Comments on: Veterans Day

By: Steve Bates

Steve Bates — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:33:54 +0000

Thank you, Bryan, and jams’s father, and my father and his brothers and my mother’s brothers, and all the other veterans who have done service to the genuine cause of freedom and democracy (as opposed to Bush’s version). I owe all of you a lot.

My Veterans Day post expressed a sentiment not far different from whig’s: our goal should be to have no new war veterans, by having no new wars. I spent much of the day in Houston’s Memorial Park, walking the woods that took the place of the Army training camp and thinking of the troops that trained there in W.W. I, wondering how many came home, and what their lives were like. Today the place is beautiful and peaceful; it is easy to forget all about war in a place like that. Not so easy outside the park gates, unfortunately.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 21:29:15 +0000

I was avoiding the draft, Bobby.

Generally true, Whig, but there are always a few crazies that you learn to avoid.

There are always compromises, Jams, but the Mosquito had a good record with the crews.

By: jams o donnell

jams o donnell — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:34:01 +0000

Mercifully they had their speed, manoeuverability and altitude to get out of being coned and to outrun night fighters. Mosquito squadrons had rather lower death rates than the heavies. True though, if they were caught they were screwed.

By: whig

whig — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:21:20 +0000

I honor the sacrifices that were made by veterans to make it unnecessary for there to be any more veterans. Who has seen war and wants more of it?

By: Mustang Bobby

Mustang Bobby — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:31:31 +0000

Thank you, Bryan.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:17:03 +0000

Low level runs with antiaircraft guns packed together and if you hit something the debris would take out the aircraft behind you. My Dad was originally in maintenance keeping the bombsights working, but it wasn’t long before he was a bombardier because he knew how to use it and plexiglas didn’t stop flak.

He was in the US being trained on the B-29 to go to Asia when the war ended.

There wasn’t a lot to stop flak in a Mosquito.

By: jams o donnell

jams o donnell — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:02:09 +0000

My dad was based in Bari before going to the far east. He did some raids on Ploesti too. He thought it was almost as bad as Krefeld.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:28:37 +0000

It’s appreciated, Jill.

My grandfather went to be a rifleman in France in WWI and ended up building ladders/litters behind the front after a couple of days on the line. In pictures of the WWI trenches you see the product of his labors used as the walkways, the “steps” in and out of the trenches, and carrying the wounded. One of his brothers, Frank, who stayed in the trenches with their unit was gassed.

My Dad sat in the plexiglas nose of a B-24 flying out of Italy against Romania, Austria, and southern Germany during WWII. There were 50% casualties on the Polesti oil field raids.

By: jams o donnell

jams o donnell — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:20:17 +0000

The Remembrance Sunday service here is underway as I type. For me it is a day for me to consider how fortunate I am here at all given the appalling death rate among RAF bomber crews in WWII. My grandfather was fortunate to have been taken prisoner at the very start of WWI. His regiment, the Munster Fusiliers, was wiped out several times over on the Western Front.

By: Cookie Jill

Cookie Jill — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 09:56:53 +0000

Thank you for your service to our country, Bryan.

Unlike most Americans today, I’m not going to be at the mall. I’m going to thank veteran’s for their service and say some prayers down at Arlington West.