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The 70th. anniversary of D-Day 6th. June 1944


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A day or so after I came back from C2E2 recently I travelled to France ,during my visit I had the honour of visiting the Normandy American War Cemetery & Memorial . I've been to the area before but never to this particular place & I can honestly say that it is rare for ol' Rob to be overcome by emotion ..........suffice to say that I was .

I could ramble on incessantly about why we should all remember (or maybe even learn about) what happened 70 years ago

on the beaches of Normandy .......I won't . I'm not one for telling people what they should or shouldn't do but take a minute or so tomorrow to remember what I personally feel is the United States of America's finest hour . I love my country & you should be very very proud of yours.

Rob.

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Putting aside why the U.S. got involved to begin with, and whether or not the ultimate goal was always national self interest, the period during and after WWII certainly helped to position the U.S. in a special position as the political, military, economic, and arguably moral leader of the free world. Hard for an American not to look favorably upon that period of time. Normandy was of course critical in the war effort, and the sacrifices of those soldiers, and all soldiers who were battling against the Axis shouldn't be downplayed or forgotten. And that goes beyond American forces alone, of course.

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Military history is a hobby of mine and I am fortunate enough to have four members of my family serve during WWII. Talking with them about the war was incredible. Sadly, they are all gone now, but I will see them again. Two Grandfathers served in the Navy and saw atrocities in the pacific. Two great Uncles both stormed the beaches and made it out alive. One was a Ranger Medic and he had a hard time talking about it. I am sure he experienced a lot of loss of life. My wife's Grandfather was side gunner on a B-25 Mitchel in the Pacific. Poor guy was deafened by the .50 cal machine gun he shot daily, but he was a treat to talk to about his service. He too has passed.

BHM, after speaking with you, I have done some research into the Royal Navy Commados. Those guys had it rough. Your Dad must have been a tough fella. Burma was hell on Earth.

The WWII Museum is located here in NOLA. Definitely worth the trip.

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Not too long before my grandfather passed away, he told me many stories about his experiences in the war. He hadn't told anyone these stories after returning home after the war, not even his wife of 50+ years. One story he did share openly was how he received his Purple Heart in Normandy (D-Day +14). He was part of an artillery unit that landed after D-Day to support the Allied push into France. He liked to say that he was the computer for the artillery system, he did all of the firing calculations for his unit. His unit was instructed to wear bright orange vests to distinguish themselves from the Germans. Unfortunately, whoever ordered the vests to be worn failed to consider that German snipers would still be crawling all over the area, and the bright orange vests looked like giant neon target signs.

So to avoid getting shot by snipers, his unit ditched the orange vests. This kept them safe from the German snipers but not the Allied air force. Without the orange vests his unit was mistaken for a German position and bombed. My grandfather had a sense of humor. He said if he and the others hadn't started running, they would have been able to catch the bomb in their arms. His big punchline to his Purple Heart story was that he was wounded in the ass from the blast.

After a brief stay in a field hospital, he returned to combat. These stories and experiences he never told to anyone except me. Although he was immensely proud of his service, he was deeply haunted by some of the things he experienced.

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I'd like to say two things.

First, it's a strange thing to talk about WWII from where I'm coming from. I guess I already talked about the story my grandfather - now 89 - told me about his experiences as a soldier in France and later on in a British POW camp in Africa, somewhere else. (If you count the years, he was 16 when he went to war in 1940.) I was with him as a child when he got re-united with a man he shared a tent with in Africa some 50 years later after the Berlin wall came down - it was quiet and quite an experience. Of course there were more family members involved in that war. A granduncle of mine was in Russia and ended up a POW in a Russian camp, but made his way home after the war, rather save and sound - still deeply haunted by his experiences. My other Grandfather died in the early days while his wife became a "Trümmerfrau" in the time after the war. Still, all those family members fought for Hitler. Or at least in his armies.


And second, but way more important: I am absolutely amazed by the fact, that I am here, just 70 years after my grandfathers were probably fighting some fathers and grandfathers of all of yours (I'm still the only Axis-guy around here, as far as I know), and I am able to talk to you guys from all over the world, in a peaceful and friendly manner. If I learned anything from history, it is that I am glad beyond comparison that this horrifying time of fucking fascist mindset domination is over and I do hope, that it will never ever have the chance to grow again. But I don't "love" my country. I feel very uncomfortable when I see German flaggs in somebody's garden, or on cars or other non-public places. I'm always afraid people showing them off have forgotten what happened. I hate it when people say, after 70s years, we shouldn't still burden ourselves with what our grandparents did, that we should overcome the past. There is no "beeing proud of my country" after Auschwitz. Bergen-Belsen. Buchenwald.

But I am glad that things have changed. I am. I don't love my country, but I love a lot of its people and I am happy to live here now. Unfortunatelly, when I'm looking at what stupid shit is going on right now in some areas in Germany and other places in Europe, times they are a-changin. Again.

Edited by Bob Harris
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I think there are a couple of Italian members here, though maybe not any who participate very much. One thing I fully realize, and I believe most others do as well in this day and age, is that the fascist governments of that time were a function of a specific economic, geographic, and political situation--influenced in large measure by the behavior of other states after WWI--where certain evil men and political groups managed to obtain and maintain control. But it could have happened almost anywhere, and those of us from other places are fortunate to have been in situations where fascism didn't take root (though we had inroads there in the U.S. with the "Red Scare").

