Let's have a thread for all the Veterans to step forward and take a bow.

[Insidious]

OOPS!

1983

 

[bsd]

so who actually saw front line combat?

 

[Insidious]

Not me, the closest I got was when IRAN had a bunch of Americans held hostage (airline hijack) and it was my battlegroup that went to save them but the helicopters crashed into each other in a sand storm and USA got just one more black eye (jimmy carter and gerald ford era was embarasing!............ "please don't hurt us" Turned our stomachs at the time)

I have been quietly hoping ever since that USA would finally stand up for itself (although I'm not sure I like the Iraq excuse to do so)

 

[MedicBob]

I along with many hear thank the people saying thank you. We don't hear it often and it is nice of all of you to post your thanks hear.


USMC 2nd Mar Div 1988-1996
USNR Fleet Hospital 500 Combat detachment 23 1997-1998
WIANG 2/127th Inf 32 Brigade Seperate ---> soon to be enhanced and air assault. 1998-current

I have served in 2 primary MOS's. Vehicle recovery NCOIC, USMC, and Combat Medic with the Army. Being "pulled" from my line unit to "move up" to the aid station. No more midnight raids on pogue units.

Once again my thanks to other Vets and those thinking of us.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Originally posted by: bsd
so who actually saw front line combat?

Depends on what you mean by "front line." Sometimes the front line is in whatever direction you happen to be facing at the moment.

 

[bizmark]

In memory of those who died in service to their homeland and to those who stand ready to do so.

The Soldier
by Rupert Brooke

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

 

[Wolfsraider]

usn 1984-1988
boot:greatlakes
os"a" school damneck virginia
uss schenectady lst 1185

the closest i came to seeing action was when we had a fire at sea(5 out of 6 engine rooms were on fire) 750 miles out.we were hitting 12-15 foot swells head on as we had no power.it started at 1023 pm and we finally got it under control at 430 am.i watched people flying into the air and smashing into desks.i was on the jl board at the time,talking to the lookouts who kept disappearing under the water as we were taking 70 degree rolls and the port and starboard lookouts were on the bridge wings.thanks to my fellow engineering shipmates (for restoring the power and combating the fires)and the uss tarawa (for helo dropping over 3000 oba canisters to our main deck,and to the marines(collecting the canisters and wounded)and god for getting us safely back to port with no casualties and only 19 injured.

thank you veterans each and every one for serving and protecting our great country.
A heartfelt THANK YOU to those that gave all

mike

 

[Daovonnaex]

Originally posted by: Cyberian

Originally posted by: Daovonnaex
My paternal grandfather: Swedish Army (active duty) 1940-1971 (retired due to ALS after turning down position as Military Attache in Washington), German Waffen-SS (combat arm of SS--not the genocide arm...) 1941-1945 (foreign volunteer in 5th SS Panzer "Wiking" division).
My maternal grandfather: Swedish Navy 1942-1950 (active duty), reserve 1950-1960.
My father: Swedish Navy 1968-1970 (unwilling conscript).

I have plans of joining the USAF, but I'm (obviously) no veteran.

Any chance you could tell us more about your grandfathers?
I find it fascinating to hear about our allies and, if possible, our enemies.

My paternal grandfather had a distinguished career as an SS officer and rose to the SS equivalent of Lieutenant Colonel during the war. He earned the Iron Cross, first class in the Battle of Kurks for directing his Panther D tank squadron to destroy dozens of Soviet tanks and other armor (as well as other motorized vehicles) in order to open up a trapped pocket of four German Tiger tanks. Later in the war he earned the Knight's Cross for fighting his way out of the disastrous Cherkassy pocket. After the division was mostly destroyed in Hungary in 1945, he returned to Sweden, where he was now only a Captain. He served with honor in Sweden and steadily advanced to the rank of Major General by the time he retired due to his illness.
As for my maternal grandfather, he had an uneventful career in the Swedish Navy where he finished with a rank equivalent to a USN Lt. Commander. My father served a short time in the Swedish Navy. They tried to make him an officer, but he had no desire to stay in the Navy (or in Sweden, for that matter). He got out as soon as he could.

 

[CurtCold]

I just wanna give a big ups to all who have served, serving, and will serve. Much love to the military!

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: bsd
so who actually saw front line combat?

My grandfather always told me that the Marines go in first and the army comes through to pick up the pieces. Dunno if he was kidding or not, but it just sounded funny.

nik

 

[Brutuskend]

Marines= first to go, last to know....

 

[HappyPuppy]

Originally posted by: ffmcobalt

Originally posted by: bsd
so who actually saw front line combat?

My grandfather always told me that the Marines go in first and the army comes through to pick up the pieces. Dunno if he was kidding or not, but it just sounded funny.

nik

Not to belittle your grandfather or the Marines, but the Marines have always worked harder at PR than the Army. Most people don't realize that just as many landings were made and just as many islands assaulted by the Army during WWII as were the Marines. Again, this is not to take away from the gallantry of the Marines.

