In memory of all who have served......just a common soldier

[Ura-Ki]

I never in all my years of service, Met ANY British solder who was not of the utmost professional standards in any way. Every one was top notch troop, and I was proud to have met them and swapped stories over tea! That they were MY Brothers in Arms, and MY Friends was the only concern, not which country they served!!!

 

[tac]

I never in all my years of service, Met ANY British solder who was not of the utmost professional standards in any way. Every one was top notch troop, and I was proud to have met them and swapped stories over tea! That they were MY Brothers in Arms, and MY Friends was the only concern, not which country they served!!!

I knew we'd met before!

Gawd love'ya, Sir!

tac

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I never in all my years of service, Met ANY British solder who was not of the utmost professional standards in any way. Every one was top notch troop, and I was proud to have met them and swapped stories over tea! That they were MY Brothers in Arms, and MY Friends was the only concern, not which country they served!!!

The Aussies were the only other military that submariners got along with. Somehow they understood us perfectly.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

I couldn't even imagine going in to harms way with few if any means to defend my self! A few small deck guns was about all they had. Even the Coast Guard were heavily involved in shipping ( they handled all loading and unloading, as well as escort) and didn't have very much in defense of there ships! Small armed Cutters was about all they had!

Love those "Q" ships though!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Love those "Q" ships though!

As long as we kept building them faster then the enemy could sink um, we had it made! I think Swan Island ship yard set the record for the fastest build of one!

 

[clearconscience]

And then you have to read stories like this. Young men that made it through hell to come home and had left who they were in a-stan.

https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews....-afghanistan/story?id=39499672?client=safari#

I feel like we as a country failed these men and women with invisable scars.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Not any where near as bad as what we as a country did to the Vietnam Vets! Boy, did we let those poor soles down as a nation

 

[Sgt Nambu]

As long as we kept building them faster then the enemy could sink um, we had it made! I think Swan Island ship yard set the record for the fastest build of one!

Actually "Q" ships were old, garbage scow looking, tubs that the submarines wouldn't want to waste a torpedo on. The subs would surface to sink the scow with naval gunfire.
Now, those poor, slow, old beater ships were really decoys, that is if decoys can be armed to the teeth! Behind wooden panels that looked like ordinary deck cargo were a hefty battery of naval cannon! Sub comes up, ship goes KABOOM, Axis submariners have a swim!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Actually "Q" ships were old, garbage scow looking, tubs that the submarines wouldn't want to waste a torpedo on. The subs would surface to sink the scow with naval gunfire.
Now, those poor, slow, old beater ships were really decoys, that is if decoys can be armed to the teeth! Behind wooden panels that looked like ordinary deck cargo were a heft battery of naval cannon! Sub comes up, ship goes KABOOM, Axis submariners have a swim!
Wow! That rhymes!

I some how forgot about them! My Dad ( Retired Destroyer Skipper) told us kids about those ships and also about counter German "E boat" Ships, high speed sub chasers off the English coast and also the Coastal Monitors, Sort of pint size battleships that would lie in wait along the course of the fleets and pick off any raiders that would follow! We had several off the Oregon Coast during the early days of the war when there was a real fear of a Jap sneak attack!

 

[x2ndxall]

The Aussies were the only other military that submariners got along with. Somehow they understood us perfectly.

Huh, just jogged a memory. An old Frog I used to know (who, oddly enough, was a bad-azz) liked to say FIGJAM a lot. I had no idea what he meant, figured it was some Frenchie crapola. I finally gave up and asked wtf he was saying. He said the Australians were pretty proud of themselves and, as such, liked to say "F*** I'm Good, Just Ask Me". Never had the pleasure? of working with the Aussies myself. Just a random memory.

 

[x2ndxall]

I never in all my years of service, Met ANY British solder who was not of the utmost professional standards in any way. Every one was top notch troop, and I was proud to have met them and swapped stories over tea! That they were MY Brothers in Arms, and MY Friends was the only concern, not which country they served!!!

Suck-up

 

[Ura-Ki]

Suck-up

Not just the Brits, Just about every allied nation's troupers were Top Notch! Even the French! Just don't leave any thing un supervised around those guys!

 

[tac]

As long as we kept building them faster then the enemy could sink um, we had it made! I think Swan Island ship yard set the record for the fastest build of one!

Methinks that you are confungling them with WW2 Liberty Ships, many of which were built in the Portland yards.

I'm very fond of my little 'Buy Victory Bonds' pin, a gift from a good pal in PDX.

tac

 

[Ura-Ki]

Methinks that you are confungling them with WW2 Liberty Ships, many of which were built in the Portland yards.

I'm very fond of my little 'Buy Victory Bonds' pin, found in a jun- sorry, antique store in Wheeler a few years back.

tac

I did get it switched. See post 49!

 

[ikemay]

Along with the American flag we proudly fly outside our shop door every day we are there, we placed the below quote in our shop door window with an American flag behind it. We received thank you's and several people stopped and took pictures. We only had one couple roll their eyes as they walked by.

