Two more gone

[Rusty]

A man that I've been swapping e-mail with passed on this last week. George Brunell, Jr. was 87 when he passed. One of the things he was most proud of was his six years in the Navy during and after WWII. He was on several battleships and was on a mine sweeper to prepare the way for the D-Day invasion.

MY wife's cousin Kermit Hill also passed away last week and was laid to rest Sunday afternoon. Kermit was in the U.S.M.C. in the PTO during WWII.

I read last week that we are losing these vets at a rate of 1200 a day. Guys, please talk to these men so their accomplishments will not be forgotten.

[madman4570]

Will Do!!!

[Nath]

Hmm, food for thought, thankyou.

Nath.

[KWK]

please talk to these men so their accomplishments will not be forgotten

I enjoy talking to the vets, but they are getting scarce. Many of them have recorded their accomplishments in books for all future generations to read. I just finished an excellent book by a 7th Army front line surgeon -- it was gripping. It offered insights not in your typical history book.

[AJMD429]

That was an amazing generation - understood the concept of "responsibility" "duty" and simply doing what was RIGHT. What I don't understand is how they spawned the Boomer generation (and don't bother flaming me, because I AM one too) - which in general has been the generation of irresponsibility, immorality, and cheat-if-you-can-get-away-wth-it. As that (my) generation has gained the seats of power in government and industry, we've ushered in a cruel socialism the likes of which our 'greatest generation' would never have dreamed of.

If they'd have known what their progeny would have done to this country, sometimes I think they'd have just stayed at home playing croquet, and let the world be darned.

Thankfully, all of us 'boomers' are not that way.

[JerryB]

Rusty boy, I know how you feel. I lost a dear friend, my cousin last week and it sure left a hole but I'll see him again before long.
Just remember,you still have me to write back and forth with, I hope for awhile yet.

[Blaine]

As that (my) generation has gained the seats of power in government and industry, we've ushered in a cruel socialism the likes of which our 'greatest generation' would never have dreamed of.

Well, they let FDR have four chances to increase his socialist hold on the Country, and for him to insure that the USSR had a stranglehold on Eastern Europe for fifty years. Gave us the divided Koreas and IndoChina.... Sorry, I salute their Valor at War, and their overall value system, but they gave us a real deadly row to hoe, too.

[jeepnik]

Don't know how accurate that number is, but they are leaving us rapidly. But then, so are the Korea and yes Viet Nam vets. Nature's way I guess, but a lot of lessons learned will die with them.

[Hobie]

Thanks for sharing that Rusty.

I spend a lot of my time talking to vets of all ages. You would likely be surprised at the number of Vietnam Veterans who are passing on! Too dang many. The VFW posts are now run by that generation or so it seems. I talk to the GWOT Vets, too. My good friend Phil's boy Paul is now going for the gold after 3 tours in Iraq. Phil served 20+ years but didn't enlist until he was almost 35 and just retired. Paul enlisted right out of high school and made SSG.

[BigSky56]

Two good friends of mine passed a couple of years ago Bob a Marine took 4 rounds to the chest going up the beach on Guadalcanal he recovered and fought on other islands and Shorty my door gunner to agent orange he was a grunt and was wounded and finished his tour flying both good men and combat finally killed them,it can make your eyes water sometimes. danny

[Ysabel Kid]

Rusty - sorry to hear of your losses. You are correct on the rate of passing of our WWII-era veterans. I heard yesterday that there is only one living WWI veteran left in this country!

[Rusty]

We had men fight and die all over Europe in two wars and the only land we ever took from them was a few acres in five countries. We took land in England, France, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and that was only enough to lay our dead to rest.

These men did more with less than the world will ever know.

[Ysabel Kid]

We had men fight and die all over Europe in two wars and the only land we ever took from them was a few acres in five countries. We took land in England, France, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and that was only enough to lay our dead to rest.

These men did more with less than the world will ever know.

Agreed. It is the world's loss - and curse - that we forget this, as with all others things in history, it simply means we are more likely to have to repeat the hard lessons in the future. The way BoBo is going, it may be here...

[jeepnik]

We had men fight and die all over Europe in two wars and the only land we ever took from them was a few acres in five countries. We took land in England, France, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and that was only enough to lay our dead to rest.

These men did more with less than the world will ever know.

Interesting that in the towns around the cemetaries you speak of, the respect for those who died is sometimes greater than that of the deads own countrymen. I guess if it was your town they saved, it's more personal.