Jae Onasi Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 I'm kind of set back here to find out that your Great Uncle was at that famous battle. I'm sorry for the loss to your family. My Grandfather, Wilbert McKinley was also present there. Small world Onasi. He also fought in areas in North Africa as part of an artillery unit. At the Bulge though, it got very, very ugly. Some units even ran out of ammo and had to resort to hand to hand. ...at night even. That was an ugly, ugly battle. There are stories my grandma tells us of him that he won't talk about anymore. Some are not so glorious. Some are downright mindblowing.I can't imagine going through some of the things they went through. What we call PTSD now they called 'combat syndrome' then. The military's gone back to doing some things the way they did in terms of sending people home. In WWII, the guys went home with their units, and travelled home on ships, and it took awhile. However, they had time to talk to each other and decompress a bit before they returned to civilian life. In 'Nam, a number of soldiers left the country when their year was up and within about 48 hours were flown to the closest state-side airport to their home. Now they've gone back to everyone going home with their unit, and they spend a few days all together re-adapting to life outside the theater before meeting their families. They've also cracked down hard on drug use, which I think affected a number of 'Nam vets (that and all the chemicals they sprayed on the jungle....). My family was very fortunate to have him make it back. Otherwise my Mom would have never been born and you guys would be without the character and wisdom of one, Cygnus Q'ol. My grandfathers, my other great uncle, and Jimbo's dad all fought in WWII and came home safely, so we did rather well considering. Jimbo's home safe, too. We were quite lucky he was deployed up at Ft. McCoy, actually--he was able to come home a lot of weekends and that was a huge blessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Devon Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 @Emperor Devon. Your Grandpa was too cool. He was actually just unaware of who the bossy guy that started ordering him around was, though he was pretty cool. @Jae, if Bulge seems bloody, look up Verdun, Flanders, some of the battles in the Pacific, or the winter of Russia's invasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediMaster12 Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 ED: War is a bloody business and has gotten worse with the development of new technologies aimed at destroying people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 @Jae, if Bulge seems bloody, look up Verdun, Flanders, some of the battles in the Pacific, or the winter of Russia's invasion. And, if you want to know about the greatest battle in the entire history of mankind, look up Stalingrad. It was truly the Mother of All Battles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Devon Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 And, if you want to know about the greatest battle in the entire history of mankind, look up Stalingrad. It was truly the Mother of All Battles. I say Kursk, in terms of a battle that wasn't drawn out. Millions of men. I think we went over this in my old WWs thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 I was thinking in terms of lives lost, this being a memorial thread and all. Kursk was definitely huge, but it wasn't the bloodbath that Stalingrad was. However, since it wasn't nearly as long as Stalingrad, you could be right. Not to belittle the Western Front battles, but they just can't compare to those on the Eastern Front. The scale is just unbelieveable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Joker Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 And, if you want to know about the greatest battle in the entire history of mankind, look up Stalingrad. It was truly the Mother of All Battles. First day of The Somme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 Verdun wasn't a battle. It was a bloodbath. Stalingrad, however, must be, IMO the worst battle ever. It was the most lethal battle in history, and one of the most unpleasant to fight in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediMaster12 Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 The worst part I thought was the introduction of trench warfare in WWI. Also the introduction of chemical warfare. The worse to get hit with in my opinion was mustard gas. It killed you from the inside out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Joker Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Stalingrad, however, must be, IMO the worst battle ever. It was the most lethal battle in history, and one of the most unpleasant to fight in. I wouldn't call any situation where "they" are trying their absolute best to kill "us" a pleasant experience. Truth be known, I reckon we could debate this subject until around the same time that hell freezes over and not come to an agreement. I'm sure the veterans of Hastings, Little Big Horn, and Thermopylae would make an argument about their experience if they could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediMaster12 Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 They would but they would understand each other, at least in terms of what they went through. It may not have been the same but they would know the feeling. My cousin doesn't like to talk much about Iraq unless I ask but I don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 First day of The Somme.Certainly the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army, at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted November 21, 2006 Author Share Posted November 21, 2006 I wouldn't call any situation where "they" are trying their absolute best to kill "us" a pleasant experience. Truth be known, I reckon we could debate this subject until around the same time that hell freezes over and not come to an agreement. I'm sure the veterans of Hastings, Little Big Horn, and Thermopylae would make an argument about their experience if they could. Well of course. But since we were involving comparison, Stalingrad is considered the bloodiest battle in human history, given that 1.6-2 million people died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediMaster12 Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 But then to look at it perspectively, you would have to take into account the technology available at the time. With our new technologies, we can do a lot more damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted November 23, 2006 Author Share Posted November 23, 2006 Nonetheless, the fact remains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediMaster12 Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 True. On another note, I finally found my poem on Heroes which I enetered in a contest at poetry.com. Here is is: Heroes What is often asked of me 'Is a Hero what you want to be?' 'Fight a war that is not yours?' Often no words come from my Mouth And the conversation heads South When asked again I have a Thought The answer to the question sought 'Not a chance in Hell 'No one asks to be a Hero,' I say 'It sometimes turns out that way' As years go by and by That same question tends to fly To new knights, not those of old But always the answer's the same 'No one asks for Hero as a name' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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