Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/04/01
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> My dad was an airman and became a bit of a WWII historian. Always
> more than willing to talk about it. Ann's dad served on the ground in
> Korea and never (like never) talked about. And that that reflects my
> experience with veterans of those two wars. The closer they were to
> the horror the less they opened up about it. Air and Navy men who
> successfully kept their distance have a different view and story to
> tell. Those in the heat of it kept it to themselves - mostly.
>
Both this series and Phil's are well worth a look.
My father and four of my uncles served in 3 different branches of the
Canadian Armed Forces during WWII (3 of them underage initially). My dad,
his brother George and my uncle Bill served in the RCAF and never once spoke
of their war experiences. Their only stories were about people they were
stationed with. My uncle Ron spent most of the war in a Canadian destroyer
chasing German submarines and E boats along the French coast. He also never
spoke about his war experiences until the end of his life. He was in hospice
care suffering from alzheimer's and final stage cancer a couple of years ago.
My father's oldest brother Louis spent two years fighting in the mud of the
Italian peninsula with the Canadian Army (infantry) and returned a
significantly changed man according to my Dad. He never ever discussed the
war: period.
That said, the entire group of them spent their childhood during the great
depression and they never speak/spoke of that time in their lives unless
specifically asked.
Greg Lorenzo
Calgary, Canada
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