Paul Elliot wrote:
Dov wrote:
SHIVER ME TIMBERS wrote:

Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad naseum,
What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.


My dad was a teenager growing up in central France. On becoming 18 he
went into
hiding to avoid the STO slave labor. He and his buddy Jean went south
to join
the guerillas in the gorges-du-Lot maquis, whereas all the other
youths of the
village went north, to Mont Mouchet.
Turned out that in the south the nazis didn't go after them, whereas
at Mont
Mouchet they were basically exterminated. Not one from the village
came back.


My Mom was still in school. Her elder brother evaded to Algeria to
join the Free
French Naval Forces. Served in the commandos on PT-type boats, landing
at night
to blow up radar stations and artillery on the Med coast. At the time
of the
Provence landing, his boat was sunk by a nazi plane, and he was the sole
survivor. Was picked up by the FNFL after 3 days drifting in a dinghy.
He never
speaks about it, but he is deeply religious ever since this day.


About weird events and blind luck: Grandpa had learnt to swim in his
military
service, and during ww2 he rescued a kid who was drowning in the local
river.
Turned out he was the son of the local chief of the nazi-puppet Vichy
'milice'.
When Vichy ordered the militia to deport the Jewish families into nazi
death
camps, this fascist ******* zealously rounded up every family but
spared ours.

On my wife's side, uncle Frank served in the marines. Was in a ski
unit and
ended the war in Austria and at Berchtesgaden. Uncle Mickey was in the
army and
served in the Japan occupation after VE-day. They never talk about it
either.



My two elder brothers served in the 6-days war. The older one was a
paratroop
officer and got killed in the battle for Jerusalem. The younger one
commanded a
tank company. He was killed in the Sinai.

I was too young for 6dw, and served in the attrition and kippur wars.
Was hurt
twice but the docs did a good job. Later got injured again in Levanon
during op
peace for Galil. This time too damaged to patch up, and discharged in
1983. I
can walk almost normally again now, and consider myself the lucky one.


My older kid is getting 14, and I wish so much that they wouldn't have
to go
through the same things. With hamas, fatah, hizbullah, Iran and in
general the
muslim fanatics, it looks worse than ever. Darn it.

Dov.

God bless you and your family Dov. Freedom commands a high price, and
you've paid far more than your fair share.



Shalom! You and your family have enough mitzvah for an eternity.

Never Again!

Dave