If yiu didn't fight in WW II.....

From: "Tarver Engineering"


I was in the National Guard doing NORAD duty at ground zero, so I don't
believe I missed anything.

Congratulations, you were on or near a major city, military base or site,
industrial complex, government center etc. By george, so were the vast majority
of the U.S. population. Wow, look at all them ground zeros. I guess that mean
you were front line duty? Was it rough duty?

You were just one of thousands of wrench benders. So was I.

Want to compare combat duty? I can tell you about my time in AF spec ops or my
participation in the South East Asia War Games and you can tell me..um...
well.. I guess you can tell me about the fights you had with the B girls. Tell
me, did you win any?

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

"ArtKramr" wrote in message
...
| If you didn't fight in WW II do you feel as though your had missed
something?
| Do you feel that given your druthers you'd rather have been there than
not? Any
| regrets at having missed it? Anyone?
|
|
| Arthur Kramer
| 344th BG 494th BS
| England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
| Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
| http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer
|




I guess if I had to use up one of my 3 wishes on WWII Art, it would be for
Adolf Hitler to slip over in the bath and break his neck, some time in the
early '20s.


It would make a good movie and I'd enjoy sitting in the front row with all
my absent relatives and enjoying the special effects.



Glad you were there, gladder you came home.






Cheers


Dave Kearton

"ArtKramr" wrote in message
...
If you didn't fight in WW II do you feel as though your had missed
something?

I was born in 1963. Kind of assinine to feel that I "missed" something that
was over before I was borne.

I was born in 1963. Kind of assinine to feel that I "missed" something that
was over before I was borne.

Then how do you explain the fascination with WWII aircraft and flight
sims?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (requires authentication)

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

In article ,
ArtKramr wrote:
If you didn't fight in WW II do you feel as though your had missed something?
Do you feel that given your druthers you'd rather have been there than not? Any
regrets at having missed it? Anyone?

Having heard the descriptions of that war from my father (coast defence
during summer 1940, including Cromwell, Atlantic escorts 1940-1943,
channel 1943-44, south atlantic escorts 1944-45) and some of his
contemporaries (whose service included variously intruder missions over
France in Beaufighters, tanks in France in 1940, the desert and Italy,
motor gunboats in the channel and the Adriatic, minesweepers in the
channel and flying fulmars over the western desert, then Corsairs in
the far east) I'm *profoundly* glad I missed it. I can see the scars it
left on people. I'm very glad that my generation didn't have to go through
that (and I think my parents generation are mainly glad that they saved
their children and grandchildren from having to do it).
That said, my parents' generation were faced with either doing something
about a truely horrible threat (though without knowing - then - quite
how horrible it was) or having to live under it. If I'd been faced with
the same situation I can only hope I might have done as well. I'm not
sure I would, but then maybe neither were they. I'm very glad to have been
spared that.
The tragedy - in this country at least (.uk) - is the way part of that
generation's legacy - the country they built *after* they came home -
has been squandered by my generation.

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
"Time has stopped, says the Black Lion clock
and eternity has begun" (Dylan Thomas)

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 03:56:47 -0500, Cub Driver
wrote:

I was born in 1963. Kind of assinine to feel that I "missed" something that
was over before I was borne.

Then how do you explain the fascination with WWII aircraft and flight
sims?

I own a lot of books on medieval history. Doesn't mean I have any
desire to participate in the Black Death on a personal level, nor that
I feel I missed out on anything by not dying of pneumonic plague.

Gavin Bailey

ArtKramr wrote:

Nope.But in the last 60 years I constantly hear from guys who tell me how
lucky I was to be there and how they wished they had been there with us.
I was just wondering how those in this NG feel about that.

Modern desires to be a part of the WWII effort might be
aided in knowing what the outcome was! Would many Germans
or Japanese want to be a part of this fight knowing how it
ended or the fuller context of the war?

