History June 6, 1944 Plus 65 Years

Thank you to all veterans for fighting for our way of life.

 

Thanks to all our vets. And special thanks to my dad - I miss him every day. He enlisted after Pearl Harbor and found his way into the Army Air Corps. Flew a P-38 "Lightning" with the 475th Fighter Group (called themselves "Satan's Angles") in the South Pacific area. After 33 "official" missions he was lucky enough to survive for the boat ride home on a hospital ship. And he had some tales to tell! In a letter home, during his time in flight training in California, he described flying over the beaches in a P-39 "Aerocobra". I always wondered what part of the hot rod scene he may have seen along the west coast. We are building our roadster in tribute to him..............

 

My father lost his favorite Uncle 65 years ago.
Uncle Clifford left behind a beautiful new Bride somewhere in NJ.
I wish I could have met him.

 

Both my pops and my Uncle Griff were in WWII. Dad was in the Navy and saw action at both Guadalcanal and Midway. My Uncle Griff was the bombadier on plane #15 that left the deck of the USS Hornet during Doolittle's raid on Tokyo. He's second from the right in the pic below. I'm still relatively young at age 36 (my dad had me late in life) and I count it as a blessing to have been raised around my dad and all his vet buddies. Some of the best men I have ever known. The entire planet owe's them a debt that can never be repaid.

 

Excellent question! Also where are we headed?
Hard to read this thread...God bless these heros, my Pops included.

 

my father was a WWII vet .............. I'm glad he didn't get to see that shit

 

Not to start a shit storm here as I'm still an FNG, but brush up on your history a bit fella's. Most of the Persians and Arab's were our Allies against Nazi Germany in WWII. I know times have changed, but we ARE talking about WWII here, right?

 

i would just like to say R.I.P all those who fell at D-Day no matter what side they were one


and to the veterans still out there thanks

 

Guess I missed this thread this morning when I posted THIS one....

Thanks to all

 

They saved civilization. There is no possible way to repay the debt; the best we can do is take care of what they passed to us. God bless them all.

 

Thanks to any WWII vets who are on here and all that are left. My Dad was on a little wooden Navy minesweeper that cleared the shore in the hours before the Normandy invasion. I was just a twinkle in his eye then, so I'm mighty glad he made it back.

 

The wife and I just got home from the Mid Atlantic Air Museum's WWII weekend in Reading,PA. www.maam.org Her 92 year old Dad was in the 712th tank battillion in WWII. My dad was in the Navy during the Korean War, I'm a whimp that almost went into The Coast Guard.
There is a feeling that just can't be explained when you are standing with a few old vets during the National Anthem.
I like the hot rod stuff abunch and work with racecars but, I've never had the feelings at a car event that I did at todays event.
Smokey

 

Thank You WWII Vets, and all vets past and present!!!
My uncle was one of the many hero's, that stormed the beaches, at Normandy on D-Day!!
He was killed on day two, and is laid to rest there, like so many others!!
All of us that get to enjoy our family, our, old cars etc, etc, etc, owe it to all who have served past and present.

 

You missed the point...

 

No, you did. Now stop interrupting and sit back and read.

 

Any of you that come to the Hershey car show in Oct. should go to the Hershey Historical Society building. It's behind the outlet mall, close to the flea market. Dick Winters lives local here and the historical society has a special display honoring him. He donated his entire office and library and it's displayed as it was in his home. We owe our freedom to these heros on WWII.

 

I can see the point on both sides.

But pls guys, let us not diminish our veteran sacrifices but letting this thread go down that path.

Take it for what it is - the recognition of past generations sacrifices in the name of our freedom and retaining our way of life as well as way of simply saying - THANK YOU!

Write here as though the veterans themselves are READING this thread.

THANK YOU !

Rat

 

Thank you.

 

Someday I will go there, look around, and take it all in. And be humbled.

 

Easy there.. Guess who was driving the landing craft on D-Day. Yup, Coast Guardsmen. During time of war, the Coast Guard falls under control of the Navy and the Navy needed coxwains to drive shallow water craft up to the beach. A Coast Guardsman won the Medal of Honor posthumously at Guadalcanal saving over 500 Marines on the beach. The famous flag raised on Iwo Jima... Yup, given to a Marine sergeant by the Coast Guard coxwain that brought him ashore.

My uncle was a Fire Control Technician on the battleship USS Arkansas on D-Day. That man had some stories. 24 trips across the North Atlantic and the invasions of Okinawa and Iwo Jima. RIP.

Stan

 

One of the few stories my dad told about his war time was when on a landing craft going in to invade and the driver got killed and he got into the drivers place and drove the thing in, so yea the Coast guard got it too.

 

Thanks Dad, You're really missed here. Though we had "our" battles , you'll always be my hero. -Mike

 

Absolutely the greatest generation ever! I'm afraid this is becoming just another day for most of the population. I had my flag out all day today. While driving around this afternoon I only saw a handful of flags waving in the summer breeze. Godspeed to all the men that washed ashore 65 years ago. I will NEVER forget!

 

That view scares the shit out of me, I don't think I would have had the guys to walk out into that shit storm.
These were indeed the greatest generation.
Thank you.

Doc.

PS, I'm a modern veteran and although I deployed 6 times into combat we will never suffer like the WWI and WWII vets did, they were there "For the duration" that is, once in you were in untill the end of hostility's. Some of these guys saw 6 continued years of war.
We modern vets will NEVER equal these guys.
They are true hero's.
In light of their accomplishments I hold my service well below them, as do almost everyone I served with.
I hope we never have to suffer like them again.

 

Thank you all vets in all conflicts.

 

They were all heroes, the ones who fought and died and those who were lucky enough to make it back home. If they had failed, only God knows what we as a nation would have been like today. They took up the cause of freedom from oppression and they delivered on their promise of peace.

My father was in WWI and was too old for WWII, but he still served by working for the Army at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. My brother in law was a Navy Chaplain and was there on D Day and remain there to help bury our dead. He kept a journal that included the names of every soldier he helped bury in the days following D Day. I wept the first time I sat down to read all of the names of our lost.

It was a horrific time but the bravery of our boys helped turn the tide and let us all enjoy the freedom of liberty. May God Bless each and every one of them.

 

I made it a point to mention it in my pre-race invocation at Corbin Speedway tonight.

"Let us not forget those who gave their lives 65 years ago today and 67 years ago on Thursday that we might enjoy the freedom we have now."

Thursday was the 67th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.

 

Thanks to my Grandpa Allen for serving on the USS Hornet. For the talkes we had and the stories he didn't tell me. I miss you.

Thanks to Mr. Morris (one of my customers) who was in his words the "first lucky sonofabitch" to hit the beach on D-day. You are a pain in my ass but I will never forget the stories you tell and what you did.


Thank you to all those that served in any way. You make this country better!

 

Thanks to all who died & lived through this, especially my 2 Grandfathers, RAF & RN - minesweepers & my Great Uncle who was infantry in WW1 & Cloak & dagger stuff in WW2, he survived the concentration camps - I still think about you all every day

 

Dad was at Iwo..Saipan..Coral Sea..others..at Iwo..his LST was beached..pounded..unloaded..then repaired and on to the next island landing. He was Coast Gaurd..delivering munitions..landing marines..on lightly armed LST (Large Slow Targets !)..those LCVP came out of LSTs. Many carried thousands of gallons of fuel on DECK in Barrells..next to high exposives..amazing they made it at all..
He smuggled a camera..took many pictures..looked at them again today..I should scan and save them..in fact..maybe a good Sunday project.

Love you Dad..miss you everyday...