War stories (1 Viewer)

[Fullyautomatic]

Hello all.I know everyone probably has a war story or two but I'm lucky that my job allows me interaction to alot of WWII vets.I have talked to all walks of military personnel from the Allies side but for this particular thread I'd like to share the story of a German point of view.This gentleman was 11 when the Allies came knocking on the Berlin door.He was forced into the Hitler Youth with a decision of fighting for your country or be shot.Well he told me he was young but not stupid so he decided to fight.His best friend at the time and himself were given each a Panzerfaust(with minimal training) and told to watch a crossroads just outside of there small village.Any enemy tanks that approached were to be destroyed.Well on the second day of their watch this gentleman told me that Allied tanks approached over the hill,heading directly towards them.Of course when I asked him what happened he looked at me and said once again,"I was young but not stupid.I crapped my pants,through the Panzerfaust down and ran away."This gentleman survived the war and had moved to the US many years ago to enjoy retirement.
Anyways it was my first story I'd heard told through the eyes of a young German boy.He told me that he never saw his best friend again after that and assumed he was killed by the advancing tanks.He says he lives with a small amount of shame for running but he would rather have that than be dead.
Another story I was told was from a ball turret gunner in a B17 who flew over Europe.He personnally was an ace for shooting down at least 5 German aircraft confirmed.He also survived being shot down twice and bailing out.This guy expalined the lonliness of being in such a confined space and actually seeing the faces of the German pilots as they came from below.Also the horror of seeing so many airmen never get out of there flaming bombers once they were hit by fighters or flak.
Just a couple of stories I have been told over the years and I thought I'd share with the forum.Please feel free to add more.

 

[jazzeum]

That's quite impressive. What does your friend do today? Retired I assume. I'd like to think that on both sides, this story wasn't too dissimilar and that at least towards the end allied and german soldiers were just trying to survive.

This doesn't compare to that but my first boss when I got out of law school had been a lieutenant in the Navy in the Pacific and had two ships shot out from under him. It's safe to say, he wasn't crazy about the Japanese. Anyway, as the new guy, I'd work late and before he'd leave, he'd say to me "you're SOPA." Senior Officer Present Aboard.

I've never forgotten that or what a gentleman he was. Rest in peace Lyle, my friend.

 

[bsager]

I love war stories. They really make you feel like your there. It's amazing what some people have gone through wheather or not they are on the Allies or Axis sides. The stories have a lot of similarity.

Bill

 

[Peter Reuss]

For every veteran who tells war stories, there's another veteran like my grandfather. He served as a signalman in the Pacific in WWII. After he got out of the service, some military person stopped by his home to present him with a medal of some sort (the family still doesn't know what it was - I wish I did). Instead of receiving it, he kicked them out of the house, shouting, "I only did what I had to do."

Many veterans saw and endured things that no human should ever see or endure. My grandpa never talked about his days in the service. Ever. To anyone - not even my grandma. Until his funeral, I never knew that he had even served in the military.

I have known plenty of people who didn't see much action who like to talk about the grand days of the war. I've known plenty more who saw too much and have tried to forget it all.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi All,

While I served in the Army I had the great privlidge to be stationed in Germany. I met a lot of great locals and one, my future wifes landlord, was a Mechanized Infantry Man during the war. He had some scars and the tips of several fingers were missing. He spoke nearly no english but we had some fantastic discussions of his life during the war. He told us all about his time in the low countries and France and when he was sent east for the opening salvos of Operation Barbarossa. He spent three years fighting in Russia and has some very interesting things to say about "Ivan". We spent an evening discussing his tour of duty and he showed me on a detail map all of the places he had been and I have to tell you I can believe he survived these fights as intact as he did. He did not fight against the Americans and really loves the U.S.A. and thinks we saved his country from the reds. I for one found his story to be really interesting and wish I could've spent more time discussing the battles he was involved in with more detail. But I am glad he discussed his time in service with me. He also had some funny stories about France. I wish I could have had these discussions with my uncle who was in the Merchant Marine and was all over the world on Liberty ships both armed and unarmed ones which he said was very scarry. So if you know a vet you should try and discuss what they did if they are willing you might be surprised what you learn.

Dave

 

[DMNamiot]

For every veteran who tells war stories, there's another veteran like my grandfather. He served as a signalman in the Pacific in WWII. After he got out of the service, some military person stopped by his home to present him with a medal of some sort (the family still doesn't know what it was - I wish I did). Instead of receiving it, he kicked them out of the house, shouting, "I only did what I had to do."

Many veterans saw and endured things that no human should ever see or endure. My grandpa never talked about his days in the service. Ever. To anyone - not even my grandma. Until his funeral, I never knew that he had even served in the military.

I have known plenty of people who didn't see much action who like to talk about the grand days of the war. I've known plenty more who saw too much and have tried to forget it all.

Hi Peter,

If you are interested in your fathers service record you can get copies of them from the National Archives, they need info like his SSN or if you have it his service number. That way you might be able to learn a little more about where he served and what the medal was they tried to give him. Best of luck.

Dave

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Hi there, I also talk to vets whenever there is an opportunity and usually the first things they talk about are the travel away from home, for many the first time ever, their buddies, food, the women. I have also heard some interesting combat stories and I will share some from time to time.
As far as the Panzerfaust... I also knew a fellow that was in the HJ at the end of the war. He told me that the Volksturm was mobilized at the end when the Russians were outside their town and he and one of his young friends were given a panzerfaust and told to ambush the Russians if they could.
Two Russian T-34s entered their neighborhood and they went into a cellar to watch out a window as they came down the street. He told me that the first one stopped just in front of the cellar window and they looked at each other and tried to decide what to do...
He fired the thing than ran like hell! He told me that they hid out at a girls house and changed back into civilian clothes. The next day they went to see if they had hit anything and there sat the burned out hulk of the T-34. He said that was the end of his career fighting tanks. He later moved to Canada with his parents, and I met him through some Canadian friends who are interested in 18th century military history. The subject came up when we started talking about all the war souveniers that US service men brought home and I mentioned that my uncle had given me a volksturm armband when I was a kid.

 

[Fubar]

Thats quite a story Ken.He was a lucky kid to have survived.
Now I have a story.
Theres a man I have known since day one. Mr. Long. Lives down old Pheasant lane in our little town.I talk to him every few days or so when I'm at my dads little farm. Anyway, we were talking current events.AIr conditioning at Gitmo and such. Airconditioning hell he said, we either lost weight sweating in the Pacific or were drenched and up to our tails in mud.
" When were you in the Pacific?"
"WW2 , Ya ever here of it???"
I was flabbergasted. " I had no clue he was a Marine.
His Regiment mopped up Saipan after it was " secured" They killed 500 or more hold outs.I won't get into the main tactic , involves white phosporus grenades .He's a hardcore kind of guy, and it seems they had utter contempt for the Japanese { understandlably at the time} , and he came across that they dispatched them as if they were no more than varmints, gophers or such.

But heres the story that made my hair stand up.
On a troops carrier LST on the way to Okinowa.Another LST hit just above the waterline by a Kamikazee, shipped listed badly to starboard, all the troops bailed into the water figuring sure as hell it was going to sink. Mr. Longs LST dropped the nets and rescued the men in the water. Had almost double the amount of people aboard now.
Every available spot aboard ship had someone standing. No room at all.
Next day, Kamikazee attack big time.No where to run, no place to hide, no cover.He said al they could do was stand there and watch, a few started to panic, NCO's calmed them down," One place is as good as the next, if it's our time it's our time."
One plane was shot down and just missed the fantail, another coming straight at Mr. Long and his platoon was hit by a bofors guns , disintergrated about 100 yards out, all except the mitsubishi engine which continued on and sailed right over their heads , across the ship and went into the water on the other side.
He never was involved in any combat on Okinowa itself. All over shortly after this incident. His Division was slated for the invasion of Japan which thank God didnt' have to take place.
My Dad was aboard ship, sailing to the Pacific, just out of training, on the way to the same invasion .

By the way, the LST that was hit had a hole in it big enough to drive a truck through, listed so bad they thought sure it would sink. It didn't.
FUBAR

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Wow... There were a lot of servicemen in my neighborhood when I was growing up. The guy who lived next door at the first house I bought was a Navy Bofers gunner and he had his whole lower jaw shattered when they shot down a Kamikazi off Okinawa. I was pretty surprised because I had just bought the house and he asked what I did for a living. At the time I was a dental technician and he popped out his whole lower arch and handed it to me explaining how the VA rebuilt his mouth. Pretty graphic!
The neighbor behind us when I was a kid, Mr. Petrovitch, was a former Marine and told me that before they went down the nets and into the landing craft at Iwo Jima their CO told them to move fast and don't take prisoners... He said he only recalled seeing three live Japanese while he was there. I wonder what the prisoner count on that island was and if his officers instructions were an isolated incident?

 

[Chuck Harris]

Peter
My wife's father was in the 101st Airborne, 502nd PIR Easy Company from start to finish. He would never tell anyone what he did or went trough. I did not marry his daughter until after I retired. Her first husband was a Combat Medic in Vietnam and had retired. He passed away about 2 years before we met.

He would want to know every detail about what it was like in Vietnam. He never understood that I did not spend very much time there and most of my time was in northern Laos. He died about 3 years after we married.

A few years ago I started researching his WWII record and got his medals we found and replaced the others. We was put in for the Medal of Honor at Bastogne for single handed taking out two tanks with grenades by climbing on top and some how getting them inside. He got a Bronze Star with a V for Valor. And was wounded 3 times during the war and never left the line. He got busted from SSgt . to PFC for busting some officer up side his head for get some of his squad killed.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Some of our fellow collectors have war stories to tell if they chose to tell them (Chuck included -- I'm sure Laos was no picnick). For example, Doug Luna, a big collector and great guy who regularly comes east from San Fransisco to visit me in New YorK (and will be at the Symposium annually) was a Marine Sniper in a Recon outfit in Vietnam, with a similar story to Chuck's father in law, he lost his stripes for punching out a 90 day wonder who got his best friend killed. My good friend James, also a Vietnam vet, occasionally opens up and tells stories about going into the tunnels after the enemy alongside trained dogs. These people are why I collect toy soldiers, to honor the men who fought and sometimes died to give me and every other American our freedom. Thank you, gentlemen, from the bottom of my heart.