Some things matter. Some don't. This does.

Village Idiot

My wife's father, a WWII Seabee in the Pacific, died this Memorial Day.  I thought that was cool of him.   >-

demo

Thank him for me !!

shtgunal3

Have a great time with your grandfather. Salute him once for me.

billyray

This was truly a great generation. My late FIL was a Marine, he was captured on Corregidor and spent 3 years in a Japanese prison camp. It was there that he got to hold his younger brother in his arms as he died. Give your Grandpa a big hug for me.

travisstrick

billyray said:

This was truly a great generation. My late FIL was a Marine, he was captured on Corregidor and spent 3 years in a Japanese prison camp. It was there that he got to hold his younger brother in his arms as he died. Give your Grandpa a big hug for me.

I fought in Baghdad with my little brother. I couldn't sleep if he was out doing work. (I could hear the sounds of work being done)

The thought of losing a brother in a pow camp is just too much to process.

I'll never forget your short story of your FIL.

MrCookingNurse

Big thanks to pops!! My grandpa is a Vietnam vet. He won't talk about the medals on the wall of their hall. Thank you and pops for your service. There aren't too many tail gunners that made it back.

Furall

Both of my grandfathers were in WWII and both passed away before I really understood what they gave. Honor that man and thanks for sharing with us.

cortguitarman

You are so lucky to still have him here. It is so sad that so many WW II vets have passed. My grandpa was a paratrooper at Normandy. His service to our country and the world make me so proud. Sadly he lost his battle with cancer 12 years ago. Enjoy your time with your grandpa and thank you and him for your service.

Mickey

Travis thank you for this post. This matters my friend. My father received a Silver Star, Bronze, two Purple Hearts. Dad passed many years ago and had it not been for your post not sure i would have remembered. Please tell your Grandfather thank you and say hello to your Dad for me. I am proud to call you friend.

r270ba

Cold chills...

pwg56

GK59 said:

Thanks to all that served .

The stories my FIL tells give me goose bumps. He was in the first wave in at Omaha Beach.

God Bless

If any of you are on twitter, @BesschlossDC is a great follow for historical pictures.  Today he is doing lots of DD posts.  Here he has a picture of soldiers heading to Omaha Beach:

CantonDawg

We should never forget.  I think every High School kid should have to watch Band of Brothers to gain just a small amount of the appreciation these men deserve.

God Bless your Grandfather - thanks isn't nearly enough.

hapster

Thank him for me Travis...

My father was a B-17 pilot with 35 missions.

The balls on these guys and all who serve... smh

Parallel

The GREATEST generation!

hondabbq

All of my uncles served in the Canadian military. I am proud of all of them and all others of this generation that stood up for us today. Nothing and no one can replace these men and women of honor.

I command all my staff to stop work at 11 am on Remeberance Day and think of what we have because of these men and women.

I patronize services every year that I am able to. I shed a tear every year, and even moments like this where I let my thoughts on our military known.

Saving Private Ryan, the opening scenes are a constant reliving of what these men had to go through that day. I knew this event happened but when I saw this, I put my uncles there and I almost puked thinking about it and almost walked out of the theater.

Our thanks and gratitude will never be enough for these men and women.

Little Steven

My Dad fought in Korea. He never talked about it until he was dying. The stuff that these guys held inside when they came back to normal life was incredible

Hokie_Smoker

Along the same lines from the local newspaper, truly remarkable men.

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/06/05/4088161/remembering-the-friend-with-whom.html

Vetteman

Got to be Proud. God Bless.

jaydub58

All my thanks to your grand-dad!

The younger of my two older half-brothers landed at Normandy several weeks after the invasion.  Went on to do his duty in Belgium and Holland.  Would never talk about it.

GK59

 As I sit here reading these posts my eyes are welling and tears a flowing for those who fought for our freedom and mostly for those who lost their live for us.

God bless you all. I will never be able to repay you for you sacrifices.

Wolfpack

The greatest generation is to thank for giving us the freedoms we enjoy and often take for granted. They don't make them like that anymore- please tell your grandfather thanks from us all and cook him something good

WisconsinJim

What a great thread.  A huge thank you from me and my entire family too.  You should read the book "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" by Laura Hillenbrand if you want to get a picture of what those that fought in the Pacific went through.  The book gives me chills and I can't put into words the respect I have for those that fought there.  We should all remember this day and many more.

FlyingTivo

He was also the welterweight boxing champion of the PACIFIC FLEET. THE WHOLE DAMN FLEET. it wasn't fun when he got mad. Even into his late 70's

No kidding, Boxing was a big deal in the Forces, just watching the military channel, a lot of the ships shows a boxing ring on their decks while sailing!

So he must have been good!!!

Cant say much about the war(mexican), but people that risk their lives so others can live, is Golden in my book! I hope you can represent the BGE Family with an awesome cook that he deserves!

Please post pictures!

Felipe

thetrim

Great man Travis. Do your best to get him to sit down in front of a video camera and record his stories. We've truly never had a greater generations and its sad as hell that were losing hundreds a day and have so few of them left.
Please pass along a thank you for his service from me and add it to the long list

calracefan

Thank You both for your service !

Little Steven

travisstrick said:

He was a bad ass then and still looks like a bad ass now. Judging from the picture, I think he could take you.

Make sure you cook him whatever he wants.

Thank you both for what you have done for our great country!

He was also the welterweight boxing champion of the PACIFIC FLEET. THE WHOLE DAMN FLEET. it wasn't fun when he got mad. Even into his late 70's

My Dad's brother was in the Cdn navy and served in WWII. He was a great boxer as well but he was heavyweight.

travisstrick

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have done a great thing. Grandad has Alzheimer's. I was born and raised next door to him and he does not remember me most of the time. (I'm 32)

I showed him my post and your comments. He straightened his weathered back and smiled a huge smile. He remembers his service in the war and was very happy to read everyones words. 

I think I will leave my camera on a tripod recording for the rest of his visit. I wish I had his reaction to this thread on camera. 

SaturdayFatterday

Both of my grandfathers served in the Army Air Corps as bomber pilots in the European Theatre.  One was shot down and spent eight months as a POW.  The other was more fortunate.  My wife's grandparents both served, too - one at the Battle of the Bulge.  Your post made me think of all of them.

Both my wife and I are from military families, so I know that sometimes a vet feels strange when you say thank you.  Instead, we're simply raising our glasses and toasting your grandfather.

brycos

I sell hearing aids, and as you'd expect many of my clients are veterans.  When I thank them for their service and for providing me with the great life that I now enjoy - the most common response is along the lines of,  "it was my pleasure". - and every time I just marvel and think - Wow!

kolbdriver

That is wonderful, tell him thanks, and give him a hug....ask him to take a look a the pic...!!!