Cool post. I will definitely check this book out. "Fly Boys" was a real good one. Really went into the history of the Japanese foot soldier and how they were treated by their superiors- not too good to say the least. Also gives a window on the Japanese invasion and m***acres in China- over 20 million killed maimed, ****d and in some cases, eaten. "The Few" is a good read I just finished about American airmen who volunteered for service with the Royal Air force and fought in the Battle of Britian before we, as a country, got involved. These guys had to go through Canada and faced charges if caught due to our neutrality laws at he time. Some were hotrodders and some just wanted to fly the fastest plane in the free world,a t the time- all wanted to help our brothers and sisters in England--- bad***es. As for the correlations with what's going on today---sorry I just don't see 'em. Japan and Germany were countries hell bent on taking and conquering land from they're neighbors- Imperialism plain and simple. We got a whole different ball of wax going on right now. I recommend a good movie "Why we fight" Listen to Dwight D Eisenhowers fairwell address to the nation in 1961 and you'll understand a little better what is happenning now. Here it is: http://www.sonycl***ics.com/whywefight/main.html I think we romanticise about the early days because WWII afterall WAS a just war. Can't say the same about Vietnam or Iraq... oh and BTW- someone earlier had mentioned 10,000 killed when we firebombed Toyko, it was actually over 100,000...
It used to be a 2 weeks boat ride back to civilization after combat duty. I have been told that kept a lot of GI's from having "shell shock" as bad as they might have because they had that time with like minded soldiers to decompress. Talk to a vet!! The old guy down the lane fought in the Pacific theatre, and I always wanted to hear his stories. Now it's too late. CHAZ
Not factually correct. Germany declared war on America, not the other way around. Vicious fighting took place in all three major theaters of war (PTO, MTO, ETO) simultaneously. We were going after Japan all along, maybe you've heard of the Battle of Midway that took place seven months after Pearl Harbor. We were just fortunate that Hitler chose to defy his non-aggression pact with Soviet Russia. If we didn't have the Russians as allies in the war, and fighting them on a different front, we may not have been able to stop the Germans from overtaking the rest of Europe and N Africa. And maybe even the rest of the world. Scary stuff. Fortunately the Reich was retreating so fast by the time the B-29s became available that the planes were instead sent to the south Pacific for a job in Japan. LeMay decreed that any Japanese city with production or involvement in warmaking was a valid target and would be destroyed. Also, many MANY more people died in the Japanese fire raids as a result of dropping incendiaries on their cities than ever died in the nuclear bomb blasts and resultant fallout. The incredible devastation from these two weapons systems and the seemingly unending attack on their major (and not so major) cities had the population terrified and left the leaders no choice except to surrender. It was a vicious fight. War isn't pretty.
I have allways been fascinated by WW2 my uncle I never met was a tail gunner and was killed. seeing all the heroes of that war makes me think the draft is a good idea today. please take in mind I am 24 and realize if there was a draft today i might get called up. I wonder what impact the war had on peoples character and what they valued after. I wonder if its worth having a draft just for the maturity and outlook on life.
My father was in WWII as an MP, guarded German prisoners and was stabbed by one of them just before he beat him to dead with his .45. My uncle landed at Normandy and went on the fight at the Battle of the Bulge under Gen. George Patton. After seeing his buddies shot to **** and blown up by a German tank, he rushed the tank and was shot down my the machine gunner. He was taken to a field hospital to recover from he's wounds. Patton came through and told the doctors to kick out all the soldiers that weren't bedridden and sent him back to action. My uncle is still alive today but has to live with the old wounds and has a lot of trouble getting around. He said that if Patton hadn't of sent him back, he would have probably healed properly and not had to live with his disablities all his live. He has multiple purple hearts and the bronze star to prove it. My other uncle was a paratrooper/medic that parachuted in behind enemy lines to treat a platoon that was shot to **** and managed to save countless lives and made it back OK. He went on to be a doctor and is now retired up in Kansas. My mother worked at Boeing Aircraft along with two of her sisters during the war, supporting the manufacturing of aircraft. My former father-in-law was in the merchant marines and one of the ships he was on got torpedoed by a U boat and sank. He survived and returned an lived a long productive life. While he was being gunned down my the nazis my, mother-in-law worked in the ship yards riviting ships together as fast as they could. I served during the Vietnam War as a medic and only have a bad back and shoulder to deal with everyday. So....what do you think is cool about all that?
