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Clemson Icon [24976]
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clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:43 PM
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I am under the weather and I have been watching a Ken Burns Vietnam marathon PBS on Demand. Anyway, can you even handle watching stuff like this after all you have been through.
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Top TigerNet [30885]
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My wifes Grandfather was at Guadalcanal and Peleliu. He didnt talk about it.***
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:47 PM
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Clemson Icon [24976]
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Re: My wifes Grandfather was at Guadalcanal and Peleliu. He didnt talk about it.***
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:50 PM
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When I was maybe 19 years old I asked some Vietnam Vet if he had ever killed anyone. He told me that you should never ask that question. That was just something anecdotal.
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National Champion [7932]
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you should probably adhere to that advice and stop talking about it in any way***
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:55 PM
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Clemson Icon [24976]
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Re: you should probably adhere to that advice and stop talking about it in any way***
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:59 PM
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That was a few decades ago. By the way, Clover posts Vietnam stories on here that are heavy.
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Game Day Hero [4484]
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Clemson Icon [24976]
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Re: My wifes Grandfather was at Guadalcanal and Peleliu. He didnt talk about it.***
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:20 PM
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I don't think Clover minds on here. The questions are innocuous.
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CU Medallion [18070]
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Re: My wifes Grandfather was at Guadalcanal and Peleliu. He didnt talk about it.***
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Jan 4, 2025, 9:05 PM
[ in reply to Re: My wifes Grandfather was at Guadalcanal and Peleliu. He didnt talk about it.*** ] |
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One of my best friends was in Vietnam and never talked about it. Being close friends and after a couple beers one night, I asked him what was it like on patrol. He said on his first day out he was 4th in line on a narrow trail when the point topped a small hill, the firing started a few seconds later. The first 2 in line were killed, the 3rd was wounded and he got down without being hit. After a short time firing to where the shooting came from, the shooting stopped and the Viet Cong were gone.
He said that was what it was like on many patrols and that's all I'll say about it. I never asked again.
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Orange Elite [5161]
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Goodness. Can you imagine the frustration and fear?
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Jan 5, 2025, 7:58 AM
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My wife's Pop (Clemson '39) jumped into Normandy and landed in an apple orchard. He wasn't where he was supposed to be, like everyone else was.
Your buddy's story about a single column on patrol reminds me of something Pop told her:
Not long after he got himself organized that first night, he rounded up a group of guys and they went off to find more guys. He was leading the column. A German heard them and tossed a grenade over the hedgerow. It killed everyone in line behind him.
He didn't like to talk about the war much.
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CU Guru [1508]
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Did he live in Greenville? The man I bought our house from was in both
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:53 PM
[ in reply to My wifes Grandfather was at Guadalcanal and Peleliu. He didnt talk about it.*** ] |
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of those hell holes. Went to Harvard Law after that and had a successful practice in Greenville.
I enjoyed hearing his stories about leading up to the War....how his dad encouraged him to hurry up and finish Furman after Hilter invaded Poland in '39....
Anyway - saw that and figured Id ask (at the risk of highjacking the thread).
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Top TigerNet [30885]
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He was from South Alabama. Enlisted as a Private and Retired as a Major.
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:57 PM
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Went to college after he retired on the GI Bill and retired as a hospital administrator in Pensacola, Fl.
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CU Guru [1508]
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Gotcha... The man I knew was from Belton. Only got to know him about two
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:02 PM
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years before he died, but it was a pleasure. I never heard him talk about on-the-ground stuff, but the before and after the war stories were captivating.
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Heisman Winner [79592]
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Re: Gotcha... The man I knew was from Belton. Only got to know him about two
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:07 PM
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This post reminds me of a friend at Walter Reed who would start conversations by saying, “ Back before the war…..” - always got a smile from everyone who was around.
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Heisman Winner [79592]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:51 PM
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I have found that I can calmly watch actual footage or realistic movies about Vietnam since I experienced it firsthand, but had a tough time with D-Day scenes where an uncle died- too realistic and grisly on a much larger scale.
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Orange Elite [5161]
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Sure do appreciate your service.
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Jan 4, 2025, 8:58 PM
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All-In [10688]
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And welcome home***
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Jan 5, 2025, 1:43 PM
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TigerNet Immortal [172382]
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I rented from a WWII vet. He fought in Normandy, Battle of the Bulge.
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:54 PM
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He would occasionally come up and talk with me. The stories he told were amazing. I can't fathom being the man he was and what he experienced. He never talked about killing someone but just what he saw and went through. Incredible is all I can say.
