The WWII Thread

[black4vcobra]

Back in the late '70's, I was in High School. I was also an apprentice brick layer. One of my instructors was an old Italian guy. The thing about him was, he had a Hell of a sense of humor, and nothing, no problem that presented itself, was ever impossible. The boss would tell him what needed to be done, and he'd figure it out, and it'd get done. I asked him one day what made him so certain he could solve any problem?

He laughed, and said when he was 17, he was in the Marines, and fought on Iwo Jima. Early on, it was tough to keep the Marines supplied with ammo, food, and everything else. One day, they're in a battle with some Japanese troops, and both sides run out of bullets. So both sides fixed bayonets and went at it.

He found himself standing in front of a Japanese soldier, who he figured couldn't be more than 15, if that! The kid got past his guard and tried to stab him in the chest, and it looked like it did. The bayonet penetrated his shirt, but it also just slid perfectly between his chest and his arm.

They were standing there, looking at each other. He was waiting to die, and was surprised he hadn't. The Japanese soldier had heard Americans were tough, and sure enough, he just stabbed this one and he's still standing there!

My old boss's Sergeant comes along, and shouts, "What the Hell are you waiting for? Finish him!"

My old boss looks at the kid, and can't bring himself to kill him. So he flips his rifle around, and smacks him in the head, knocking him right out.

"And after that, Jimmy, everything else in life has pretty much been easy!"

They exchanged info, and kept in touch after the war. The Japanese soldier became a brick layer, because that's what the man who spared his life said he was going to be. He eventually moved to the United States, to Pasadena, Texas. and lived out the rest of his life here. They were friends right up to the end.

I don't know why, but everyone called him "Taiwan Tommy." Like my old sponsor, he was a great guy, with a great sense of humor.

Those of us who grew up in that time were raised by WWII vets.

That is wild.

Couple questions though, the Japanese spoke English well enough to communicate? Also, how did the guy you know keep the rest of the troops from killing the Japanese solider?

 

[Lambeau]

PQ17 - An Arctic Convoy Disaster
Another excellent tribute to WWII Warriors by Jeremy Clarkson.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

That is wild.

Couple questions though, the Japanese spoke English well enough to communicate? Also, how did the guy you know keep the rest of the troops from killing the Japanese solider?

America was a big tourist destination for the Japanese before the start of the war and I believe English was taught in their schools. I think it was Yamamoto that trained in the U.S. and cautioned about a war with us.

 

[Silverstrike]

America was a big tourist destination for the Japanese before the start of the war and I believe English was taught in their schools. I think it was Yamamoto that trained in the U.S. and cautioned about a war with us.

He went and graduated from Harvard that was how he knew first hand about Americas industrial might and what was in store for Japan if the war was not over by the third year, as the island nation would have no hope on stopping the inevitable tide of manpower, material and weapons that would crash against the Japanese shores.

His quote is so prophetic. " You allow me to carry out the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and I'll guarantee unbridled success for 6 months, after that I can not guarantee victory as America would be recovering from it."

 

[Lambeau]

"Build it like your son is going to count on it with his life!"

That's actually a true story for my son and me.

As a LT on Bradley's with the 1st Armored out of Ft. Bliss, my son used both Medium Cal Bushmaster 25mm rounds from ATK, and VT Miltope ruggedized laptops.

I engineered M758 Fuze components, forgings/metal finish/paint for M792 projectile bodies at ATK (M792 HEI-T/SD rounds), and multiple injection molded components for ruggedized laptop computers at Phillips Plastics (via sub for VT Miltope).

Would have been interesting to know the lot#'s from the 25mm rounds used.

 

[Klaus]

America was a big tourist destination for the Japanese before the start of the war and I believe English was taught in their schools. I think it was Yamamoto that trained in the U.S. and cautioned about a war with us.

Yes, Yamamoto was trained at US Naval Academy. I could be mistaken but I believe he was pen pals with Halsey who gave him a 45 colt as a gift.