I don't anyone has suggested that war of any kind is "cool". Rather a deep admiration for the men and women who lived through it. As was stated, the "Greatest Generation"...
This is a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 built by Chevrolet, yep it has a bowtie. It belongs in a P-47N Thunderbolt. There is a Ford built B-24J in the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, LA.
Trucks, unlike cars, were very much still being produced during the war to keep the homefront operational. You WILL find 1942 through 1945 trucks albeit, rare. Remember ford was also producing jeeps and dodge making troop & supply trucks and ambulances. Civilian style trucks were available for those who played a crucial part in this effort and were reserved for special needs only- not the general public. These trucks were vital to keep the farmers producing food and factories producing munitions for the war effort as well seeing use in military bases w/ the appropriate olive drab attire.
A great movie is "Flags of our Fathers" and a good book to I just seen the movie today and loved it.Yes the 2 week boat ride is true we still have a 2week decompression period after combat.It is so funny about the parallels in todays world and then.Rods became my outlet after Iraq,I left right out of highschool and was 19 came home built my car.I get that old soul thing to but I enjoy it theres alot of my grandfather in me my great uncle says. He was a machinist mate in the Navy and was at Iwo,Tarawa and Guadac**** on ship.My grandfather was Army Artillery in North Africa, Italy,and Germany chased the Nazi's all the way up.Never once did he talk about it and only after I returned from Iraq did my great uncle tell me he is one of the few that know how Iraq really was for me because we tell each other and compare stories and generations.I love sitting and talking with him and will really miss it when he's gone.Awesome post guys!
I Was A Kid During WW2, It Affected Everybody, And Everything, You Were In It In Some Way No Matter What. Even Affected Us Kids. My Dad Was A Civil Defense Corps Block Captain . We Had Mock Air Raids, And My Dad And Other CD Members Would Be Out Making Sure All Lites In The Neighborhood Were Out! Airplanes Would Fly Over And Drop Pieces Of Paper.and Afterwards Us Kids Would Be Scrambling To Find Them. lotta homes Had A blue Star On Thier Front Window, Noting A Family Member In The Service or a gold for one lost. Uncle Neal Was Wounded In The Battle Of The Bulge. And Survived. He,s The One Who Got Me Interested In Cars, With His Hudson Converts,[and His Pretty Girlfriends] oh yeh girls too Gggg
I was thinking too, that during WWII because no new civilian cars were available there was also a severe shortage of rubber, iron, cotton, asbestos, nickel, copper, lead and of course petroleum products -chiefly gasoline- all necessary to keep a car running in those days, as now. Worst senario is that these older cars abeit, ruggedly built, were prone to easy failures and excessive maintennance due to the harsser roads and the added strains of utility use - something that is not so much the case nowadays. It was not uncommon for people to raid the junkyards, barns and old tractors for valuable parts to keep running. Blackmarketing was common for most everything including automotive supplies. Many dusted off old model Ts and As and put them back in service since they needed less materials and gas to keep them going. People had to became more innovative and 'mechanically aware' in order to subs***ute, reduce, reuse and recycle (sound familiar?) although this was more a matter of survival rather than environmental conscience. In fact, I believe if so many did not need to return to their Flivers and keep them running, most would had been turned into s**** and melted down for the war effort leaving less after the war to rod.
