my Uncle was part of one of the liberation units of Dachau.

[appalachiablue]

33. Thank you for sharing your uncle's experiences. I salute his service & bravery like all Veterans.

The difficulties he had following the war are more common than we realize. It's seems that little to nothing was done to help soldiers readjust or connect with others after the war years in any organized way unfortunately. I read the same by a wonderful woman in her 80s, one of three women who were children Holocaust survivors recently interviewed by the Telegraph UK News. She remarked about how there was no one around afterwards who could or would understand her experience; also that she couldn't believe anti-Semitism was reviving now.

My father was a 24 year old 1st lieutenant in the 7th Army, Rhineland Campaign, the Liberation of Dachau and the Army of Occupation. He received the Bronze Star which I now have, for bravery when his convoy was spotted by German 88s, long-range powerful guns while crossing a border into Germany and his commanding officer was wounded or lost control and Dad took over.

Like so many other WWII veterans our father never said much about the war, and we didn't ask more unfortunately. When I returned from Europe when young with Bavarian souvenirs from Munich for him he was so pleased and gave me several of his 838th AAA (anti aircraft artillery) lapel pins, some German and French coins, a few German Nazi SS uniform patches and his SAE college fraternity pin.

These mementoes I cherish and hold dear, like the memories I have of him. I only wish I had thanked him for all he did and made sure he knew how much we respected and loved him, a handsome, intelligent, strong and colorful man who was one of the Greatest Generation like our beautiful, cultured and gentle mother who worked in NYC and San Francisco while waiting for him to return safely from war.

Years later I learned more about Dad's service from my older brother who gave me one his seven steps, 7th Army patches. I vaguely knew Dad was in Bavaria which I visited during college but not that he had been at Dachau until many years later when my brother told me. When we were young Mother recounted their time when he was in OCS and trained in NC and Texas on Swedish Bofur guns, and his embarkation from NY to Bournemouth, England. She also gently mentioned that he was treated for battle fatigue. I didn't understand then but know much more about Dad as a person now.

We must remember what the brave persons endured, survived, died for and defended during the Second World War and how bigotry, oppression and authoritarianism are evils that threaten our democratic way of life if left unchallenged and unopposed.