Memorial Day Weekend

[SparrowHawk]

On June 4th, 1941, my uncle sat and listened to General George S Patton address the 3rd Army Corp at a secret base in England. This speech was the opening scene of the movie "Patton".

48 hours later Private First Class, Kenneth W. Johnson stormed Omaha Beach (or Utah, My Grandmother was never sure) under a hail of Nazi bullets. I vividly recall the scar on his shoulder as he was wounded on the beach. This was Purple Heart #1.

Once he was returned to duty he joined the 3rd Army Corp, 90th Division, 357th Infantry Regiment. As the war progressed, Ken soon found himself in the middle of the battle of the ARDENNES. To us this is known as the Battle of the Bulge. Ken was wounded again and earned a second purple heart and oak leaf cluster. HERO??? Not even a little, he was merely a citizen soldier, which to me is the greatest honor.

Ken was no hero except perhaps to me. In his words "I did my job".

I went to Bastogne, Belgium for the 60th Anniversary of the "Battle of the Ardennes" EVERY Shop, business had 4 x 6 foot Belgian and US flag in the Window. As the nephew of a US soldier my money was no good in the beer cafe's. I can still see the young man in the Beer Cafe straighten his posture as he inquired, "General Patton? If not for your uncle and his men I would not be here, Come play darts with us"!

I'd invite you to share the memories in your life

 

[Ms Tree]

My grandfather was in the military. He lost his sight in combat during WWI. The only catch is e was fighting for the wrong side. He was German and fighting in the German army. I never met him. The Nazis murdered him. I was told he was a good man. He raised a good family. I have had always had a difficult time reconciling ones love for family with the fact that from my vantage point as an American, he fought for the wrong side. For all I know, he may have killed American soldiers in combat. According to my dad he never really spoke about his experience so it died with him.

I work in a public contact position. When ever I see vet I make it a point to tell them thank you. More often than not, I get a story in return. Some of them are interesting, some of them are very depressing. Had a man come in recently with his daughter. He said he had cancer that was in remission. He blamed the cancer on agent orange. Breaks my heart to hear crap like that.

I would very much like to meet a Red Tail. There are nt many of them left so I do not think that dream will be fulfilled. I have always found their story fascinating.

Sparrow,
Tell your uncle thanks.

 

[dapoes]

My grandfather was in the military. He lost his sight in combat during WWI. The only catch is e was fighting for the wrong side. He was German and fighting in the German army. I never met him. The Nazis murdered him. I was told he was a good man. He raised a good family. I have had always had a difficult time reconciling ones love for family with the fact that from my vantage point as an American, he fought for the wrong side. For all I know, he may have killed American soldiers in combat. According to my dad he never really spoke about his experience so it died with him.

I work in a public contact position. When ever I see vet I make it a point to tell them thank you. More often than not, I get a story in return. Some of them are interesting, some of them are very depressing. Had a man come in recently with his daughter. He said he had cancer that was in remission. He blamed the cancer on agent orange. Breaks my heart to hear crap like that.

I would very much like to meet a Red Tail. There are nt many of them left so I do not think that dream will be fulfilled. I have always found their story fascinating.

Sparrow,
Tell your uncle thanks.

And he would consider you a raging embarrassment for your America hating views and opinion.

That is all.

 

[SparrowHawk]

ALL who served in WWII fought to preserve Freedom & Liberty. That freedom & Liberty applies to everyone. It's God Given. I opened this topic to honor those who served. I did not open it for debate.

There are a number of threads for debating the merits or lack thereof of a persons POV. I'd gently ask that we leave this thread for it's intended purpose of honoring those who served.

 

[dapoes]

ALL who served in WWII fought to preserve Freedom & Liberty. That freedom & Liberty applies to everyone. It's God Given.

Agree 100%

But if someone doesn't believe in god given rights then....well, um ya know....

 

[SparrowHawk]

I would very much like to meet a Red Tail. There are nt many of them left so I do not think that dream will be fulfilled. I have always found their story fascinating.

Sparrow,
Tell your uncle thanks.

I always wanted to meet a member of the 1st A.V.G. The story of General Claire L. Chenault and his men have always fascinated me. Most of these warriors are likely dead now.

View attachment 9085

 

[dapoes]

What memorial day is really about...

 

[SparrowHawk]

Here are some statistics on the 90th Division.

World War II
A TRIBUTE TO THE 90TH DIVISION: “Sometimes I think you don’t know how good you are. You are the best soldiers in the world. It was a great honor to command you.” General George S. Patton, Weiden, Germany, July 13, 1945
• The 90th had more days of combat than any other Division in the ETO.
• The 90th had at least one unit in contact with the enemy every day from D-Day to VE- Day.
• The 90th mcluded more than 35 000 men at one time or another [not more than 14000 at any one time]
• The 90th earned the Invasion Arrowhead and all five Battle Stars for Normandy Northern France Ardennes [Battle of the Bulge] Rhineland Central Europe and also the French Croix de Guerre.
• The 90th is a highly decorated Division with four Congressional Medal of Honor recipients; 85 Distinguished Service Cross recipients; 115 Air Medals; 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses 1 311 Silver Star recIpients 40 Soldier s Medal recipients 5 057 Bronze Star recipients and 21 371 Purple Hearts 3 889 of which were awarded posthumously
• The 90th took 83,437 prisoners [the equivalent of 6 divisions] and knocked out 501German tanks 195 self propelled guns 1 228 other artillery pieces 5 572 other German vehicles 82 locomotives 134 airplanes and 3 steam boats
• The 90th crossed dozens of rivers, liberated hundreds of towns and several million people. The 90th liberated Flossenberg Concentration Camp and captured the Merkers Salt Mine intact with all of Germany s store of gold and art treasures
• The 90th forced the surrender of the German 11th Panzer Division en masse and met the Russians in Czechoslovakia
• The 90th suffered over 15,000 battle wounds. The total number of men treated by medics to include all injuries (trench foot and frostbite) was 25,988.

View attachment 9088
Originally, the red T-O stood for Texas-Oklahoma, since the division was made up almost entirely of men from those two states. Later, however, men were drawn from every state in the nation, and the T-O came to represent, by common consent, “TOUGH ‘OMBRES”.

My Father's story I'll add later.