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Top TigerNet [30885]
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A fellow I knew served with Storm Thurmond in WW2. Said he was fearless
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Jan 4, 2025, 6:59 PM
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and can’t believe he survived the war. Said Strom wasn’t scared of anything !
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Heisman Winner [79592]
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Orange Immortal [62757]
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Re: The man whose family still allows me to hunt on their property
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Jan 4, 2025, 8:08 PM
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Clover, something I want ask you. Back before we got into WW2, America was supposed to be OK with the Japs and the next thing we know they sneak of the coast of Hawaii and bomb Pearl Harbor killing 3000 military men and women plus civilians.
Since that war the USA and the Japs act like we're all friends again but personally I would never trust the Japs again ever and I wasn't even born when they stabbed us in the back, and I personally don't trust them, nor do I like them bc of the way they went about attacking us.
Now I ask you, do you agree with the USA in selling the Japs the YF-23 Black Widow that Northrop Grumman developed when they and Lockheed Martin were in competition to see who could develop the best fighter jet? Personally, I feel that should have never happen bc now the Japs may have a fighter Jet that maybe better than our YF-22 Raptor...
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Heisman Winner [79592]
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Re: The man whose family still allows me to hunt on their property
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Jan 4, 2025, 8:27 PM
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That is a political/ government situation and I just don’t do politics beyond voting against the lesser of two evils or so it seems. The leaders of countries make decisions that the majority of the population would never make. From what I saw, the majority of Vietnamese would not have chosen endless war. Current conflicts suggest that there are no benefits for the people in general- when things settle down in the Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, who there will have a better life than before.
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All-Pro [762]
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Re: I rented from a WWII vet. He fought in Normandy, Battle of the Bulge.
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:47 PM
[ in reply to I rented from a WWII vet. He fought in Normandy, Battle of the Bulge. ] |
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My grandfather was a tail gunner on B29 bombers in Korea, and his older brother island hopped in the pacific to Iwo Jima, Okinawa, etc. (one of his best friends, and he enlisted with on the roof of the HS bc it was the only place with a flag, is Harlon Block from the Iwo Jima statue). When I was younger, I’d pick their brains and listen to their stories. They never talked about what they saw in combat, although my grandfather told me he was shot down once. They did, however, love to show pics of the good times during the war back on base with their friends, and tell stories from those times.
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Game Day Hero [4267]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:01 PM
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When my son was young and in Scouts, we went and stayed a couple of nights on the USS Yorktown in Charleston. About three months later, we met a man who was a pilot and landed on that carrier. Fascinating to hear him tell us stories for over an hour about life in the service in that time, and specifically on the Yorktown.
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National Champion [7998]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:06 PM
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If you want to see how the horrors of combat affect one read Eugene B Sledges' book "With The Old Breed". He had a hatred for the Japanese until the day he died.
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Valley Legend [12365]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 8:00 PM
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Was he related to Walt Kowalski
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National Champion [7998]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 8:43 PM
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Walt was fictional and Eugene was real.
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Orange Immortal [62757]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:25 PM
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It's hard watching those movies not just bc you were there, it's bc of all the total BS that the producers put in the movie that never happened, or it just never happened the way they portray to happen...
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:56 PM
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My uncle was at Omaha Beach. I have his bayonet and pocket Bible with notes leading up to landing. I can’t imagine…
He would never talk about it… he would change the subject to kids sports usually.
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TigerNet Elite [70602]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 7:56 PM
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My uncle was at Omaha Beach. I have his bayonet and pocket Bible with notes leading up to landing. I can’t imagine…
He would never talk about it… he would change the subject to kids sports usually.
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Valley Legend [12365]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 8:03 PM
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My dad landed on the second or third day, so he did not have to face to horrific stuff the first wave went through. But he was wounded in Saint-Lo.
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Valley Protector [1493]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 9:06 PM
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Hey my Clover friend, SS. Dad came on Omaha D Day+5. Dad and Johnny went for the 50th anniversary of D Day and we all went shortly after Mama passed in 1996. Take care my friend.
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National Champion [7998]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 9:34 PM
[ in reply to Re: clover65 ] |
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Two men in the community were WW2 vets. They were both good men. One served in the Pacific. He was a successful dairy farmer/farmer. He would go for long periods of time cold sober and then he would go to town and buy a grocery bag full of liquor. He drank to forget but when he drank he had flashbacks and came unglued. My daddy was the only person who could halfway handle when he was like that. Every binge ended up in the hospital. The other one served in Europe. His outfit had been in a big fight with a German rearguard covering some farm buildings. They thought the Germans had moved out. The LT told his squad leader to check the buildings out. They moved out and made it to the large house. The squad leader told him and his buddy to check out the other side of the house. When they rounded the corner a MG42 opened up and cut his buddy in half right next to him. He was not hit. He was a heavy drinker too and had a hard time keeping a steady job. At times when he was drunk he would bring up his buddy. This is just two examples that I know of first hand. I am sure that a lot of you about my age know many examples of the same. Truly the greatest generation.
