View Full Version : One man's story of World War II
con-pilot
5th Feb 2008, 19:39
Lest we forget those brave men and women that did so much so we may enjoy freedom as we do today.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/STATICPAGES0209/802050301
One of the many old school boys from whom it has taken years to get their story. Getting shot down and nearly being surrounded by the civvies you've been shwacking wouldn't have been ideal, fair play to the flak unit for protecting him.
Wonder what was said in the debrief about the fighter escort leaving the bombers to engage targets of opportunity.
Con-pilot, how many votes do you reckon McCain will get as a result of his bravery as a POW? Don't want to thread creep so soon but interested in the view from your side of the pond.
con-pilot
5th Feb 2008, 22:09
Con-pilot, how many votes do you reckon McCain will get as a result of his bravery as a POW? Don't want to thread creep so soon but interested in the view from your side of the pond.
I'm sure that he will receive a lot of military personnel votes, which he would probably receive in any case. Traditionally in the US the majority of military personnel tend to vote for Republicans. In fact it was the absentee ballots of military folks overseas that put Bush over the top in Florida in the 2004 general election.
Anyway, if anything would build character, surviving being a POW of North Viet Nam would be one. I guess the same could be said of Japan during WWII.
Tourist
5th Feb 2008, 22:20
However, McCain does not believe in evolution.
Oh. My. God.
And this man could be president.
S'land
5th Feb 2008, 22:36
A very interesting, matter of fact report by Mr Smith. No histrionics, just a "this is how it was" approach. Very moving.
con-pilot
5th Feb 2008, 22:45
However, McCain does not believe in evolution.
Oh. My. God.
And this man could be president.
Take it to JB, leave politics out of this. :=
I'll be happy to answer your very inaccurate statement there. Trust me.
Keep on topic.
Tourist, you're confusing McCain with Mike Huckabee; McCain might well be the least cretinous politician on the planet.
BoeingMEL
6th Feb 2008, 18:31
Met McCain briefly in Arizona late in 80s when I was hauling stuff around in
B206s. Very pleasant guy, intelligent, modest and had lots of questions about life in the UK. Have a big signed pic of him on my den wall too. I can't vote for him..but I would... Cheers, bm:rolleyes:
OFBSLF
6th Feb 2008, 20:13
However, McCain does not believe in evolution.
Tourist, that's Huckabee you are thinking of, not McCain. McCain has made public statements saying that he believes in evolution.
Con-pilot, thread creep all my fault-soz.
What struck me about the man in the story was the quiet dignity of his words, no extravagance just facts clearly stated. He sort of reminded me of Dick Winters of "Band of Brothers" fame. Managed to catch a documentary on HBO which was a compilation of the veterans of Easy Company from which I think they took clips to start each show of the series. As stated on a different thread "ordinary men doing extraordinary things".
Thanks indeed to a different generations sacrifice. Sadly, I don't think history is going to look so well on the undoubted bravery and sacrifice the current generation are making.
kevmusic
7th Feb 2008, 15:23
Sadly, I don't think history is going to look so well on the undoubted bravery and sacrifice the current generation are making.
That could be applied just as easily to a certain sector of said different generation's forces, celebrated elsewhere on this forum, n'est ce pas? :}
Maybe so Kevmusic, don't know which action you are refering to so can't comment specifically.
The bravery of individuals in combat is undoubted, the justness of the cause they are fighting for might be questionable. I would imagine WWII allied veterans might find that an easier point to prove than current combatants. Discussions on "Just wars" would however take the thread away from it's subject ie. an acknowledgement of the bravery of a different generation. They have my humble thanks.
angels
8th Feb 2008, 09:48
Nice article that.
I got my Dad -- who has just died -- to write his memoirs about a year ago. They cover his childhood up until he was demobilised from the RAFin 1947 after five years service as ground crew, mainly in the Far East.
They read very similarly to this blokes. My dad was never captured but one of the pictures taken at the end of the war show him standing by a plane at Changi and his entire rib cage is visible underneath his skin (there's hardly any flesh to talk about).
His funeral is this Tuesday but I for one will never forget that he, and many many others, contributed to a world in which people are free to argue politics on a bulletin board.
Thanks.
angels
best wishes for Tuesday. We owe so much to people like your Dad. Was your dad on 230 sqn?
angels
8th Feb 2008, 11:00
I'm pretty sure he was 39 Sq.
The trouble is, the other day I was wondering which one it was and I thought, "I'll give him a bell....." Oops.....:ugh:
I imagine there'll be a few more daft thoughts like that for a while.
During hostilities one of his jobs was to fly around Burma finding crashed Spits and salvaging as much of them as he could because there was a dire shortage of spares. It was during these trips that his most hairy moments occurred.