Talking to Mike at church fellowship last week, about how one has to teach the new soldiers to run through the machine gun fire, Mike's eyes got big. He had been taught that one can't do that, and I said you can's stay still and be anything but a target.Yesterday I watched Saving Private Ryan, have owned it for years but hadn't watched it ever. The big screen movie had been a solid lock in my mind. A powerful movie, and then I stayed for the credits and Mister Spielberg's comments after. Then I put Band of Brothers Part 2, Day of Days, on and watched as the paratroopers came in and tried to live through the drop.
The choice of movies had others clamoring for Longest Day, which I had read while young, I read all his books. But I will save it for today, it is too star studded but a great overall view of the span of the battle.
One of my cousins is on a honor tour of Normandy this week with his wife and other old folks.
I was stationed at Pinder Kaserne in Zirndorf, BRD from1978-1982, four years. One of the soldiers from that tour reminded me of where the name was earned. MOH John J. Pinder,
He died on his birthday, on D-Day, doing all he could to get communications established for the unit.
The same posting got more about Pinder, seems he played baseball and is considered by those that follow the game to have been one of many that would have made a difference. So Facebook makes a difference and does spread knowledge. And I know more about the day. Difficult to honor all those that served and died. While we had a large military presence in Europe, staff tours and studies relived all the battles.
Politicians posed and post and think about the effort. But like my American History teacher, that taught and coached the high school rifle team, took a trip to Gettysburg every summer. We have to connect, to honor and to grow into the best we can be during our time. And to ensure that our current politicians don't bend our admiration for the past into a very stupid future, where we have to do it all again.
And probably some of your seniors when you first came in had been there... I know in 1070 my Command Master Chief had flown in WWII as an enlisted pilot.
ReplyDeleteIf they hadn't been in WWII, they had been in Korea. Both my father and my uncle had served in WWII, and my mother always feared that her sons and husband might have to serve if the war was big enough. May all our wars be little bush ones.
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