I'm not a expert on WW2, but I have read and watched ALOT of material. I've seen as many do***entaries as I can about it, because I want to learn, and I want to know what those soldiers did for us. What strikes me the most is how people back home came together. Everyone did their share. Be it rations or building bombs. I'm a Canadian. we entered the war September of '39. We entered on our own accord, but i'm sure that being a part of the Commonwealth had something to do with it. Sadly, we don't see alot of shows on Canadians "doing their part" during the war. But their are plenty from the US. Here is my point, and to you Americans, my question; If the war was to escalate, in Afganastan, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Do you think in your heart of hearts, people and companies would step up like the did in the '40's? I know times are different then, but like an earlier poster said, B24's, 1 an hour???? I just can't see it being that way again. GM is gonna shut down to make Hummers, and nothing but Hummers? And planes? And tanks? Are we as a society, going to conserve our fuel intake? As a Canadian, I can't see it. Maybe I'm wrong, and maye thats what makes that generation the greatest generation of all time. I look forward to your answers, and maybe learning a bit.
Did a search on WWII ford production and came across some examples I didn't think of before but are of interest. Tractors, firetrucks, school buses, amplicars, armored ATVs all besides jeeps and aircraft. These are two fords from 1943 (had more pictures but the best never fit, so no firetrucks, kiddies waahhh!!...) The pontiac ad is one of the better examples of the kind of advertising the car companies used during the war to prove they were doing their part-if not making cars. Awsome typeface
My father served 3rd infintry 33rd division he served in all 7 theaters of operation.he was in the Normandy invasion 1st ***ault wave.While in Italy and North Africa he was a forward scout/ observer.I have a letter from President Isenhower to my mother acknowledging that my dad was indeed his driver in North Africa he even remembered him by his nick name!Dad refused the purple heart and commendations nessary for silver star and the bronze star.after getting wounded severly by hitting a mine with his jeep he served in the 137 MPs till his discharge.with all that to talk about my father almost never talked about the war !Till the day he died you never touched him if he was asleep without my mom by his side!IF she was there she could give him a gentle shake to wake him I learned from a very small child NEVER touch daddy when he's sleeping,One of my uncles did when he first got home and was almost killed and I'm not making this up .They didn't know how deep PTSD.could affect people back then if ya couldn't function at all you were" Shell Shocked "my son at age 10 asked my dad what he did the first time he was in a gunfight expecting some hero story I think ,My dad told him he hid behind a tree and **** his pants !said he felt real bad about that till he looked a few trees over and his Lueatenant was behind a tree ******* his!that same 19 year old kid that **** himself would later be a soldier reccommended for those sitations!I found most of this all out after my dad died!researching his records We wonder some time how that generation had the balls to go flat out in a midget or old roadster with just an old pilots helmet and goggles for safety gear compared to the war they came home from that was just a SUNDAY DRIVE!
Society is rarely the solution to any problem. Quite the contrary. You see us through your so******t prism. A clear look at Americans will show people who revere the principles of self-reliance, yet band together in times of crisis to 'Handle It'. Like the old biker adage, 'If I have to explain...' That is why 'the world' doesn't like or understand us, and why we don't care. Call us cowboys. I say we're 'Men endowed by their creator' and doing a hell of a better job than any other occupants of this planet to help other people. So, GFY like the rest of them.
I was born in the late 60's, but remember seeing several old 20s-30s cars that had the back sections hacked off and a sometimes crude wooden flatbed in its place. My father told me people did that to get extra rations of gas that were possible since the concoction was now a "truck". That and the fact that getting a new truck was next to impossible both during and after the war.
Against my better judgment,... I am going to weigh in on this, My Dad fought with the 6th INF. 63rd REG. in the Pacific, they still hold a record for continues combat against the **** ( yes I said **** !). He and I had our differences when I was growing up, But when I came home it was Dad that kept me between the lines. It can't be explained unless you know first hand, When Dad came home his country received a hero, thanks to our media and one sided reporting guess who's country thought he was a drug addict and baby killer,............. Today in our own media you hear all the atrocities committed by our troops,....How many of you know there have been two recipients of the CMH recently ?,........ during W.W.II THAT WOULD HAVE MADE HEADLINES ! Understanding W.W.II is looking at a nation and most of the world coming together for the common good and to defeat brutal enemy's. ( Here is proof of how were hated by the people of Iraq)
What the hell is with those pictures that is about the stupidest thing ever it looks like some damn liberal hippie college student trying to make excuses for why he doesn't ****ing shower,whoever decided to come up with those needs a good swift kick in the ***,Alongwith the aforementioned one sided liberal media.Sorry it just brought out the salty Marine vet in me thats all.
