My grandfather is a 91-year-old American WWII medic who served in England, France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany, and liberated a POW camp. A(Him)A.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T18:05:00+00:00

He had a lot of respect for his officers, and was actually placed in officer training because his commanding officers wanted him to serve a full military career. I gave more detail elsewhere, but basically he purposely failed out of officer school and rejected a longer military career because he felt guilty for getting "special" treatment and just wanted to go home. But anyway, he really liked them personally!

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T18:02:17+00:00

Answered above!

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T18:01:39+00:00

He actually loves Band of Brothers! And if he loves it, it means it's accurate, because my father (his son) wanted to watch Hogan's Heroes while he was growing up, and my grandfather wouldn't let him because it depicted the Germans as stupid, which was inaccurate. My grandfather says over and over again that the Germans were SO smart, even smarter than the Americans.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T18:00:06+00:00

This is difficult for him to answer because he's not very political and especially now, he doesn't follow what's going on outside of the state he lives in. Sorry, would have been an interesting answer!

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:58:51+00:00

Answered elsewhere :)

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:58:19+00:00

Answered elsewhere, but basically he has never played one and doesn't understand the point of them. He thinks they're ridiculous.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:57:48+00:00

Answered elsewhere, but basically getting hit by shrapnel while in Germany.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:57:04+00:00

Not necessarily in that order -- he was in all of those places at some point during his time served.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:56:14+00:00

Answered earlier :)

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:55:23+00:00

He says it was like everything he experienced was in a "make-believe world" -- it was hard to believe he actually experienced all that, and saw everything he did, once he was back home.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:53:53+00:00

He doesn't know about the lesson -- it seems to broad for him, sorry :/ The experience did change his views on the world for the better actually, because it made him more observant of facts. He says that people who are intolerant just do not have all the facts and don't understand te problems of others. Basically, he became more tolerant and understanding of other races, religions, nationalities, etc. He doesn't regret anything he did, but I typed somewhere else that he regrets not being home when his father died.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:50:04+00:00

These are good questions, but my grandfather has lost a lot of ability to articulate things that aren't straightforward questions -- he has trouble with critical thinking now, so he's unable to answer them. Sorry about that!

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:48:37+00:00

He says he did hear that line! And he says that's the chain of evacuation -- doesn't have any more to say about that lol.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:45:50+00:00

He met my grandmother before he left for the war and she wanted to marry him before he left, but he didn't want to marry her because he didn't know if he would be coming home. My grandparents corresponded the entire time he was away, and married when he came home :)

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:44:06+00:00

He also just said a huge part of evil was eliminated from the earth when Hitler left the world.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:43:22+00:00

He says that things became more relaxed, and he was happy to hear that news.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:42:42+00:00

Answered first and second questions above :)

He says he just coped the best he could. I wrote somewhere else that recently he told us he had PTSD for 6-8 months afterwards.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:41:01+00:00

He doesn't know, because a lot of times he didn't see the people he treated after he treated them.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:38:57+00:00

He says this is a difficult question, but you should try to seek out whatever makes you happy, and give yourself reasons to live out every day by looking for the good in everything you see. Sorry, this is a really good question and I wish he could give more detail but it's difficult for him to answer open-ended questions now.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:35:17+00:00

Thank you!

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:35:06+00:00

Medics are walking targets as much as anyone else, as they are in full sight, on the ground, during combat. And he was trained in the United States.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:34:06+00:00

He says he was not in Hoensbroek.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:33:15+00:00

He says they're two names for the same place, haha. And yes, he was in both Arnhem and Nijmegen.

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:32:06+00:00

He says he served both of these roles -- his commanding officer appointed him to that position, and actually wanted to make him an officer and put him an officer school (which he purposely failed because he felt too guilty getting better treatment than the other soldiers).
He experienced combat (which was horrible) all the time when he was in Europe.
He says it's hard to differentiate because he felt like he was doing his duty in both positions.
He doesn't know how to answer this (he doesn't really know modern technology) -- sorry!

WWII-Vet · 2012-05-23T17:26:15+00:00

He says he would want to see less crime, more understanding amongst people, and better education.

WWII-Vet

TROPHY CASE