 

[Tezz500]

Yes, Yamamoto was trained at US Naval Academy. I could be mistaken but I believe he was pen pals with Halsey who gave him a 45 colt as a gift.

If those mofos had radar at midway… life might be very different in the pacific today…

 

[James Snover]

That is wild.

Couple questions though, the Japanese spoke English well enough to communicate? Also, how did the guy you know keep the rest of the troops from killing the Japanese solider?

When I met him, it was 1972, and he'd been living in the USA for 20 years. At that point his English was excellent. I don't know if he spoke it during the war, or learned later. Both sides had individuals who could translate, so if he didn't speak it then, they must have had a translator.

How did he keep the rest of the Marines from killing the Japanese soldier? He had knocked him cold. He was out for a few hours. There were plenty of others still coming at you, so if this one is down, keep on against the ones that are still coming at you.

One thing my old boss told me was that the Japanese soldiers fought like crazy, for two reasons: their honor, and because they had been told the Americans were going to eat Japanese babies and rape their women, if they got past Iwo Jima and made it to mainland Japan. Many times, he said Japanese soldiers continued to fight despite massive wounds, to the very last breath.

 

[Double"O"]

I'll second that nomination, and I'll include the women of the era, also. I had two Aunts who were genuine Rosie the Riveters. One worked making spark plugs, the other worked building bombers, at Ford. "Build it like your son is going to count on it with his life!"

Those people lived through the Great Depression. No doubt that had a lot to do with their toughness, after having lived through that.

Thats damn right...my grandfather missed ww2 by about a year (early) but man the men and women boen in the 19teens were one legit awrsome generation in several ways

 

[HudsonFalcon]

The Greatest Generation for a reason. They went through The Depression, fought a world war then built America into an economic powerhouse.

 

[7998]

My one grandfather was in the 101st Airborne, 327th Glider Infantry. He would never talk about the war or what he did. I'm sure he had his reasons.
I do have a Prussian officers sabre that was surrendered to him and a Ruby pistol he brought back. I'd love to know the story why he kept the Ruby instead of the Lugers he sold.
He also hated the M-1 Garand. He'd say as soon as he hit the ground he'd look for a carbine. His exact words "" You wouldn't like that damn rifle so much if you had to lug it across Europe""

I also have an Arisaka that an uncle brought back. He put it in a monte carlo stock and killed deer all over PA with it. Luckily he kept the teak stock and I returned it to original.

My other grandfather was a Combat Engineer in the Pacific.

And I'd argue that WW1 changed the world substantially more than WW2.

 

[tom_tom]

My grandfather was at D-Day (not the initial first wave of boys who went in) as some kind of support engineer. Until the last year or so of his life he never spoke a word about it besides anything good he saw in France. Once he knew his mortality was near, he told stories that made Hollywood movies look tame.

What always struck me is how France, Britain and Germany learned nothing from WWII.

Any particular story that you're comfortable sharing?

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

[tom_tom]

How many WW2 vets are even left alive? I’d love to speak to a few of them about the world today and get their thoughts on what they fought for…

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[03cobra#2]

My dad was on the Queen Mary during WW2 and my Grandfather was in WW1...I'm 46.

I have a unbelievable collection of pictures, documents, diaries, their uniforms, guns, rosaries, ect. I get extremely choked up when I attempt to go through these things. The family history, what they went through.

I'm sure historians, museums would go crazy over some of the stuff I have. Here's a couple pics:

 

[03cobra#2]

 

[03cobra#2]

 

[03cobra#2]

 

[03cobra#2]

Sorry to blow up the feed. One more of my Grandpa.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

Sorry to blow up the feed. One more of my Grandpa.

Absolutely no apologies needed. Please post as much as you’d like to share. Keep their memories and contributions alive.

 

[wizbangdoodle]

My Mother-in-law was a pilot in WW2. Of course, they didn't let the women fly combat missions. Their job was to do the things that could free up the men to fly combat, like ferry planes, tow targets for target practice etc. I got a few stories out of her before she passed. I'll type some out later when I get a chance.