I've had German friends who also are pretty uncomfortable with their nation's history. Like Bob, my wife had a German grandfather who fought for Nazi German, and also spent a lot of time in a Russian prison camp where he was seriously traumatized. In the U.S., we've got our own shameful history with treatment of Native Americans, and later African Americans, but we aren't shamed by it through our educational systems and upbringing. Maybe we should be. But largely folks tend to dismiss that as the actions of foolish people in a more primitive time, while in truth, it's just natural human behavior that could rear its head again at any time. We shouldn't forget our past or embrace the dark parts of it of course, but nor should we remain too traumatized by past events IMO. Hopefully we can learn and improve from it. Though I don't know how pervasive that mindset is in my own country.

Anyway, I think Germany has a lot to be proud of at the moment as Europe's economic leader, and one of the most critical OECD countries, among other things. The past is what it is, but if we were all held responsible for the sins of our forefathers then we would all be in some pretty deep trouble.

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My wife's best friend lives in Germany and is married to a German man. They visit us when they can and we plan to visit Germany when our son is a little older. He and I have talked in great depth about what happened in Germany and he too always seems uncomfortable talking about it. I always feel like he speaks almost apologetically about Germany's history between 1936 and the 1980s. I don't think Germans should be ashamed of their country, at all. It is history and if you learn from it, then you can move on.

Now, keep in mind I speak as an American who got his stories mostly from the mouths of American victors. History is written by the victorious. Germany is a country that has every right to be proud of its history and its people. Yes, there was a period where things took a turn, but Germany has accomplished incredible things and many countries owe discoveries in medicine and technology to the Germans. This is something people do not like to hear about Hitler, but he took the reigns of a shattered country and gave it its pride back. The many other horrific things he did totally over shadow any good he did, but he took a country that was wrecked by unemployment and inflation, and brought it back to life. He nearly took over the entire planet with this country! The horrors inflicted will never be forgotten and everyone realizes that. America is ashamed of its treatment of Natives and use of slaves. I took no part of that but I know it happened and I learned a better way.

My Grand-Father-In-Law, would not buy a Japanese car and got incredibly pissed off at my Mother-in-Law, when she did. I think when you live through that, it is a hard thing to let go of, but we must move on.

There is always going to be tyrants that threaten peoples ideas of freedom. We will deal with it.

I hope I have not offended anyone with my words. I am very proud of all the Allies of the Second World War and proud of the Axis countries that have continued to share a better way with the world. I think it is valid to suggest maybe I can easily forgive because I wasn't there. Yes, this is true, but forgiveness is the first step to rebuilding and we can't sit in a pile of ruins. That is just not productive.

Jeez, I am ranting...

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I like to think the Internet has brought more people together across the world. My grandfather, too, hated products made outside of America especially anything made in Germany or Japan for most of his life. But in the years leading up to his death, when I told him I was going to be living in Japan for several months in college, he told me he was very proud of me. He said he was amazed and proud by my generation's seeming ability to let go of past historical grievances.

I should note that imho my grandfather's haunted experiences had less to do with what was done to him during the war, but what he had to do to others. I've never served in the military, so it was an unexpected perspective for the younger me. At first, I didn't understand why his eyes teared up when he told me what happened to the "bad guys". Nothing "bad" was happening to him in the story. It was only later that I understood that the "bad guys" were human beings, many just soldiers not much different than my grandpa.

Speaking of Japan, my Japanese classmates had a similar discomfort with talking about WW2. At first it seemed strange to me as an American for a few reasons. 1. My generation doesn't see modern Germany, Italy or Japan as any sort of "enemy" or "other". Although our favorite "enemy" in fiction and video games is often Nazis, I think many in my generation and younger see these "Nazis" as more like Star Wars Stormtroopers, sort of like a generic, fictional bad guy. Hating video game Nazis has no seeming connection with modern day Germany or Japan; and we kinda expected their young people to see it the same way as we do. 2. As a history major in college, I had a more comprehensive view of the history and motivations of the Axis countries which were very complex and complicated. Also, you learn that it is problematic to make value judgments about any peoples in the past as the cultural and environmental context is usually much different than the present. I didn't see my Japanese classmates as being guilty of anything regarding WW2 in the slightest.

It didn't seem strange when I considered that Americans are generally uncomfortable talking about issues from our past - namely racism against minority groups. Bob mention's the stupid shit still going on in Europe, but Donald Sterling (Clipper's owner) and Justin Beiber shows that our stupid shit still goes on here in America, too. (Fun trivia - I had drinks last night with a former co-worker who once worked for Donald Sterling years ago. She witnessed first hand what a racist piece of shit he was, and she frequently overheard Clippers players complaining about him. It wasn't a secret.)

To me, hobby forum's like MMMV provide a place for like minded people around the world to share in their passions despite our many historical and cultural differences. It's really kinda cool when you think about it because these connections build bridges between peoples, and in aggregate moves humanity towards more peace and tolerance. One Minimate at a time.

smile.png

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The article itself plays on the fact that there were many D-Days prior to the specific D-Day of the Normandy landings ......D is the actual Day any particular operation took place , days leading up to the Day would be categorised as D-1,D-2 etc. whilst days subsequent would be D+1 ,D+2 etc.

The article is ironic but spot on.

If you get the opportunity watch the movie 'The Longest Day' which ,apparently, is extremely accurate & blessed with some great performances from movie icons ......1962 but it holds up fairly well.

........& of course 'Saving Private Ryan'.

Edited by buttheadsmate
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