Wished I was there right now to watch the ceremonies. It was a surreal experience in 2012 visiting the beaches, Carentan, St. Mere Eglise, Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer.
About 15 years ago I was at the VA hospital and had the privilege to briefly talk to a Navy Veteran who was part of Operation Overlord.He was 20 at the time and had been in service about 16 months and was assigned to a landing craft mechanized.That day and the months that followed are truly the greatest turning point in history.God Bless all that stepped up and unselfishly marched forward.
My wife was selected her senior year of high school to travel with the D-Day vets to Normandy on the 60th anniversary and spent a good bit of time with them listening to stories and life experiences. It’s the most memorable trip she’s taken. Amazing to see how many are still alive and able to attend the ceremony at Pointe du Hoc.
My uncle, Earl ‘One Lung’ McClung was one of the original soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. What he and all those men accomplished on this day 80 years ago is without parallel.
I just missed out seeing him one last time before he passed away back in 2013. We had just moved back to Colorado in June, he was living in the Veterans Home in Pueblo and passed away in November. What I would give go back 11 years so I could shake his hand one last time.
https://www.tribaltribune.com/news/article_d9d277b0-b7ab-11e9-bf14-f7984f630553.html
I recognized his photo immediately. That’s your uncle?
What I would give go back 11 years so I could shake his hand one last time.
I can imagine. Also, epic nickname. There’s a story behind that I’m sure.
I don’t know the proper term, technically my Grandmother’s cousin. Growing up everyone was an aunt or uncle if they were my parents or grandparents generation. Very small community on the Colville Reservation!
From what I’ve been told, his nickname was just a goofy saying. In the Band of Brothers book, I believe it goes into details about him sleeping and someone slung a machine gun around him and said (paraphrasing) “who hung the gun on One Lung McClung”.
As a kid I heard stories about WWII about him, my grandfather, and other “uncles”. But it wasn’t until I joined the Marines and started to really study WWII history that I realized just what heros these guys where. The sad part, every of them had broken bodies and souls. PTSD was so rampant and ignored by their generation. Self medication with alcohol was quite common in my family because of that. Not trying to dampen any spirits on this 80th anniversary, just providing my own little insight into these hero’s lives.
I’ll raise a glass in all their honor today.
ETA: While out walking my dogs, I recalled my uncle Albert, my grandfather’s brother, flew in B-17’s in the European Theater as a machine gunner. I’ve mentioned him before, he was an infamous burglar in the 1950’s in the Palouse area of Washington. I am not sure if he flew on D-Day in support of the landings so I’m going to dig through some family paperwork and the book my aunt wrote about our family history and see if I can piece that together.
My uncle, Earl ‘One Lung’ McClung was one of the original soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. What he and all those men accomplished on this day 80 years ago is without parallel.
I just missed out seeing him one last time before he passed away back in 2013. We had just moved back to Colorado in June, he was living in the Veterans Home in Pueblo and passed away in November. What I would give go back 11 years so I could shake his hand one last time.
https://www.tribaltribune.com/...14-f7984f630553.html
Much respect.
I don’t know the proper term, technically my Grandmother’s cousin. Growing up everyone was an aunt or uncle if they were my parents or grandparents generation. Very small community on the Colville Reservation!
From what I’ve been told, his nickname was just a goofy saying. In the Band of Brothers book, I believe it goes into details about him sleeping and someone slung a machine gun around him and said (paraphrasing) “who hung the gun on One Lung McClung”.
As a kid I heard stories about WWII about him, my grandfather, and other “uncles”. But it wasn’t until I joined the Marines and started to really study WWII history that I realized just what heros these guys where. The sad part, every of them had broken bodies and souls. PTSD was so rampant and ignored by their generation. Self medication with alcohol was quite common in my family because of that. Not trying to dampen any spirits on this 80th anniversary, just providing my own little insight into these hero’s lives.
I’ll raise a glass in all their honor today.
ETA: While out walking my dogs, I recalled my uncle Albert, my grandfather’s brother, flew in** B-17’s in the European Theater as a machine gunner**. I’ve mentioned him before, he was an infamous burglar in the 1950’s in the Palouse area of Washington. I am not sure if he flew on D-Day in support of the landings so I’m going to dig through some family paperwork and the book my aunt wrote about our family history and see if I can piece that together.
It would be interesting to know more about his time as a machine gunner. All the books I read were written by pilots, I can’t find anything written by other crewmembers.
ETA: While out walking my dogs, I recalled my uncle Albert, my grandfather’s brother, flew in B-17’s in the European Theater as a machine gunner. I’ve mentioned him before, he was an infamous burglar in the 1950’s in the Palouse area of Washington. I am not sure if he flew on D-Day in support of the landings so I’m going to dig through some family paperwork and the book my aunt wrote about our family history and see if I can piece that together.
do you remember which gunner position he was?
one of my most formative memories was reading “Ash Wednesday '45” when i was probably WAY too young to really read it. but what those crews went through was absolutely astonishing.
https://www.amazon.com/Ash-Wednesday-45-Frank-Westie/dp/1884739091
I don’t know the proper term, technically my Grandmother’s cousin. Growing up everyone was an aunt or uncle if they were my parents or grandparents generation. Very small community on the Colville Reservation!
From what I’ve been told, his nickname was just a goofy saying. In the Band of Brothers book, I believe it goes into details about him sleeping and someone slung a machine gun around him and said (paraphrasing) “who hung the gun on One Lung McClung”.
As a kid I heard stories about WWII about him, my grandfather, and other “uncles”. But it wasn’t until I joined the Marines and started to really study WWII history that I realized just what heros these guys where. The sad part, every of them had broken bodies and souls. PTSD was so rampant and ignored by their generation. Self medication with alcohol was quite common in my family because of that. Not trying to dampen any spirits on this 80th anniversary, just providing my own little insight into these hero’s lives.
I’ll raise a glass in all their honor today.
ETA: While out walking my dogs, I recalled my uncle Albert, my grandfather’s brother, flew in B-17’s in the European Theater as a machine gunner. I’ve mentioned him before, he was an infamous burglar in the 1950’s in the Palouse area of Washington. I am not sure if he flew on D-Day in support of the landings so I’m going to dig through some family paperwork and the book my aunt wrote about our family history and see if I can piece that together.
He must not have been a waist gunner. Their survival rate wasn’t too good.
axlsix3 and jkhayc, looking back through stuff my aunt collected over the years and her book, my uncle Ab (Albert McKinney) was drafted April 1942 and flew out of England and Algiers as a Belly gunner. Made his 25 missions, so I am not sure he was still around for D-Day.
He was promoted to Staff Sergeant after he was sent back to the states, then discharged, but I don’t know that date. His decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal (w/ 3 oak leaf clusters) and flew on Lady Luck. I remember seeing a picture of him and his crew alongside her nose as air crews commonly did back then, but I couldn’t say for sure the nose said Lady Luck.
I take some of what been passed along of his service with a grain of salt as I don’t know everything first hand, and he was a convicted murder, so there is that. But he definitely served. I last saw him a few years before he died in 1993, he was a pretty introverted and a heavy drinker. I remember my Grandfather telling me Ab was haunted from bombing civilian targets, schools and churches.
My uncle, Earl ‘One Lung’ McClung was one of the original soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. What he and all those men accomplished on this day 80 years ago is without parallel.
I just missed out seeing him one last time before he passed away back in 2013. We had just moved back to Colorado in June, he was living in the Veterans Home in Pueblo and passed away in November. What I would give go back 11 years so I could shake his hand one last time.
https://www.tribaltribune.com/...14-f7984f630553.html
Respect the man to no end, that nickname had me laughing.
axlsix3 and jkhayc, looking back through stuff my aunt collected over the years and her book, my uncle Ab (Albert McKinney) was drafted April 1942 and flew out of England and Algiers as a Belly gunner. Made his 25 missions, so I am not sure he was still around for D-Day.
He was promoted to Staff Sergeant after he was sent back to the states, then discharged, but I don’t know that date. His decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal (w/ 3 oak leaf clusters) and flew on Lady Luck. I remember seeing a picture of him and his crew alongside her nose as air crews commonly did back then, but I couldn’t say for sure the nose said Lady Luck.
I take some of what been passed along of his service with a grain of salt as I don’t know everything first hand, and he was a convicted murder, so there is that. But he definitely served. I last saw him a few years before he died in 1993, he was a pretty introverted and a heavy drinker. I remember my Grandfather telling me Ab was haunted from bombing civilian targets, schools and churches.
Sounds like he had a rollercoaster and very interesting life. Ups and downs all along the way. Be curious to know if the schools and churches were supposed to be full at the time of bombing or just part of the plan to destroy the infrastructure of the entire town, or they had intel they were potential storage sites for munitions etc.
I think Belly gunners were also known as ball turret gunners. The short guys went in there.
Wished I was there right now to watch the ceremonies. It was a surreal experience in 2012 visiting the beaches, Carentan, St. Mere Eglise, Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer.
A year ago I got a new patient. George is 104 and he tried to enlist early in the war. His vision wasn’t good enough. He used his glasses to memorize the eye chart whilst in line at recruiting. But they must have cottoned on because when his turn came they changed the chart and he failed. So he got put in administration in Canada for the duration and for a 20 year career after.
Everybody seems to publicly have the sentiment of “lets not forget” which is great but I would be surprised if we could in our day ever get significant numbers of people to sign up.