However, of all the wars fought during American history,
I'd say the Revolution, Civil War (Union) and WWII seem
most worthy of participation. If you're going to have to
be involved in a war, those are the ones I'd "choose" to
be a part of. (I think the current Iraqi effort has some
attractiveness too, at least in what it would like to
accomplish).

One thing that makes WWII "attractive" to those looking
back (certainly myself), is the way the nation seemed so
united. No one claiming FDR lacked military experience and
was incompetent to lead; FDR was just a rich guy letting
someone else provide the blood; that American policies
were the cause of the Japanese attack (they were); the
whole affair was just to get the US out of depression and
profits for corporations, ad infinitum.

Perhaps there was that, but it seemed drowned out by people
resolved to destroy the enemy no matter the cost. A broad
popular belief that it was a just cause. Truly a nation
working in lock step to accomplish a goal.


SMH

Subject: If yiu didn't fight in WW II.....
From: Stephen Harding
Date: 2/27/04 3:48 AM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

ArtKramr wrote:

Nope.But in the last 60 years I constantly hear from guys who tell me how
lucky I was to be there and how they wished they had been there with us.
I was just wondering how those in this NG feel about that.

Modern desires to be a part of the WWII effort might be
aided in knowing what the outcome was! Would many Germans
or Japanese want to be a part of this fight knowing how it
ended or the fuller context of the war?

However, of all the wars fought during American history,
I'd say the Revolution, Civil War (Union) and WWII seem
most worthy of participation. If you're going to have to
be involved in a war, those are the ones I'd "choose" to
be a part of. (I think the current Iraqi effort has some
attractiveness too, at least in what it would like to
accomplish).

One thing that makes WWII "attractive" to those looking
back (certainly myself), is the way the nation seemed so
united. No one claiming FDR lacked military experience and
was incompetent to lead; FDR was just a rich guy letting
someone else provide the blood; that American policies
were the cause of the Japanese attack (they were); the
whole affair was just to get the US out of depression and
profits for corporations, ad infinitum.

Perhaps there was that, but it seemed drowned out by people
resolved to destroy the enemy no matter the cost. A broad
popular belief that it was a just cause. Truly a nation
working in lock step to accomplish a goal.


SMH


Most meaningful post on this subject so far. Thank you.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer

Subject: If yiu didn't fight in WW II.....
From: "Dave Kearton"
Date: 2/26/04 11:25 PM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

"ArtKramr" wrote in message
...
| If you didn't fight in WW II do you feel as though your had missed
something?
| Do you feel that given your druthers you'd rather have been there than
not? Any
| regrets at having missed it? Anyone?
|
|
| Arthur Kramer
| 344th BG 494th BS
| England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
| Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
| http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer
|




I guess if I had to use up one of my 3 wishes on WWII Art, it would be for
Adolf Hitler to slip over in the bath and break his neck, some time in the
early '20s.


It would make a good movie and I'd enjoy sitting in the front row with all
my absent relatives and enjoying the special effects.



Glad you were there, gladder you came home.



Thank you. May we never forget absent friends.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer

Subject: If yiu didn't fight in WW II.....
From: (B2431)
Date: 2/26/04 10:29 PM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

From: "Tarver Engineering"


I was in the National Guard doing NORAD duty at ground zero, so I don't
believe I missed anything.

Congratulations, you were on or near a major city, military base or site,
industrial complex, government center etc. By george, so were the vast
majority
of the U.S. population. Wow, look at all them ground zeros. I guess that mean
you were front line duty? Was it rough duty?

You were just one of thousands of wrench benders. So was I.

Want to compare combat duty? I can tell you about my time in AF spec ops or
my
participation in the South East Asia War Games and you can tell me..um...
well.. I guess you can tell me about the fights you had with the B girls.
Tell
me, did you win any?

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired


As Colin Powell said:

"I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and
well-placed managed to wangle slots in the Army Reserve and National
Guard units... Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class
discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all
Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to their country."

Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer