A few of the only times my Dad ever talked about the war was Thankgiving, he told me a few stories about the assault on Tarawa which began several days before Thanksgiving in November of 1943, the bottom line was when he realized it was Thanksgiving day he could not believe he was still alive, it was one of the bloodiest battles in US and Marine Corps history.
- Thread starter LAA
- Start date
Billy Shafer
Well-known Member
I once dated a girl whose father was there. For two weeks around Thanksgiving he stayed locked in his room. That battle really messed him up.
Ultradog MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Twin Cities
LAA-do not know you or your Dad but when I read about your Dad something happened to my mind. I to was in the infantry in a foreign land 45 years ago. Your Dad is who he is today because of the experiences in survived in WW-2. Ask about those times he endured and how he felt about it at the time. I am thankfaul today for people like your Dad and for that I saluts him. Thanks for sharing your short story.
Andy Martin
Well-known Member
My father in law was on Corregidor, survived the death march across Luzon (he said only the farm boys made it), cattle ship to Japan, four years in POW camp, and I cannot fathom what he went through. He addressed it through alcohol and as far as I'm concerned he earned the right to live as he liked. He's been gone thirty years but I cannot read any account of war survival without thinking of his sacrifice. By the way, when he enlisted in the Coast Guard, they offered to send him to Puerto Rico or the Philippines. He said he and his buddy should have paid more attention to geography in school, they told the recruiter "We don't know where the Philippines are but Puerto Rico is hot". His buddy made it back too, tough guys to the end.
Goose
Well-known Member
In 1955 I was in a unit in the Marine Corps with a Master Sergeant who had survived the Bataan Death March. I hate to admit I can't remember his name. He had his good days and his bad, but NOBODY messed with him. They just let him to his own thing and nobody made an issue of it if he was having a bad day.
dr sportster
Well-known Member
The Japanese General said it would take a million men a hundred years to take the island of Tarawa. I was saying that out loud to myself one day when working and the laborer looks at me and says my father was bayoneted by six jxps on Tarawa . His father lived to tell about it.
A check of several references does seem to confirm that the medal was a Bronze Star. The U-Dog link was the only source naming the Navy Cross. As to the number of marines rescued: he apparently rescued the 47 personally, but as a lieutenant he organized and supervised a small flotilla of boats that rescued others.
dr sportster
Well-known Member
There are websites that question every medal ever awarded.
Yeah, that's true. But part of that is because some people make inflated claims to further themselves or someone else. Sometimes it's because someone says they got some awards they never did or the claim they did something that never happened. Others are people trying to tear someone down. Either way, if you go to the source of the award you can usually find out the actual story. I found this out researching some ancestors. I had an uncle that I always heard "won a medal in WW1". "A medal" turned out to be the Navy Cross and Silver Star (Silver Star Citation at that time). The man never told anyone about it as far as I know and reading the official reports surely give you some insight into what true heroism is.
OTOH, I've sen various claims that everyone from Mr Rogers to Lee Marvin to Ted Knight were among the most highly decorated men in US military history and that some good men got awards through lies and deceit. Doing a bit of research usually gives you a much clearer idea of what actually happened.
Similar threads
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.
Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy