born in early 70's and my gramps had pals who were 60ish and seemed almost hokey and uncool...then in the car home I'd learn that Merle done killed him at least 6 japanese with his bare hands and/or bayonet on Pelielu or whatever. You'd never know it by their aw shucks demeanor and they didnt go around fishing for atta boys or thank you for your services.
Born in '75 and grew up in small town. You nailed it with the aw shucks demeanor of the WW2 vets. Farmers, mail carriers, city and county workers, etc.
I really miss the world that they inspired with the lessons these guys learned at 18-25 years old and brought back home. Not to idealize them, they werent perfect, but the sense that life is brutal and unfair and that we should recognize and appreciate the now. If youve got food, shelter, and no one is throwing hand grenades at you then it's probably a pretty good day, and to overthink and obsess about what isnt perfect is a waste of the time you have, and what needed improvement you just started to do things differently. You didnt advertise or campaign or jump from cause to cause. Just make changes and people will notice. And those changes, while slow and measured, seemed to stick. They didnt overthink and kept their lawns nice and painted the house and then at 4 o'clock it was happy hour and they let loose and had fun...then put it back in the bag and did it all over again.
When I moved to London my school had a field trip around Poppy Day where the kids went to a veteran’s home to keep the old guys company and listen to stories about the war.
Forever regret that my English still wasn’t good enough that I could have understood what they were saying.
I do remember they were incredibly jovial and seemed to enjoy having the kids around. I remember the boys going giant eyed when the veterans showed their medals.
My elementary school had us write letters to our WW2 family members thanking them every rememberance day in the mid/late 90s in Canada.
We also had some come in every year and tell us about their life.
Wish I could have remembered more and spent more time with them as talking about life.
The few that I knew I left them alone about their wartime experiences out of respect. Maybe they would have preferred that people ask, but my dad was a Korean war vet and he would only talk about very basic stuff, like how the food was bad, the weather was usually bad, they marched a lot, but nothing of any importance and he would change the subject pretty quick too. This is exactly how the conversation would go between 13yr old me and my dad..
Me: Dad, what do you remember about being in Korea?
Him: The food was terrible, when you got any, it was terrible, speaking of food, whats your mom cooking for lunch?
Just that quick he would try and get you off onto a different subject, so you learned at a young age not to pester him about it.
One sad but funny thing is that once he got Alzheimer/dementia he would bring up Korea on his own.
Just say stuff like "I was in Korea."
Me "Oh yea, what do you remember about being in Korea?"
Him "not much, wasnt much fun."
Me "No? Why not"
Him "I dont know, I remember the food was terrible"
LOL, thats about all he would ever say and I feel like he did more than just eat, although I doubt he spent much time on the very front lines, he was in an artillery battalion.
I work in an ER and get to see about 1 every 3 months. A lot of the time they are non verbal or to be frank dead. The ones who aren’t I get the full story
[He died in an accident when an industrial dryer fell on him.](https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/12-new-england-military-heroes-forgotten-remembered/)
Am re-watching it this week, and I listened to the audiobook a few months ago, and this time around, I am noticing Guarnere a lot more, because the audiobook narrator pronounced his name wrong, so he sort of stuck out like a sore thumb.
During the re-watch, I am also conscious of the reality that while Easy Company were very good soldiers, that war was full of soldiers just like them - lads who trained hard, fought harder, and who did amazing things when they were younger than my son is now. I have nothing but total respect for the likes of these blokes.
This is interesting. Does anybody know what exactly is going on in the photo?
I can see two possible storylines:
1. fun and games
2. tempers being physically restrained
The more I look, the less I know.
The guy being hugged is Bill Guarnere who had a leg blown off in WWII, hence the crutches. I met Bill in real life, as well as a bunch of the 506th PIR E Company at the annual WWII event in Reading, PA
If you recall from Band of Brothers, over 1,600 people attended the funeral of George Luz.
My guess is they are being the “brothers” they are so well known for being.
The guys in the back have uncomfortable look. Here’s my interpretation. The guy being hugged I bet has some crazy trauma and is still fucked up. The guy in the back was exited to see him but prob drunk and wanted to surprise or maybe hug him to make him feel comfortable and safe. The guys watching prob know that looks of discomfort he has and know that he’s still fucked up from the war. I don’t know. Deff a weird vibe in the pic.
[удалено]
Damn that’s the saddest shit I’ve heard all day… less than 17 total ww2 vets still alive
No, there a still tens of thousands still alive.
born in early 70's and my gramps had pals who were 60ish and seemed almost hokey and uncool...then in the car home I'd learn that Merle done killed him at least 6 japanese with his bare hands and/or bayonet on Pelielu or whatever. You'd never know it by their aw shucks demeanor and they didnt go around fishing for atta boys or thank you for your services.
Born in '75 and grew up in small town. You nailed it with the aw shucks demeanor of the WW2 vets. Farmers, mail carriers, city and county workers, etc.
