Panther and Flak 88 found in basement

[IHaveAMustang]

I was going to say he meant non-com or got a field commission (and received the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross from Kaiser Wilhelm II).

After Hitler personally shook his hand and said "HEIL SVO855!"

[BP]

I was going to say he meant non-com or got a field commission (and received the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross from Kaiser Wilhelm II).

The Germans were also fond of using warrant officers instead of senior NCOs in front line combat. I doubt there were very many 18 year old warrant officers though.

[Shorty]

He died in 1996 at 96 years of age and was a German officer in both world wars.

[68RR]

Welll, my grandpap was born in 1900 and was an ambulance driver/medic during WW1. Volunteered for service during WW2 and did Civil Defense stateside. We actually had quite a few WW1 vets serve in WW2 who were in their early/mid 40's. You also have to keep in mind that during WW1, there were many who fought who were under 18.
A very good website on WW1

http://www.greatwar.nl/

[svauto-erotic855]

not even a low mile one owner Grand Marquis?

He left a lot more then that; just not a tank.

Grandpa must have really been something to be an eighteen year old German officer.

He was a cadet at 11 and an officer at 16; at 18 he had 2 years of combat experience against the Russians.

[Frank]

Anyone catch this other article? Underground nuclear facility found? http://www.newser.com/story/200626/s...nd-report.html

[CJ]

Police had been alerted to the threat by Berlin prosecutors

Yes, because a demilled 70 year old tank and anti aircraft gun owned by a geriatric is a threat. What a fucking joke. That article reads like a child wrote it. Typos and grammatical errors included. It sounds to me like the state seized some legally owned private property.

[Moose242]

A 16 year old officer who the government knew was not 17 (the minimum age required for service in the German Empire)?

According to R. H. Keller:

"A "Jugenwher"(youth Corp) was established in a local towns throughout Germany trained boys 14-17 years of age in the use of rifle and machine-gun, preparing them in basic military discipline for their future role as soldiers."

But your gramps was a 16 year old officer, not a regular soldier mind you, in either the Brusilov Offensive or the Romanian Campaign? Do you have evidence to prove this?

[svauto-erotic855]

Being from a wealthy family, knowing the right people, and going to the right military school meant that the normal rules did not apply. Germany was also fighting in a war of attrition and many, many exceptions were made to fill the gaps. I don't know what rank he began as but I do know that everyone from his class served as officers from the get go.

I am going from memory and would have to check with my mother for the fine details; she is the family history buff. I remember more of the WWII and Nam stories and not much about WWI.

[Silverback]

this mutha fucka got more stories than Craig after a few drinks!

[68RR]

Kid-Soldier, then Senator



Senator Mike Mansfield was a kid-soldier from the Great War, although not many people know that.
Mansfield was a son of Irish immigrants. In 1917, fourteen years old, he quit school and tried to enlist in the armed forces, but he was turned down.
He then went to the Catholic church where he had been baptized, obtained a copy of his birth certificate, and forged it to show that he was born a few years earlier.
With these papers he was accepted in the Navy and he crossed the Atlantic seven times before officers discovered he was underage and discharged him.
After the war he worked in copper mines, then took high school, then university. He became a professor in Far Eastern history and went into politics.
Mansfield served 34 years in Congress, 24 of those in the Senate (Democrats). He presided over the Senate from 1961 to 1976. The picture on the right was made in that time.
He was an early supporter of the Vietnam War, yet he became one of that war's most persistent critics when he learned that he had been deceived by the government. In 1976 he was appointed ambassador to Japan.
Michael Joseph Mansfield died on 5 October 2001. He was 98 years old. He never told much about his time in the war.

[Moose242]

Soldiers below and above the age of enlistment were not unusual in the slightest. However an officer would be almost unheard of at age freaking 16.

[68RR]

I'm not saying yea or nay, but just adding info on what was common back then. You just can't apply today's life to what happened back then. Considering the war started in 1914, and the losses (unreal) who's to say a war hardened youth might be looked upon as a leader??? Remember, we're talking about Germany, where males were trained at a very early age for military service..At 12 years of age, my grandpap was running the roundhouse for the Conemaugh and Blacklick Railroad. Can any of you imagine your kid doing that now???
Again, I'm just saying the beliefs and way of life back then was completely different than today. Anything could have happened.

[racrguy]

Something smells like bullshit...

[68RR]

excellent post!