**Remembering Those Who Have Passed on this Memorial Day**

[Peacetrain]

My Dad, who went in on the 2nd wave at Omaha Beach. Who would not talk about the horror because he was so old school.. and held it in, till his last few years.. I had no idea what he went through. Dad I miss you.. You really were a hero to me.

[pwb]

1. I put my Fathers burial flag case out on the porch rail today.

World War II tank gunner in The Philippines.

[tavernier]

2. Thank you for the post

[grantcart]

9. +1

[ProudMNDemocrat]

3. My Great Uncle Tony Deversa...

A Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17 crew, shot down over the Bering Strait by the Japanese in December of 1944.

R.I.P Uncle Tony...

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. CSM Robert Dondero, D July 1970

When I served in Germany, CSM Dondero was a respected old man (being nearly 40 at the time). Died from a rocket explosion in Vietnam. One more name on the wall.

Salute.

* CSM - Command Sergeant Major.

[COL Mustard]

5. They were a different kind of people.

They did a lot but didn't talk about it. Not like the fakers we see today who want to steal valor they didn't earn.

[Karadeniz]

6. Those are the bravest people I've ever heard of. Imagine being told the night before to make your

will...being told you were carrying a body bag... to make sure your dog tags were secure. Getting a special send off from the highest ranking general in the world. I doubt schools present the full extent of their great souls.

[usaf-vet]

7. My Dad RM3 USN WW II who spent 18 months in the jungle on the Amazon River.....

..... intercepting German U-Boat transmission as part of a "team" of other USN radio listening sites triangulating U-Boat location to attempt to sink them via flying torpedo-carrying planes.

He spent the rest of his life as a disabled veteran suffering from jungle-borne disease.

Never complaining, and often working two jobs to raise six kids.

Dandelions, Today Dad are covering our lawns—time to go fishing. Thanks for teaching me how to fish.

Miss you and Mom.

[AllaN01Bear]

8. ""

[thatcrowwoman]

10. Uncle Bill survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor on the Arizona, but would never talk about it.

It haunted him, but despite that he lived a long and mostly happy life until he died decades later.
🕊thatcrowwoman

[BobTheSubgenius]

11. My father's experience in WW2 was quite different from the stories of most veterans.

There were still a lot of servicemen that shared his experiences, but not the vast majority. My father flew Spitfires, first out of England, then various bases on the continent. Spitfire pilots were rock stars in England, largely thanks to the incredible efforts of those who fought the Battle of Britain.

When he was demobbed at the end of the war, he declined the offer of a commercial pilot's license. He said "I just finished flying one of the fastest aircraft we had, and it had machine guns. I have no interest in driving a bus."

He never piloted another plane for the rest of his life. He never stopped loving Spits, though. Still, every Nov 11, he put on his dress uni and attended Dawn Patrol at the cenotaph in Victory Square in downtown Vancouver.

He thought it was the least he could do.

[calimary]

12. My dad once said he was most proud that "I never raised a gun against my fellow man."

That comment stopped me in my tracks.

I’ve thought about that thousands of times over the years. He just made it into the year 2000 before he passed. Four days in. But he didn’t know it by then, being kept unconscious and sedated against the pain, and he quietly slipped away.

And as I thought about it, it struck me that, remarkably enough, NEITHER my dad nor my father-in-law, both WW2 veterans, had fired a shot against their fellow men. My Dad flew photo reconnaissance. My father-in-law was an Army doctor, working in a MASH unit in Australia.

They’re both at rest, a rest well and nobly earned.

[republianmushroom]

13. We owe them so much for their sacrifices

Father, Navy, pacific
Uncle, Army, Europe
Uncle, Army, Philippines died Japanese Slave labor 3 days before V-J day.

An today we have Jan. 6th.

28 months and counting

[catbyte]

14. My dad. First Marine Division. First wave at Guadalcanal, veteran of other South Pacific

hellholes and the most brutal of all, Okinawa. He was the best dad a little girl could ever have. I lost him too young in 2000 to ALS. Dad, I miss you every day, and thank you.

[paleotn]

17. Wow! Old Breed, i.e. 1st Marines.

They saw tons of action in WWII and beyond. One of the most venerated units in the US military.

[catbyte]

19. He was the toughest guy I've ever met yet he was a big softie, especially towards animals.

The only things he ever said about the war was that the South Pacific "was hotter than hell" and to avoid South Pacific typhoons at all costs, especially on a carrier, lol. It wasn't until the last 6 months of his life when he got together with his old war buddies in the nursing home he was in that I started to hear what he really did. I could kick myself for not recording them. As I was leaving the facility one day, one of his buddies came up to me and whispered, "You know, your dad is a real hero." It didn't come as a surprise to me because he'd always been my hero. After his death, I found a cigar box full of medals and ribbons, including a Purple Heart and Silver Star. They were a whole different breed.

[Auggie]

15. Cousin Paul ...

bobbed overnight in the waters off New Guinea after his Destroyer was torpedoed by a Japanese sub during World War II. The two other Destroyers that were part of the task force were deployed to hunt the sub. Survivors were picked up the next morning. There were some crew deaths.

He promised to tell me the story some day only if he was "a little drunk," but we never got around to it. I found the details online after he passed.

Miss you Cuz ...

[paleotn]

16. Absolutely.

Dad served in the 30th Infantry. D-Day +5, St. Lo, Mortain, across France, The Bulge, attached to Ninth Army and crossed the Rhine during Operation Plunder, liberating sub camps of Buchenwald and on to Magdeburg, the Elbe and VE Day. Worried about points and being shipped off to the Pacific. VJ Day precluded that and then the long boat ride home.

One of my maternal great uncle thought dad serving in the 30th was cool, since he served in the same division in WWI.

[Permanut]

18. A salute to your Dad, Peace train..

Also to

1LT Curtis Onchi

1LT Bill Liddycoat

Names on the wall.

[bif]

20. My dad passed away on Memorial Day 5-years ago.

He was a navigator on a B-29 in the Pacific.

[Skittles]

21. my grandfather spent a week on the beach at Dunkirk

tapped by land, air and sea

calmest guy I ever knew......