Shout out to all you Badass Veterans!
- Thread starter Tarzan
- Start date
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MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Hold Fast!
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
Love that pic.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Yes, that is a powerful photo in a lot of different ways.
bonner1040
Nick from Ohio
Most people complain that banks are closed.
It is a lot more to some.
It is a lot more to some.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
That's a profound photo too, i recall when MB first posted it. If that was me in the grave and she used to be my lady, I'd want to tell her to go find some dude and be happy. Perhaps she already had? I know it may not be as simple as that.
gf beranek
Old Schooler
I lucked out and came back in sound mind and body, but a few of my friends sure didn't.
Well, fairly sound mind that is. It certainly left a lasting impression and vision that is not easily forgotten.
Well, fairly sound mind that is. It certainly left a lasting impression and vision that is not easily forgotten.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
You gotta get your mind right, or else!
gf beranek
Old Schooler
It's a damn crazy world we have made for ourselves. Or should I say, a few have made for us.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
That would hinder his book writing and woods walking. 
vharrison
Island Girl
Thank you for serving, I know my world is safer.
pantheraba
More biners!!!
You have my highest respect, too...all the vets. Some saw combat, some did not...all were "on the line" and ready to go if they were sent towards the enemy. All sacrificed part of their lives to be ready to fight the good fight when it came.
I heard a pastor on Sunday at a Veteran's Day ceremony make this observation...for many vets, the sacrifice was to be willing to do the unthinkable, that most horrible thing that we are taught is wrong since birth...to kill another human being. When they followed through with the decision to kill they sacrificed a part of their self that kept telling them it was wrong. Learning to live with the knowledge that such drastic measures have to be taken can be hard..sometimes impossible...for many.
Thanks for the risk taken, the discipline shown and the compassion to continue to live among your brother man as warriors that are now men of peace.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
In my little tour although in an elite service I was not subjected to the horrors of front line combat like a lot of my buddies were . Over the years unfortunately I've seen a good many of them who never recovered from that experiance as young men ,many in their teens yet .Thus have remained or became the victums of an undeclared war in south east Asia .
A good many of them suffered physical problems later in life and more than one mental issues .Thus further demonstating the unpaid costs of war linger for generations .Nothing in this world is free but sometimes the price is real high .
A good many of them suffered physical problems later in life and more than one mental issues .Thus further demonstating the unpaid costs of war linger for generations .Nothing in this world is free but sometimes the price is real high .
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Deserving of much respect.... My uncle fought the Germans as a young lieutenant at the battle of Monte Cassino in Italy, one of the major battles of WW2. They were pounded day and night by the German 88 millimeter guns. Until his death when an elderly man, any thunder storm would have him under his bed, and he preferred not to ever purchase any German made goods. An interesting side note to the battle for Monte Cassino, as well as a few others in Europe, is when the troops were pinned down and couldn't move, they would sometimes call in the 442 combat infantry battalion to root out the bad guys. Those were the boys whose parents were held in the relocation camps due to being of Japanese ancestry. Dying for a country that had imprisoned their parents, with the highest casualty and death rate and number of commendations of any unit. It took quite awhile for their proud story to be told. "Go for broke", was their motto. I met a number of individuals that served in that unit, the ones that came home, and highly honored to have met them. In the old days it might have been the gardner that was mowing your lawn.
pantheraba
More biners!!!
They were called Nisei. I went to Burma in 1995 with the first group of American soldiers to be allowed back since 1945. I met Grant Hirabayashi before we left in Washington, DC at the Burmese embassy. ThenI traveled with Roy Matsumoto to his old battle grounds in Burma with a group of CBI veterans, many of them Merrill's Marauders...both Grant and Roy were famous Nisiei, both heroes and fine people. During the march to Myitkyina in N. Burma during the War, Roy would sneak out past the perimeter in the jungle at night and listen in on Jap conversations of the next day's battle plans...or climb poles and tap into Jap communication lines and monitor their plans. He would tell his Merrill Marauder buddies where to set their ambushes and they were ready for the Japs the next morning.
During one banzai charge the Jap leader was killed...the attack faltered. Roy jumped up and started screaming in Japanese for the hesitating Jap soldiers to charge..they thought it was one of their officers. The Marauders smashed that banzai charge thanks to Roy's quick thinking.
When we were in Burma he would tell stories until 2-3AM each night...I could not believe his stamina.
During one banzai charge the Jap leader was killed...the attack faltered. Roy jumped up and started screaming in Japanese for the hesitating Jap soldiers to charge..they thought it was one of their officers. The Marauders smashed that banzai charge thanks to Roy's quick thinking.
When we were in Burma he would tell stories until 2-3AM each night...I could not believe his stamina.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Interesting. Why did you choose Burma to visit?
GASoline71
'cause chicks dig scars
Serving 20 years in the Navy I never was on the front. Well at least not the fighting front. The closest i came to any form of combat was when my first ship the USS Tarawa (LHA-1) was the first ship to deploy US Marines to the beaches of Kuwait in an amphibious assault during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. We were 5 miles from the beach... but I never feared for my life or felt like I was in combat of any kind.
Other than that, it was business as usual for 5 more deployments to the Persian Gulf... what a shithole it is over there.
Gary
Other than that, it was business as usual for 5 more deployments to the Persian Gulf... what a shithole it is over there.
Gary
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
I remember your retirement photo that you posted, Gary. You were cut sharp in your uniform that day.
pantheraba
More biners!!!
Since the 70's I have studied bando, a martial art which comes from Burma. The Burmese man that brought it here in the late 50's was charged by his father with the task of teaching their very old system to Americans as a way of saying, "thank you" to America for running the Japanese out of Burma in WWII. The American Bando Association was formed in the 60's as a formal organization to promote bando. The purpose of the ABA was originally to honor the Allied veterans who served in the China-Burma-India theatre of WWII. The expanded purpose is to honor all veterans who have served their country...we have 3 major tournaments/events each year on the "holy days" for Veterans:
Memorial Day we have our Freestyle Nationals competition
Veteran's Day we have our Kickboxing Nationals
On VJ Day we have our annual Summer Camp
Burma is the root source of the bando we still study here in America and I always wanted to go but never thought I would. However, I was made an honorary member of the CBI in the early 90's and was able to use that affiliation to travel with the war veterans that were visiting their old battle sites in Burma in 1995.
There you geaux.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
There was fierce fighting in Burma. Initially the Brits well underestimated their enemy, "The laughable little yellow bastards that sometimes wore glasses", but were unequalled in jungle warfare. The Burmese people showed courage too, against a very formidable force.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
That's cool, Gary.
pantheraba
More biners!!!
All very true. The man who got the honorary membership for me in the CBI was a member of the V-Force when he first went over in 1942 (he fought behind enemy lines for the rest of the war). He trained Kachin soldiers that had a huge kill ratio against the Japanese. We visited some of those Kachins in northern Burma while there...they had a pipe and drum corps waiting for us when we got there and had a huge celebration for the veterans...they really loved their American soldiers. They were the kindest and most appreciative group of people I have ever met...and apparently great killers when it was necessary.