I humbly summit my thank you to those who have served and currently serve. I am one American who will not forget those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Remember,

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the organizer,
Who has given us freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Written by Lt. Col. (Rev.) Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC

 

[tac]

Here's my little pin....



tac

 

[tac]

Along with the American flag we proudly fly outside our shop door every day we are there, we placed the below quote in our shop door window with an American flag behind it. We received thank you's and several people stopped and took pictures. We only had one couple roll their eyes as they walked by.

I humbly summit my thank you to those who have served and currently serve. I am one American who will not forget those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Remember,

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the organizer,
Who has given us freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Written by Lt. Col. (Rev.) Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC

I've got another one you might consider putting on display - I don't know who wrote it though...

'If you are reading this, thank a teacher.
If you are reading this in English, thank a soldier.'

tac

 

[PaulB47]

You're entitled to your opinion, however much I disagree with you. I, too, served. I have no illusions of grandeur. I do not consider myself above anyone else. I feel awkward when people thank me for my service.

However, stating "...killing a man defending his country from invasion and occupation..." is blatantly wrong. If you at all believe any of the battles we have fought has been killing innocents, you are the one living in an illusion. The suicide among veterans does not have any thing to do with feeling guilt for "murders".

I, and every single other service-member, took an Oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. And that is what we do. That is what YOU did for four years. We don't start needless wars. We don't murder innocents. We don't invade and occupy foreign lands for the sole interest of taking their oil or whatever else.

We try to do good, for good people. We do bad things, to bad people. And we try to bring each other back to the country they love, back to their families. If you think we do any thing else, you sorely need to get a grasp on reality and stop listening to Alex Jones.

So... the American military never killed any innocents? Nobody in Hiroshima or Nagasaki or Dresden or Fallujah was innocent? Not even the kids?

It's easy to tell whether a war is legitimate. If it is defensive (for the most part that means being fought in one's own country), then your fight is legitimate. Examples - American Revolution, 1812, Southern Confederacy (but not the North), French resistance, Russian defense against the Wehrmacht and against Napoleon, Chinese resistance to Japanese invasion. Not perfect examples, but pretty good.

If you had to go to another country to fight, it is not usually not legitimate. It is mostly empire-building. Examples - US in WWI, WWII, Viet Nam, Iraq. Offense is never legitimate. "We" do indeed start needless wars ("we" meaning the US ruling class). Most of the rest of us go along because we have been well indoctrinated in the government schools and the media. Refer to this quote:

Göring: "Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."
Gilbert: "There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."
Göring: "Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
-- Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg trials

No argument, once American servicemen are over somewhere, they often try to help folks out, do some good. But that can't compensate for the damage of being over there in the first place, something caused by the ruling class.

We get into wars because it is in the interest of the rulers. It's no more complex than that. We will keep getting into needless wars until we stop paying attention to them.

I understand that people who gave their all might be reluctant to face this. Nobody knows why vets commit suicide, neither you nor I. But it is usually an indication the individual is not at peace with himself.

BTW I don't listen to Alex Jones.

 

[clearconscience]

Really?
We were at war in those countries and if your at war with a country people die, sometimes innocent people die. That's war.
How many American lives were saved by the bombing of Japan?
How many lives have been saved since by knowing the destructive power of that weapon?

Ask the people of Iraq and A-stan if they were happy the Americans came and how many freedoms a lot of those people had a chance to know because we came?
Except now that we left them they are getting massacred.

Did crooked people making a killing on killing, they sure did. But the men and women of our armed forces didn't fight and die or risk dying for their country, other's country or our president/govt, they did it for each other.

They are killing themselves because wars makes you witness to horrific things that no man or women should have to witness. Things that the human mind can't deal with. Being in that constant state of fear and stress.
Seeing your friends and comrades hurt or killed, seeing the innocent people over there killed or wounded.
Human beings arenmt made to witness those things.
Then you come home to some piece of ish mad that their coffee order is wrong, or feeling helpless and alone.
Unable to shake the feeling that your in danger or unable to get the screams of you friends out of your head.

Those soldiers need to know they aren't alone, they have that brotherhood still here. They just need to get on the phone or go into a center for Vets.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Really?
We were at war in those countries and if your at war with a country people die, sometimes innocent people die. That's war.
How many American lives were saved by the bombing of Japan?
How many lives have been saved since by knowing the destructive power of that weapon?

Ask the people of Iraq and A-stan if they were happy the Americans came and how many freedoms a lot of those people had a chance to know because we came?
Except now that we left them they are getting massacred.

Did crooked people making a killing on killing, they sure did. But the men and women of our armed forces didn't fight and die or risk dying for their country, other's country or our president/govt, they did it for each other.

They are killing themselves because wars makes you witness to horrific things that no man or women should have to witness. Things that the human mind can't deal with. Being in that constant state of fear and stress.
Seeing your friends and comrades hurt or killed, seeing the innocent people over there killed or wounded.
Human beings arenmt made to witness those things.
Then you come home to some piece of ish mad that their coffee order is wrong, or feeling helpless and alone.
Unable to shake the feeling that your in danger or unable to get the screams of you friends out of your head.

Those soldiers need to know they aren't alone, they have that brotherhood still here. They just need to get on the phone or go into a center for Vets.

They can PM me, I will come, I will listen, I will try and help any way I can!!!