The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. General Douglas MacArthur
That thought of General McArthur’s had never occurred to me, but it makes perfect sense.
My father and his brother were both WWII vets. My father never spoke of his WWII experiences. I only found out what he did during WWII from his brother, my uncle, 14 years after my father died. My uncle never talked about his experience either until that conversation when he told me what my father did. I will just say my father saw action. My uncle told me that the thing he saw that most bothered him was seeing a death camp shortly after its liberation. The Americans really did march German locals through to show them what happened in such places. My uncle was one of those Americans. Come to think of it, that one conversation was the ONLY time my uncle ever discussed his experience during WWII. I hear it is very common for vets to say little or nothing at all because of the emotional scars they received.
Susan Lapin
David, you are right. So many WWII vets did not discuss their experiences. When I asked a number of my cousins about their fathers’ service, they too knew close to nothing. (My own father turned 18 after the war ended.) One of my uncles was in a battle whose details were marked as classified and it was declassified only shortly before he died not that many years ago. His wife and children knew nothing about what he went through until he shared information after declassification.
That thought of General McArthur’s had never occurred to me, but it makes perfect sense.
My father and his brother were both WWII vets. My father never spoke of his WWII experiences. I only found out what he did during WWII from his brother, my uncle, 14 years after my father died. My uncle never talked about his experience either until that conversation when he told me what my father did. I will just say my father saw action. My uncle told me that the thing he saw that most bothered him was seeing a death camp shortly after its liberation. The Americans really did march German locals through to show them what happened in such places. My uncle was one of those Americans. Come to think of it, that one conversation was the ONLY time my uncle ever discussed his experience during WWII. I hear it is very common for vets to say little or nothing at all because of the emotional scars they received.
David, you are right. So many WWII vets did not discuss their experiences. When I asked a number of my cousins about their fathers’ service, they too knew close to nothing. (My own father turned 18 after the war ended.) One of my uncles was in a battle whose details were marked as classified and it was declassified only shortly before he died not that many years ago. His wife and children knew nothing about what he went through until he shared information after declassification.