I refuse to let a draft-dodging coward call my father a loser.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

The day after Pearl Harbor he and my uncle enlisted. Dad was assigned to the Army Air Corps, and was trained as a B-24 Liberator bomber pilot, and assigned to a base in Italy.

On his second mission the right wing of his aircraft was blown off at the root and the plane spiraled down into the clouds. Thanks to the internet I read the incident report. The entire crew bailed out and survived, thankfully. Once he was captured by the locals and handed over to the Germans, he spent the remainder of the war as a POW in Stalag Luft I. Fortunately he didn't suffer any major injuries (he was awarded a Purple Heart, which I only learned about when going through his stuff after he died).

Even though he never talked about his experiences during the war, he was my hero.

Fuck you, loser Trump.

[Karadeniz]

1. Totally true and well said! Thanks

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. I can relate.

My dad enlisted after Pearl Harbor. He was an engine room machinist on a pocket aircraft carrier, patrolling South America (West Coast). Took a Japanese torpedo close to his position....but it never exploded. That's why I'm here posting on DU today....


Fuck Trump.

[Mr.Bill]

3. My dad was in the 449th bomber group in Italy.

He was a B-24 top turret gunner and flight engineer. He was there from '43-'45. He flew 50 missions and made it without a scratch. Imagine being a 9th grade dropout from a farm in Maryland and being a flight engineer on a four-engine bomber. He never talked much about it either. He did go to a few reunions in the 80s, and started talking about it more. He passed away in 1990.

[Dem2theMax]

5. Your dad is our hero too.

And my dad. Army.
And my mom. Army Air Corps.
And all the other veterans who have ever served!

[Withywindle]

6. My grandfather was badly wounded in that war

Had to wear a leg brace for the rest of his life. He was a Republican and he had many arguments with his son, my father, about that.

He passed away almost 30 years ago, but I don't think he would stand for this insult to men like him and the ones he served with.

Patriot spirits all over the political spectrum are not having this shit.

[BadgerMom]

7. My dad

served in Europe as a captain in the US Army Signal Corps in WWII. He bore a scar on his upper arm from being struck by a German bayonet. You know what? He wasn’t a sucker or a loser. He was a patriot. Just sayin’.

[James48]

8. My grandfather joined

While still in high school in 1917, and became part of an Army Guard Field Artillery team in World War 1.

When I was a child, he let me play with his gas mask. In the last week of the war, his Ohio National Guard field artillery unit moved to the front and he was exposed to mustard gas, and incapacitated for a short time. One guy in his unit died. Luckily he recovered, but for the rest of his life, he exhibited scars from the damage done by the gas. My Grandfather lived into his 90’s.

My dad served Army during Korea, but stayed stateside, participating in Nuclear blast experiments in White Sands, New Mexico. He died at age 43.

I served 20 years in the US Army, starting off as a PFC, and retiring as a Captain. I swore an oath to protect our nation against all enemies, just like my Dad, and my Grandfather.

Fuck Trump.