Semper Fi,I know the felling of the media and all being against you,though not half as bad as those that have come before me yourself included as I am just a youngin' I turned 22 the otherday and am preparing for a second tour,Got some unfinished business ya know,But like the Corps says you gotta know where you came from to know where your going.So i am intrested in WWII and Vietnam history and in alot of ways it makes sense today as it plays out the same only modernized and few can see how the generations are paralleling each other.
This was a pretty good thread, I'm glad I got to see it before it gets closed. Wish I had time to read it all before going to bed.
I'm impressed you are studied enough to know we Canadians are by trait, so******tic beings, but ask half of us what that means and they wouldn't know what your talking about, or getting at. I think the boundary between 'us and them' and 'you and me' is grey at best (or worse) and not black and white as some like to perceive. The implication that the average Canadian does not understand the working of american life and politics is grossly ***umed and incorrect. Now to say, the opposite, that most americans are ignorant of canadian politics, is a more plausible and valid statement. We canadians watch your news and entertainment as well as our own, listen to your music wear pants and shoes just the same. When do americans ever read or watch on us? not too often. In schools we learn american history/geography AND canadian. Family roots play another role in trashing the border myth. My grandfather was born in canada and thumbed across america to join the newly formed aircorps back in the 20s, worked for Fisher Body in michigan as a draftsman in the 30's before coming back to Canada to open an auto supply in the 40's. Shortly after he designed and built his own slab house based on california/florida ideas at the time with a walk in freezer no less and is worth a quarter mill today. Some of my relatives were born in the states and are american even though they live here. My dad practicaly grew up in Phoenix, Arizona due to health problems where he stayed in the same residence with Duane Eddie for a time, for where my middle name came from. My canadian aunt married an american and has lived in California for 40 years with their six children and god knows how many grandchildren. So am I blonde enough for your nazi regime? or am I still a so******t ******* between two countries? or can I play cowboy and indian with you? I suggest instead of drawing imaginary boundaries and sorting people into baskets, you first pull your head out of your ***.
Relax man,....... don't let them get to you ,..... but the fact remains that by your own acknowledgment we rely on the news and entertainment media (mostly) to "Learn" what we know about each others country,.. it's my contention the media is bias and power hungry. I am not sure how it is in Canada, But to our our shame our graduating High School Seniors don't have to know as much about how our government works as do immigrants becoming citizens. I love my country ( as I am sure you do ), but your money looks weird,.....
I caught that show too. I was thinking while I was watching it, that they were lucky thay hadn't waited too long to get those interviews.
It really makes me sad that it's like that now. Medal of Honor recipiants should be headline news, but instead its a blurb on the ticker at the bottom of the screen, page 9 in your newspaper. Older people say thank you to military members, younger ones say I'm sorry.
The question was asked that if we were attacked, could the "now" generation handle it. Well, I don't know about Cali or New York or any other liberal states but, if they come to Texas they're in for one hell of a fight. We may argue amoungst ourselves from time to time but when it comes to protecting this country I don't think I'd what to be anywhere else but Texas. If Texas falls, it's over.
You're way off base and straying from the point. Focus, my man! You guys just can't shake off Keynes and Galbraith can you? Why don't you inquiring minds just ask the Iranians, North Koreans et. al., why they insist on F***king with us, instead of asking us if we think we think we can 'take 'em', like some schoolyard provocateurs? We're Americans and we have nothing to prove to anybody. That's another thing Canadians and others don't understand...
You got a point, by the time we get ahold of 'em, won't be nothing to see but shotgun shells and beer cans.
The Jalopy Journal
