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Post by Laker on Feb 24, 2024 15:45:01 GMT -5
My father and uncles all served in WW II, and rarely spoke of it. Also, they drank like fishes, as did their friends, so there’s that. Someone else commented on this statement and I thought I’d toss the Vietnam perspective onto this. When my company came in to base camp for a “stand down” after spending multiple weeks in the boonies (I think there were three in my 12 month tour) it was a TOTAL RELEASE and we partied hard and slept where you fell. Every company in my battalion had its own club and in my company there were two brick buildings, our club and our yellow-brick sh*t-house with the rest of the company housed in general-purpose tents. When I left in ‘67 we had wooden barracks but the club and “latrine” were still there. I found this photo of one of the “stand downs” my company had while I was a member. I can’t remember when this was taken, but if it was Christmas of ‘66 I’d be in this somewhere. Our brick club is the small building on the right in the photo. The yellow brick latrine would have been to the right (behind the wooden barracks).
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Post by samspade on Feb 24, 2024 16:31:59 GMT -5
As most have said, the guys especially in WWII won't go into detail about their heroics or any of the bad stuff they saw. I knew a few, and when they opened up, it wasn't easy.
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argo
Wholenote
Posts: 400
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Post by argo on Feb 24, 2024 18:46:33 GMT -5
Don Shipley is not only fearless but quite comical in his searching and confronting fake Navy seals. Utube is full of his videos.
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Post by HeavyDuty on Feb 25, 2024 13:55:30 GMT -5
What I found: The 2013 Medal of Valor law identifies several specific military awards that it is illegal to claim with intent to gain benefits
(The intent to get money, property or some other benefit by making the false claim in doing so.) They include: Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Navy Cross Air Force Cross Silver Star Bronze Star Purple Heart Combat Action Ribbon Combat Infantryman’s Badge Combat Action Badge Combat Medical Badge Combat Action Medal Replacement or duplicate medals “for such medal as authorized by law” The penalties for stolen valor under the 2013 act can include fines and/or up to six months imprisonment. Apparently, just bragging about non-existent military service is no more criminal than the fishing story about "the one that got away." Interesting that claiming unearned rank isn’t on the list.
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Post by jonnyblooz on Mar 6, 2024 18:19:06 GMT -5
I'll never forget the time I was waiting to get a haircut, and an elderly gentleman came in. He sat next to me and I noticed a 101st Airborne pin hammered into his cane. I acknowledged his service and made sure he knew how much I admired him for it. He proceeded to tell me of his exploits in the Korean war. He was captured and imprisoned, but led an escape and took his fellow POW's to freedom and earning the Congressional Medal of Honor. I was duly impressed, and just then my name was called, and I deferred to the gentleman to go in front of me. He thanked me and as he got up, I shook his hand and asked his name. I quickly jotted it down on my bookmark as I wanted to remember him. There is a directory online of all MOH recipients...............His name was not on it. Nor did Google yield any dramatic POW escape stories from the Korean war. There was a medic I served with in Vietnam who was awarded the Medal of Honor, Charles Hagemeister, who was a SPC4 then and retired from the Army as a Lt Colonel before passing away in 2021. By the way, I have a CIB and I never had an infantry MOS. I also was awarded the Air Medal for completing a minimum of 25 combat air-assaults (jumping off a Huey) but, because I didn’t have an infantry MOS, it was awarded for “one hundred direct support missions”. The Army works in mysterious ways. I just read the account of your friend's actions: mohmuseum.org/medal_of_honor/charles-hagemeister/ Wow! I've read tons of memoirs of combat, but my jaw is still on the carpet. I'm in awe and I'm glad you made it home. Thank you.
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Post by Leftee on Mar 6, 2024 18:22:40 GMT -5
I would have been one of those “pushed off the Huey” guys.
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Post by LTB on Mar 7, 2024 19:57:29 GMT -5
Un-merited braggarts drive me crazy!
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Post by WireDog on Mar 8, 2024 1:54:43 GMT -5
Speaking of getting a haircut...
I was waiting my turn to get a haircut at Camp Victory at the Baghdad International Airport, (the BIAP). It was a huge complex with many amenities for the soldiers at that time, around 2006. The barbershop was a plastic building near the PX and "Green Bean" Coffee shop. I sat quietly on a bench outside with a couple of other G. I.s. I was a contractor. I started some small talk, being pleasant. It was a beautiful day, not too blazing hot, with clear blue skies, and I felt great.
How's it going?, I asked this young Specialist. He told me that he and two other guys next to him were crewmen on a Stryker armored vehicle that had been attacked, and that their Lieutenant was killed. They looked like kids. They were accompanying his remains as it was being prepped to go home, and one of them was going with him on the plane all the way to his house. I don't remember what I said, condolences of course, but I'll never forget the looks on their young faces, the quiet, matter of fact tone, and how sad it made me.
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Post by Laker on Mar 8, 2024 16:45:48 GMT -5
Speaking of getting a haircut... You gave me a memory. I found that having longer hair was a PIA because the weight of that damned steel pot would pull my hair. We had a pair of those mechanical hair-clippers, you operate by squeezing the handles, that was so dull it could hardly cut warm butter. After trying to cut my hair with it and ripping out more than I cut, I got a scissors and just whacked the hair off any way I could. The relief of not getting the hair tugged on was wonderful.
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Post by hushnel on Mar 9, 2024 10:00:15 GMT -5
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Post by Vibroluxer on Mar 9, 2024 10:08:20 GMT -5
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argo
Wholenote
Posts: 400
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Post by argo on Mar 9, 2024 11:46:32 GMT -5
Seems odd to like hushnel's post but thanks for sharing.
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