I knew.

I worked with some Vietnam vets and they had lots of stories to tell. Seemed to be happy they survived it and didn't mind sharing their experiences. I learned a lot of "inside" views from them. One guy had been shot through the arm and a couple of fingers didn't work anymore. Got a disability check from the government every month.

[Mike C]

On 6/7/2025 at 7:08 AM, bobss396 said:

We grew up in the shadow of WWII. Just about anywhere I worked, there were vets. TOUGH as nails for the most part. 

My dad was one, stationed in Morocco and Italy with the 461st BG which was a B24 squadron.

And plenty of WWII movies to watch too.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 6/7/2025 at 7:08 AM, bobss396 said:

We grew up in the shadow of WWII. Just about anywhere I worked, there were vets. TOUGH as nails for the most part. 

Yup. When I was a kid, those were the adult men who shaped my idea of what an adult man was supposed to be.

My, how times have changed...