PS I forgot about the airman the next community over. His bomber was shot down over Germany. He was on fire when he bailed out. He was horribly disfigured the rest of his life. His face was very scarred and he lost his nose, ears, eyelids, some fingers and most of his lips. The Germans saved his life.
Message was edited by: Purple Gunstock 15®
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Orange Elite [5161]
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My great Uncle was a Jap(anese) POW for four years.
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Jan 4, 2025, 8:56 PM
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He was part of the group that built the Death Railway.
He went to every Lost Battalion association reunion and would talk about it with the guys who lived through it with him, but he didn't talk about it with us until he asked me to write his memoirs for his grandkids.
He was in his 80s by then.
He never bought Mitsubishi products. Wouldn't even countenance it. He later told me that was because that company benefited from his slave labor during the war. War profiteers.
He did not love the British but was crazy about the Aussies. He said the Aussies were brave and very friendly and kind.
He said the Japanese did not guard them. They used Koreans to guard them. And he said they were mean as h*ell.
He said he survived because he'd grown up in the woods -- they lost their farm in the depression -- and knew how to make do with not much.
He said when they came back home and saw the Golden Gate Bridge, they all cried.
His childhood sweetheart assumed he was dead as did everyone else. So she married another man. He came home and married another woman. They raised great families. 40 years later, after her husband died and his wife died, they finally married.
A total bad-*ss.
Read the story: https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Cups-Rice-Surviving-Railway/dp/0890159904
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Rival Killer [2709]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 9:15 PM
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If interested in WW2 history, listen to these interviews of Citadel cadets that served. My cousin is the 2nd interview, he was 86 at the time.
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Rival Killer [2709]
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National Champion [7998]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 5, 2025, 8:48 AM
[ in reply to Re: clover65 ] |
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Just read that El Cids' first Medal of Honor has been awarded posth. Captain Hugh Nelson 59 was from NC and a chopper pilot in Nam. His Kiowa was shot down, even though suffering from wounds himself he managed to rescue one of his crew from the wreckage. His co-pilot although wounded managed to get out by himself. They were under intense fire from close range. The crewman Captain Nelson rescued had been wounded six times by fire before and after the crash. Captain Nelson used his body as a shield to protect his crewman. He was hit twenty six times by fire and as a result of his wounds was killed in action. The two wounded crewman were rescued and survived. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. SALUTE.
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Heisman Winner [79592]
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I remember letting the guy who was to go home the soonest
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Jan 5, 2025, 10:49 AM
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sleep in the middle when we were in the field with 3 guys sleeping on the ground under makeshift shelters out of our ponchos. If you were going home in just a few days, you had earned the right to not take the first bullet from either direction.
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National Champion [7998]
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Re: I remember letting the guy who was to go home the soonest
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Jan 5, 2025, 12:36 PM
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My brother spent his paid vacation in zone 3 with the 1st Cav. His unit had a ticket puncher Captain and a boot licking Lt. When his time got short instead of leaving him at base camp to burn the ######## they went on a six day S&D.
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National Champion [7858]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 4, 2025, 9:15 PM
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Thank you
Thank you
Thank you to all those who served in the line of fire so I'm free today.
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Clemson Icon [24976]
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Orange Phenom [14374]
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Re: clover65
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Jan 5, 2025, 8:10 AM
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I never heard Uncle Odas speak of WWII or the Normandy invasion, which earned him 2 bronze stars.
We all knew, but it wasn't ever discussed in his presence.
He lived an exceptional life, passing at 93.
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Ultimate Tiger [33931]
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My great uncle Guy Massie
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Jan 5, 2025, 8:22 AM
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My great uncle was a Marine who fought in Belleau Wood in World War I. He died as an old man when I was about twelve and he only spoke of his service once to me, and nothing specific, just that he was “a buck private.”
I have letters he sent home to his sister, my grandmother, and I need to find those and read them.
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Athletic Dir [1123]
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Clover65
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Jan 5, 2025, 9:13 PM
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4 good books to add to the list. First 3 are non-fiction.
- Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich by David Kenyon Webster. A member of 101st Airborne, 506th PIR, Easy Company
- Chickenhawk by Robert Mason. Vietnam helicopter pilot
- The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour by James D Hornfischer. WWII in Philippines
- Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T Sullivan. Italy and Alps during WWII
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