Met a Vet last night..

[fitzwell]

So,I'm at the bar in Hammond,pinching tails,drinking beer,and generally enjoying life. Notice an older gentleman across the bar with a WWII Veteran cap. I wander over,thank him for his service,and offer to buy him a beer. I got rewarded with 20 minutes of stories,from him hitch-hiking to Shreveport to enlist, to some the stories of what he saw in the Pacific. Folks, if you ever see one of these WWII vets,thank 'em. There aren't many left...

[03trubluGT]

There is a WWII Marine vet at the 24hourfitness I go to. From one Marine to another, I expressed my appreciation for his service.

[helosailor]

Very cool and very true. Getting one that's willing to talk about isn't always easy. My uncle wasn't very willing to talk about much about the war, some of the stuff he saw, I can't even imagine.
Treasure them while they're still around though, we owe them so much.

[Superwho]

One of the guys they based The Pacific on was at the gun show at market hall. Everyone was just walking by him at his table. He had some books there. I sat down and talked with him for a good long while, and bought the book just as way to say thanks. All the gun nuts just kept walking by, not one would stop and say thanks for doing what you did, so I can be here to look at all these overpriced weapons. But, I guess it's a Marine thing. Semper Fi Trublu.

[Jimbo]

I see my grandfather regularly. He is a three war vet, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

[D. Lil]

I see my grandfather regularly. He is a three war vet, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

he must be a fucking sav

[03trubluGT]

I see my grandfather regularly. He is a three war vet, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

He needs one of these:

[fitzwell]

He needs one of these:

This. Tell him thanks.

[Jimbo]

he must be a fucking sav

I am unsure of the meaning of "sav". He's a grumpy fucker, if thats it. He was in the army in the 40's when he was asked to join this "new" Air force, lol. He finished out his years in USAF.

[Jimbo]

He needs one of these:

Naw, he says it enough not to need the wallet

[BP]

I see my grandfather regularly. He is a three war vet, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

So is my dad, he originally enlisted in the Army Air Corps and when he reupped it was being converted into the Air Force. Well for that matter so is one of my uncles, he enlisted in the Navy the same time my dad did the Army and served 30 years. His other two brothers also went Navy, one retired at 20 as an E-9 and the other I'm not sure how long he served. They are both deceased now though.

Technically Korea and Vietnam weren't wars though, we haven't formally declared war since WW2. Lots of action in Vietnam and Korea but not even close to what went into WW2.

[Treasure Chest]

Very cool and very true. Getting one that's willing to talk about isn't always easy. My uncle wasn't very willing to talk about much about the war, some of the stuff he saw, I can't even imagine.
Treasure them while they're still around though, we owe them so much.

If you ever get the chance to attend a reunion for the USS New Orleans, do it! They've met around Texas for the last few years. It was the ship that lost 150 ft of their bow in the battle of Tassafaronga, and rigged a bow of coconut logs so they could limp to Sydney.

As they're getting older, they're speaking a lot more freely about their experiences. There are very few things in this world as profound and moving as seeing these great men speak about their service.

[Forever_frost]

Everytime I run into another vet, we stop and talk shop. It's a blast.

[Pro88LX]

He needs one of these:

id say he deserves 3 of those!

[suckerdin]

I can never get my grandfather to open up about his was stories.

He served 20 years in the Navy, most of which was on the USS Saratoga. Retired E-9.

he only talks about the widely known things. ("When i was in the navy, we didn't have cell phones and email. We had letters and that was it.") I just want to say, "Come on Gramps, talk about the cool shit!"