Thanks for sharing your story. I too have met many men who served in WWII and their stories never cease to amaze me. Those men are known as the "Greatest Generation" and with thousands of stories like his its no wonder why. I know a lot of people who feel that they may have been the "last great" generation." I think I disagree. I work as an admissions officer at West Point and get to see daily the quality of young men and women our country produces. Amazing. I have no doubt our country is in very capable hands and will continue to produce great men and women. When we talk to these youngsters, 16, 17, 18 years old, they tell us that 9/11 was their generations "Pearl Harbor" and that this is their calling. Unfortunately there are too many people in our country who do not share his, and their, sense of patriotism and pride in knowing that for all we do wrong we are light years ahead in the things we do right. Below is something else to remind you of another type of service that a group of men provide. Its the story of the men who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I couldn't get the pics to copy but the story is still incredible.


Bob



Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the
1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the
tomb of the Unknowns and why?

21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the
highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.






2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his
return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1








3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the
rifle.













4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time
and if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb.
After his march across the path, he executes an about face
and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.




5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes,
twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.













6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be
between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30." Other
requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the
tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on
or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the
rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in
any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on
their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only
400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their
lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat
and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the
top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.
There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty
in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor
watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid
to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are
and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe
E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most
decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for
guard duty.




ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our
US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC
evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the
hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They
respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin,
marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding
the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be
afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously,
24/7, since 1930.




God Bless and keep them.


I don't usually suggest that many emails be forwarded, but I'd be
very proud if this one reached as many as possible. We can be very proud
of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.

It's good to keep up reminding what these men and boys went through and why. Check this link :

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/...ningate/lastpost.htm

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Fuck a duck and try to fly

Thank you for posting that link. There is so much military history in Belgium. I was there last spring for the Duathlon worlds and got to do a little visiting to some of those sites but did not know about this tradition. Again very nice and thanks.

The dad of a close friend of mine passed away a year ago commanded the first unit of Patton's to counter attack the Germans at the Bulge. Nobody had known he was awarded a silver star with clusters till after he died. It's good some are telling their experiences because others are lost forever.

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Jay

I agree with everything you said here.

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

I've got a very old uncle that was there. I should record his story.

If you ever cross the ocean to Europe again, I can warmly advise you to pay a visit to one of the Nazi concentration camps. They are all over Europe...

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Fuck a duck and try to fly

A few months back I met a man who was an Israeli commando back when Israel fought for their independence back in 1948(?). It was an honor.

two quick war stories:

While we were stationed in Germany (1993-ish) my driver married a girl from the former eastern-side of Germany. Her family trhrew them a party and a bunch of us from the company when.

Her family lived about 10 mins from Buckenwald. The camp is in a very secluded and wooded area. The most humbling aspect was the walk from the car to the entrance. At one point as we got closer to the camp you suddenly realize you don't hear ANYTHING anymore, no bugs, no birds....nothing. Something I'll never forget.

We also stopped and did some trading with the Russian troops that were still there. We pulled out some old BDUs and they when racing into their barracks and came back with all kinds of stuff.

If I can find the pics I'll see if I can get them scanned and post.

Every year in the 82d Airborne Divisoin they have All-American Week in MAy-ish. Every Parachute Infantry Regiment has a reunion that week. I was in the 504th PIR at the time. At one of the reunions I was talking to one of the old-timers, he asked how many jumps I had. I told him 45, he said he had 3 - Sicily, Salerno, and Normandy.

Jim

"If you ever cross the ocean to Europe again, I can warmly advise you to pay a visit to one of the Nazi concentration camps. They are all over Europe..."


Yes, it is a shame that the leaders of the US, France, and Britain did not take steps to stop Hitler before he became such a threat. Perhaps those concentration camps and mass graves could have been avoided and all those cemeteries in Belgium not so full if only someone had had the courage of his convictions to stand up to that dictator. Of course, whoever did it would probably have been castigated by the more "enlightened" citizens of the world.

I'm from the baby boomer generation. To hear a similiar story all most of us boomers ever had to do was talk to our dads. My dad flew a Spitfire in WWII.

My dad has always said that there were also a lot of fine young men flying Messerschmitts also also, but they were all just kids and nobody realized what they were caught up in.

Last summer my dad took my teenage son to the air museum in Ottawa where there is a lot of WWII exhibits. Gave my son a perspective of what his grandfather went through.

"If you ever cross the ocean to Europe again, I can warmly advise you to pay a visit to one of the Nazi concentration camps. They are all over Europe..."


I've actually been to Dachau where today it is a memorial to the many victims who died there. It was certainly a chilling reminder of a very dark part of history.

Maybourne,
Don't delay... I was fortunate to have good conversations with my uncle (B-24 navigator Africa/Italy), he passed away 20 years ago, father-in-law (B-29 navagator-flew the Hump to support his own missions flown from China to being one of the first to emergency land on Iwo Jima), he passed away a year ago last Christmas, and my own father, Iwo Jima, fortunately still kicking but at 83.
Jay

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Jay

My girlfriends grandfather was a combat photographer in the pacific theater from 42 - 45 I think. He told me he spent about 6 months on "The Canal" as he called it, that is all I could get him to open up about. I don't know him that well so I didn't want to press the issue, even though I could listen all day if he were up for telling his stories

Anyway while visiting Arlington cemetary last year I started thinking if it was possible for me to get ahold of any of the pictures he may have been credited with during the war. Does anyone know if the archives are publically available to search. This guy is a huge photography fan and still takes great pictures today at age 89.

Oh and he is still full of piss and vinegar as he was in '42

Maybe if you showed him this thread you would demonstrate how important his story is to so many people.

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Jay

My grandfather was able to convince his Dad to forge his age which allowed him to enter the Army underage. He served in Patton's army as an artilleryman in support of the Bulge effort. The stories he told me were nothing short of amazing. He and I would sit for hours as he went through the details of his adventures. He was happy to talk about it and echoed the sentiment held by most people his age that this was the duty and calling of their generation.

He'll be the first to say that war is hell and didn't wish it on anyone. He also said that his life was changed and shaped by what he saw on the battlefield. He made a career of the Army and went from a buck private to the rank of Colonel. Went on to participate in the Korean Conflict (The Forgotten War)...had just as many stories of that hell on earth than WWII.

In any event, if anyone has the opportunity to talk to a vet...do it.

http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/.../Whos_Who/Fox_WL.htm

Here is a link to the USMC Division of History and Museums. If they don't have an archive of WWII photography, I'll eat my combat boots.

I linked you to a biography of one of the true heroes of the USMC in Vietnam, a man who I had the pleasure of meeting during my time in, COL Wes Fox. Nicest guy you'd ever want to meet, unless you were trying to kill him in the jungle.

There are several inaccuracies in your Q/A regarding the tomb sentinals.

Best and most sobering experience from my college days was taking a brief class simply called "The Holocaust". We all did a project and presented at the end of the class. We had holocaust survivors come in and talk to the class. I still remember so many vivid details of the class, especially the final day. I could just tell that this was a special moment in the lives of all those present. There was a time for questions and answers.

One person asked the question "why are you here talking to our class today?"

"Never again" was the simple answer.

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Relax2dmax

"Just remember there is only 2 letters difference between STUD and STUPID." Heard on the course of the 1998 Lost Boys Ultramarathon

What are they? The rules for the sentinals seem amazingly strict.

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http://www.tombguard.org/...20of%20their%20lives?

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Thanks - that sounds a little more reasonable.

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You are correct. I failed to verify. Big mistake. I trusted the source which will not happen again. Truth is though only a few of the statements were fallacies. The meat of the story remains accurate and true.

We stayed in Ieper last year for the Tour and went to the Gate. Very moving. And Flanders is a great place to tour--the cycling is great and there is so much history there.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com