A veteran's story: Charmed life?

[trof]

I first met Joe while having a few drinks at Bob's house about a year ago.
Nice looking guy, quiet. Looked to be in his mid-to-late 60s.

I stepped out on the deck for a smoke and Joe and Bob joined me.
Bob said "Get Joe to tell you about his wartime experiences".
I say "You were in Viet Nam?"
"No, World War II."
"Wow! You must have lied about your age to get in."
"No, I was 21. I'd just graduated from Georgia Tech in engineering."
Damn, Joe is in his 80s.

"Were you in Europe?"
"Yep, from the beginning to the end. I landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Fought all the way through France and I was in the Battle of the Bulge. Eventually we pressed on into Germany and I was with the outfit that liberated Dachau. That's the worst thing I've ever seen. They shipped us home a couple of months after that."

We chatted for quite a while. Joe went into some detail about a few of his adventures. It was amazing to me that one guy could survive two of the most life threatening situations of his generation. At one point I expressed my appreciation for what he and other heroes had done. He said what I've heard a lot of combat veterans say. "Naw, I wasn't a hero. The heroes were the guys who didn't come back."
Whew

[YellowRubberDuckie]

1. My great uncle was a paratrooper...

He to this day won't even speak about it. Skip's dad was in the navy during Viet Nam. They say that the navy guys didn't see a lot. That's a lie. Fred has been so effected by what he saw, he just now will talk about it. He saw one of his pilot friends crash into the side of the carrier, and he watched him burn. That's not something anyone should have to see. And I know a lot of guys that came back from Viet Nam and won't even speak about it. They can't. One of my supervisors at work, her husband has flash backs. He has severe PTSD...he had 2 tours.
Thanks so much all of you that served in war time and during peace.
Duckie

[Swede]

2. My uncle flew bombing missions over Germany

He was in the RCAF and flew around twenty missions. He said they were terrifying but that he had it easy compared to others.