Hope this comes through, I’m not up on how to upload pictures. Earl gave my Grandmother an inscribed copy of the Band of Brothers book when it came out.
My Grandmother and her sister were some kinda hellraisers back in the day. Now those were some stories too!
Wished I was there right now to watch the ceremonies. It was a surreal experience in 2012 visiting the beaches, Carentan, St. Mere Eglise, Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer.
A year ago I got a new patient. George is 104 and he tried to enlist early in the war. His vision wasn’t good enough. He used his glasses to memorize the eye chart whilst in line at recruiting. But they must have cottoned on because when his turn came they changed the chart and he failed. So he got put in administration in Canada for the duration and for a 20 year career after.
Everybody seems to publicly have the sentiment of “lets not forget” which is great but I would be surprised if we could in our day ever get significant numbers of people to sign up.
Not a chance. This generation (18-30 year olds) would never sign up or be as brave and self-sacrificing as previous generations. This is all my opinion and nothing but anecdotal information, but I just don’t see it. Those raised on phones, social media, instagram and tick toc are built different.
Wished I was there right now to watch the ceremonies. It was a surreal experience in 2012 visiting the beaches, Carentan, St. Mere Eglise, Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer.
A year ago I got a new patient. George is 104 and he tried to enlist early in the war. His vision wasn’t good enough. He used his glasses to memorize the eye chart whilst in line at recruiting. But they must have cottoned on because when his turn came they changed the chart and he failed. So he got put in administration in Canada for the duration and for a 20 year career after.
Everybody seems to publicly have the sentiment of “lets not forget” which is great but I would be surprised if we could in our day ever get significant numbers of people to sign up.
Not a chance. This generation (18-30 year olds) would never sign up or be as brave and self-sacrificing as previous generations. This is all my opinion and nothing but anecdotal information, but I just don’t see it. Those raised on phones, social media, instagram and tick toc are built different.
I don’t think it has much to do with phones etc. All the freedom we have is great but it has produced the sentiment that we just don’t owe that much to each other. And we don’t expect that other people owe us much either. The level of patriotism that would allow most people to sign up for war that requires deep love of God or country.
Wished I was there right now to watch the ceremonies. It was a surreal experience in 2012 visiting the beaches, Carentan, St. Mere Eglise, Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer.
A year ago I got a new patient. George is 104 and he tried to enlist early in the war. His vision wasn’t good enough. He used his glasses to memorize the eye chart whilst in line at recruiting. But they must have cottoned on because when his turn came they changed the chart and he failed. So he got put in administration in Canada for the duration and for a 20 year career after.
Everybody seems to publicly have the sentiment of “lets not forget” which is great but I would be surprised if we could in our day ever get significant numbers of people to sign up.
Not a chance. This generation (18-30 year olds) would never sign up or be as brave and self-sacrificing as previous generations. This is all my opinion and nothing but anecdotal information, but I just don’t see it. Those raised on phones, social media, instagram and tick toc are built different.
I don’t think it has much to do with phones etc. All the freedom we have is great but it has produced the sentiment that we just don’t owe that much to each other. And we don’t expect that other people owe us much either. The level of patriotism that would allow most people to sign up for war that requires deep love of God or country.
I agree 100% but also see this generation as simply soft, too comfortable, detached from each other and more self-centered than ever before. I think Social media etc has intensified these things and kicked it in high gear.
People are also more divided on core issues in this country than ever before. Many would not want to go to war to fight for things they are vehemently against.
Hope this comes through, I’m not up on how to upload pictures. Earl gave my Grandmother an inscribed copy of the Band of Brothers book when it came out.
My Grandmother and her sister were some kinda hellraisers back in the day. Now those were some stories too!
That is awesome.
Wished I was there right now to watch the ceremonies. It was a surreal experience in 2012 visiting the beaches, Carentan, St. Mere Eglise, Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer.
A year ago I got a new patient. George is 104 and he tried to enlist early in the war. His vision wasn’t good enough. He used his glasses to memorize the eye chart whilst in line at recruiting. But they must have cottoned on because when his turn came they changed the chart and he failed. So he got put in administration in Canada for the duration and for a 20 year career after.
Everybody seems to publicly have the sentiment of “lets not forget” which is great but I would be surprised if we could in our day ever get significant numbers of people to sign up.
Not a chance. This generation (18-30 year olds) would never sign up or be as brave and self-sacrificing as previous generations. This is all my opinion and nothing but anecdotal information, but I just don’t see it. Those raised on phones, social media, instagram and tick toc are built different.
It would be very easy. In 42 there were 3.9 million US military. There are currently 1.2 million active and 800k reserve.
3 million were drafted in 42 alone. 10 million americans total were drafted in ww2. Only 38% of ww2 american troops were volunteer.