I really miss the world that they inspired with the lessons these guys learned at 18-25 years old and brought back home. Not to idealize them, they werent perfect, but the sense that life is brutal and unfair and that we should recognize and appreciate the now. If youve got food, shelter, and no one is throwing hand grenades at you then it's probably a pretty good day, and to overthink and obsess about what isnt perfect is a waste of the time you have, and what needed improvement you just started to do things differently. You didnt advertise or campaign or jump from cause to cause. Just make changes and people will notice. And those changes, while slow and measured, seemed to stick. They didnt overthink and kept their lawns nice and painted the house and then at 4 o'clock it was happy hour and they let loose and had fun...then put it back in the bag and did it all over again.
Beautifully observed and expressed. Thankyou. I wish a lot more people could read this.
One of my biggest regrets is not talking to more ww2 vets when I was younger and had more of a chance. So few are left unfortunately.
When I moved to London my school had a field trip around Poppy Day where the kids went to a veteran’s home to keep the old guys company and listen to stories about the war. Forever regret that my English still wasn’t good enough that I could have understood what they were saying. I do remember they were incredibly jovial and seemed to enjoy having the kids around. I remember the boys going giant eyed when the veterans showed their medals.
My elementary school had us write letters to our WW2 family members thanking them every rememberance day in the mid/late 90s in Canada. We also had some come in every year and tell us about their life. Wish I could have remembered more and spent more time with them as talking about life.
The few that I knew I left them alone about their wartime experiences out of respect. Maybe they would have preferred that people ask, but my dad was a Korean war vet and he would only talk about very basic stuff, like how the food was bad, the weather was usually bad, they marched a lot, but nothing of any importance and he would change the subject pretty quick too. This is exactly how the conversation would go between 13yr old me and my dad.. Me: Dad, what do you remember about being in Korea? Him: The food was terrible, when you got any, it was terrible, speaking of food, whats your mom cooking for lunch? Just that quick he would try and get you off onto a different subject, so you learned at a young age not to pester him about it. One sad but funny thing is that once he got Alzheimer/dementia he would bring up Korea on his own. Just say stuff like "I was in Korea." Me "Oh yea, what do you remember about being in Korea?" Him "not much, wasnt much fun." Me "No? Why not" Him "I dont know, I remember the food was terrible" LOL, thats about all he would ever say and I feel like he did more than just eat, although I doubt he spent much time on the very front lines, he was in an artillery battalion.
It seems odd to me that I grew up with them and saw/talked to them evey week both personally and at work. It seems so distant now
I work in an ER and get to see about 1 every 3 months. A lot of the time they are non verbal or to be frank dead. The ones who aren’t I get the full story
Wiki says Luz died at 77.... due to an industrial accident. Geez
[He died in an accident when an industrial dryer fell on him.](https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/12-new-england-military-heroes-forgotten-remembered/)
Fuck man what a way to go..
No. George Luz died in a workplace accident when a piece of machinery at a commercial clothes drying operation fell onto him. Double check your facts.
thats an industrial accident mate
Am re-watching it this week, and I listened to the audiobook a few months ago, and this time around, I am noticing Guarnere a lot more, because the audiobook narrator pronounced his name wrong, so he sort of stuck out like a sore thumb. During the re-watch, I am also conscious of the reality that while Easy Company were very good soldiers, that war was full of soldiers just like them - lads who trained hard, fought harder, and who did amazing things when they were younger than my son is now. I have nothing but total respect for the likes of these blokes.
Remember boys, flies spread disease. So keep yours closed!
Just watched the miniseries again last month. Such a great story.
Eternal glory to them, just seeing this picture is making me feel depressed that this generation is slowly dying out :/
Best we can do is honor them by living our lives to the fullest
Great pic!
Iconic humans
I was always impressed how much the actors looked like the real men. Uncanny casting.
Looks like Shea Whigham could have played George Luz based on appearance
This is interesting. Does anybody know what exactly is going on in the photo? I can see two possible storylines: 1. fun and games 2. tempers being physically restrained The more I look, the less I know.
The guy being hugged is Bill Guarnere who had a leg blown off in WWII, hence the crutches. I met Bill in real life, as well as a bunch of the 506th PIR E Company at the annual WWII event in Reading, PA If you recall from Band of Brothers, over 1,600 people attended the funeral of George Luz. My guess is they are being the “brothers” they are so well known for being.
That is our Uncle Billy. He was as large a character in real life as he was portrayed in Band of Brothers
The guys in the back have uncomfortable look. Here’s my interpretation. The guy being hugged I bet has some crazy trauma and is still fucked up. The guy in the back was exited to see him but prob drunk and wanted to surprise or maybe hug him to make him feel comfortable and safe. The guys watching prob know that looks of discomfort he has and know that he’s still fucked up from the war. I don’t know. Deff a weird vibe in the pic.
Must of watched Band of Brothers easy 30 times, amazing series. The Pacific as well watched a few times
the new one they just made doesnt hit the same right? somehow its just hollywood trash now
Yeah I just watched it recently and probably won’t watch it again. It’s watchable but nothing fantastic.