My Uncle "Uncle Bud" Said Something That I NEVER Thought A WWII Vet Would

[matcom]

Spoke with him tonight.

WHAT a conversation!

My WONDERFUL Uncle spoke the truth tonight.....

And sad at the same time.....

Uncle Bud: "When we stop putting our (American) soldier's up on a pedestal, when we stop 'assuming' that OUR troops can do no wrong, when we stop perpetrating the lies that are truths of war, we will see what we ALL are. HUMANS who are no better and no worse than any other in the face of battle. Our leaders send us there and it is WE who are ultimately responsible for THEIR orders and actions. THAT is the sad truth of War and THAT our Hell."

-Col. Retired. USAF - Bomber Pilot Somewhere Over Europe

Fuck. Uncle. You may be almost 90 but I want you to live forever.

Fuck.

[Fenris]

1. Dude, can i put that in my sig?

That is awesome.

[matcom]

3. i would be honored

*snif*

[Fenris]

5. Done and done, sir!

:thumbsup:

Thanks, matcom!

[matcom]

6. fuck

i'm crying here

sorry.

[Trajan]

9. Uncle Bud ....

All my uncles are dead .... of self inflicted gluttony and over-satiation of their petty desires .... Funny how little you need to drink when yer DEAD ! ...

Your Unc is the coolest ..... That is a great quote ....

[Mountainman]

2. Reminds me of the song "The Universal Soldier" by Donovan

[mstrsplinter326]

4. thank you

I am always looking for great quotes relevant to the socio-political landscape today.

[matcom]

7. can i kick this?

its kind of important to me and i would like to see it survive for at least an hour or so.

thanks.

[zeemike]

8. That old man has lead a good life

And he has gained in wisdom as he advanced in age. That is a lot more rare than one might think. Some of us reach our intellectual peak sometime after high school and and decline the rest of our time on this earth.
Be very proud of your Uncle.
But did you ever wonder why the vets of WW1, and WW2 never talked about the battle and the glory of war? (My father was in WW1, and I had two brothers in WW2)
And why now we have to preface any conversation with the military man or woman with "I want to thank you for your service"
The difference is that in the other wars men were just asked to do there duty and had no promise of good pay or benefits, and every one was asked to do there duty from all strata of society. It was not necessary to thank them for what they saw as a duty to do.
And they on the whole were not proud of the killing they knew they had to do, They understood coming from generally good background that killing was wrong and they could see no reason to be proud of it.
We lost the honorable warrior starting with Viet Nam and now are slave to a mercenary army.

[dflprincess]

12. The only ones who talk about the "glory of war"

are the ones who've never been there. Those who've seen combat know there is no glory. My dad never talked about WWII, not even to my mom. About the most he'd say was that he'd never do it again and he'd never let my brother go to war.

A guy I worked with, when he was a teenager, tried to pin his uncle down about his WWII experiences (he had been at Normandy). He says it still pains him to remember his uncle's reply "Why the hell would you want to hear about young men killing and bleeding and dieing or coming home without arms or legs? You don't know what you're talking about."

[zeemike]

16. I know what you mean

The only thing my oldest Brother said was that the first German he encountered (and i think he meant killed) Had red hair and looked like him. It was almost an offhand remark but you could tell it really bothered him.

[Kanary]

13. Much to ponder in your post.

Thank you for your thoughts....... that will keep me thinking for a while.

I guess I still feel like it is a sacrifice, and yet, you make some very important points.

:thumbsup:

Kanary

[B Calm]

10. Everyone should have an Uncle Bud in their family!

My dad reminds me of your Uncle Bud.

[jus_the_facts]

11. {{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}.....I salute his wisdom.....

[Kanary]

14. I had an Uncle Bud, but never heard him say anything nearly so wise.

Is this typical of him, or did he get "smarts" in his old age?

In any case, if he's looking for another niece, I'll gladly accept adoption. :)

Kanary

[DemBones DemBones]

15. I have an Uncle Bud, too, but he never

said anything about war around me. He did make great divinity fudge.

My dad never talked about WW II and neither did my uncles. A friend who was in Korea said it was boring as much as anything, being cold and hungry and bored. And seeing bad stuff sometimes. But mostly boring.

[merh]

17. Thank you for honoring us with your Uncle's wisdom. . .

My father fought in WWII and never told us about his service. We would try to get information about his tour(s) of duty, but to this day I have no idea about any of the particulars. I know he originally joined the US Army Air Corp and he was a navigator on missions, but not much more beyond that.

I miss him terribly, I know you cherish your uncle and now that I have read his words, I do too!

Thank you.

Uncle Bud :yourock:

[flamingyouth]

18. That is so cool

Your Uncle Bud - man, I want to give him a huge hug. :hug:

[jus_the_facts]

19. kickin' these wise words up.....

[PopSixSquish]

20. "The Real Glory in War is Surviving"

tagline for "The Big Red One" movie (1980)starring Lee Marvin and Mark Hamil. One of the better war movies ever made.

First Infantry Division - Fort Riley, Kansas
Major General John R.S. Batiste, current commanding general

[vetwife]

21. Too bad Bush disrespects vets and seniors..

(((((((hugs to your Uncle))))))))