Although I was in the Army, I lived with and fought with both Army and Marine troops. When the sh!t was flyin' and the men were dyin', they were all heroes.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy

Originally posted by: ffmcobalt

Originally posted by: bsd
so who actually saw front line combat?

My grandfather always told me that the Marines go in first and the army comes through to pick up the pieces. Dunno if he was kidding or not, but it just sounded funny.

nik

Not to belittle your grandfather or the Marines, but the Marines have always worked harder at PR than the Army. Most people don't realize that just as many landings were made and just as many islands assaulted by the Army during WWII as were the Marines. Again, this is not to take away from the gallantry of the Marines.

Although I was in the Army, I lived with and fought with both Army and Marine troops. When the sh!t was flyin' and the men were dyin', they were all heroes.

What HappyPuppy says is true. You "learn" Marine history in boot camp. And they neglected to mention that the ARMY even fought in the south pacific. It wasn't until YEARS later, and thanks to Hollywood, that I even knew the army was involved.

 

[Stallion]

While I was not in the service I would like to say thanks to my Dad who served in the Navy for 21 years. He went in when he was 16 and served in both WWII and Korea. He was in the UDT (underwater demolition team) and spent alot of time on the USS Ranger aircraft carrier.

He has many medals as well as 2 purple hearts.

Thanks Dad. James W Smith U.S.N.

Thanks to everyone else here who puts themselves in harms way for our great country so that we may live a free life.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy

Originally posted by: ffmcobalt

Originally posted by: bsd
so who actually saw front line combat?

My grandfather always told me that the Marines go in first and the army comes through to pick up the pieces. Dunno if he was kidding or not, but it just sounded funny.

nik

Not to belittle your grandfather or the Marines, but the Marines have always worked harder at PR than the Army. Most people don't realize that just as many landings were made and just as many islands assaulted by the Army during WWII as were the Marines. Again, this is not to take away from the gallantry of the Marines.

Although I was in the Army, I lived with and fought with both Army and Marine troops. When the sh!t was flyin' and the men were dyin', they were all heroes.

What HappyPuppy says is true. You "learn" Marine history in boot camp. And they neglected to mention that the ARMY even fought in the south pacific. It wasn't until YEARS later, and thanks to Hollywood, that I even knew the army was involved.

Not to get off on a tangent, but I always liked John Wayne in "The Sands of Iwo Jima" better than in "The Green Berets."

Damn, that reminded me of a little incident that happened another time I was in base camp. On Wednesday nights, weather and Charlie willling, they would run a rope between two hooches and hang a sheet over it. A couple of plywood footlockers would be dragged out and stacked on top of each other and then a movie projector set up on top of them. This particular night they showed "The Green Berets." To set the tone for this you have to imagine guys who had just come back from 30-60 days in the field. Imagine the whooping and hollering as we watched "The Duke" and his boys doing not only the improbable, but also the impossible! About half way through the movie there is a scene where they are taking incoming mortar rounds. Boom, boom, boom. We were laughing and joking about how unrealistic it was. Boom, boom, boom. The scene had changed to one in Saigon and still boom, boom, boom. Something wasn't right. We looked to our rear and saw mortars impacting like a giant taking steps, boom, boom. Charlie was walking mortars into and through our camp. We dove behind the sandbag walls while the mortars stepped a straight path right down the middle of our compound taking out the projector and the sheet. Nobody was hurt that night, although I have always thought it was really funny in a warped sort of way.

 

[MinorityReport]

I want to highlight a small incident unknown to most Americans during the WWII period when Japanese army was on its way into Indo China. In one way, I can say that the japanese invasion of British India was stopped at Nagaland, the eastern state of India by American help primariliy.

Mt GG father, serving under the Union Jack ( that time india was under british rule and my GG dad worked for them ) was an officer commanding a Gorkha infantry regiment on the hills of Nagaland, bordering burma/Mynmaar.

The japanese had attacked and outnumbered the allies and were almost inside the terriroty. Heavy fighting took its toll both on the allies and the japs. . The Gorkhas being on hill tops with light artillery held back the japs but their supply routes were hijacked by the japanese imperial army. Japanese air raids demoralized the troops and lack of air support was almost changing the balance.
Britain had no intention of facing them fearing loss, hastily they retreated. However gorkhas stayed back defending their territory and to their motto " fight till the last drop".

However, the Brits did signal the US forces stationed in Pacific and within 2 weeks re-enforcements arrived and came marines/ planes/ air support. A huge US air force base was stationed at Kohima, capital of Nagaland. From there they launched counter offensives against japs and after 3 months the imperial army was devastated.

There lies a war memorial in the foot hills of Himalays where soilders who perished are remembered and honored this day. Every year few old veterans from US and Japan come to visit that lonely place up in the lush jungles braving the treacherous journey uphill and through dense forests. I went there last in 1978 when my GG father was laid to rest there.

Let all those who laid down their lives fo us be honored and remembered and peace be upon their departed souls.

Also, those of you who are lucky enough or interested, please do visit this paradise amongst the eastern himalayas ... a small glimpse to the bravery of the Gorkhas and the US forces and also at the same time the zeal of the japanese who fought to the end.


PM me if anyone wants to visit that part of the world.. I will be organizing a east himalayan expedition in early may 2003.

 

[SithSolo1]

Well since my grandfather doesn't use computers I thought I sould post for him.

All I know is that he was an airplane mechanic durring WWII. He served on an aircraft carrier, the USS Randolph.

Link

He was on the deck when a kamikaze hit the rear of the ship. He is alive and well today and I'm proud to be his grand son, though I don't let him know it enough.

 

[Acts837]

USMC 1985-present

Mine is to do or die, not to question why.

Take that hill MARINE! People always wonder...it takes instant willingness and obedience to orders. Most grunts can think, they just don't have that luxury.

 

[Kung Lau]

Thanks for thinking of us.

1987-1989 10th Military Airlift Squadron (Zweibrucken AB, GE.)
1989-1991 42nd Bomb Wing (4300 Provisional Bomb Wing - Operation Desert Storm) (Loring AFB, ME, Diego Garcia, BIOT)
1991-1997 1926th CCSG, 78 Operational Support Sq. (Robins AFB, GA.
1997-1998 HQ PACAF AOS (Hickam AFB, HI.)
1998-present HQ AMC AOS (MacDill AFB, FL.)

 

[snooker]

1986-1990 U.S.S Saratoga CVA-60 I was an AD onboard Sara (Jet engine mechanic)

 

[Beau]

Thank you all veterans and currently inlisted. You make me proud.

 

[bsd]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy

Originally posted by: bsdso who actually saw front line combat?

Depends on what you mean by "front line." Sometimes the front line is in whatever direction you happen to be facing at the moment.

like seeing the whites of their eyes for infantry and armour, nothing else counts except pilots and ship battles.

and before i get flamed, i did do parachute regiment selection between school and university, and decided it wasnt for me, but the said if i canged my mind at theend of uni then they'd give me a sedcond chance - you dont get one normally. four of my uni friends are at sandhurst now or were last year inluding a gurkha.
and both my grandfather and great gradfather were in WW2 and WW1 for 5/ 4 years respectively, though only my great gradfather saw active service, he was in france for 4 years! and didnt get killed, i cant believe that, he must have been in a very quiet area.

also not wishing to diminish the sacrifices, but some wars are fairly pointless, and frankly have a lot of bad leadership in them, i have thisview on afghanistan and the 'situation' the israelies find themselves in.

 

[rudder]

I missed this thread the other day. But our town lost a hero on Saturday. He was to be honored on Veterans day at a ceremony naming a park in his honor. Link

 

[Monel Funkawitz]

USAF Oct 1995 - Oct 1999 McGuire AFB, NJ

Aerospace Ground Equipment Journeyman. Received live fire while working on a NF2 light cart while supporting a TDY mission in Bosnia. I was never so fucking scared in all my life. They were trying to defeat us mentally, shooting out the lights so we couldn't see, and just little stupid games like that. I happend to be in the wrong place.

I got out after my 4 years, but I miss it every day.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: Larvae thanks i controlled one of those <STRONG>predator drones in viet nam</STRONG> in charlie company

<STRONG>Shame on you, you turd muching asshole!! :| </STRONG>Do you think you're funny, making up this obvious lie? Burned into my psyche are the memories of many fine young Americans, better men than you or I, who never made it home alive from Vietnam. It was an ugly, dirty war, on all sides. I hope you rot in Hell. Some of us have already been there, and are still trying to find the way home.

Yikes....looks like someone forgot to take his medication :disgust:

<STRONG>Fritzo, </STRONG>please inform yourself before you speak. <STRONG>There were no predator drones in 'Nam.</STRONG> What <STRONG>Larvae </STRONG>wrote in this thread is an inappropriately smirking spoof, and a slap in the face to all here who have served. It was a transparent lie, and a callous thread crap.

Nearly 50,000 young Americans gave their lives -- the last full measure of devotion -- in Viet Nam in the service of their country. More than six times that many were wounded. But, that is just the tip of the iceberg of the human carnage, just on our side. Please reread <STRONG>HappyPuppy's </STRONG>last post so that you may begin to have even the slight glimmer of an idea of what 'Nam combat veterans have had to carry with them to this very day.

Now ask yourself who should be "medicated" -- <STRONG>Larvae</STRONG> or I ?

I salute everyone here who has served, from the bottom of my heart.

I guess my comment stems from the fact that 99% of us have no idea what a predator drone is nor why you care so much if he operated one in that time frame or not.