hoops5 Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) Very true. I'm in my 8th year teaching - I'm curious how many WWII veterans will be alive when I retire. The number of WWII veterans who come to our annual Veterans Day program has sadly dwindled to almost none. Not to thread-jack, but..... Last October my dad, a WWII vet, took an Honors Flight from Milwaukee to DC. I was not able to go, but my sisters shared pictures of the amazing homecoming they had a Mitchell Field airport. All branches of of the Military lined the hallways in full salute as these vets (many in wheelchairs) walked through the airport. Then there was a section where hundreds of people greeted them with big signs, banners and cheers. Very cool! I contacted the Honor's Fight group for the tri-state area. They said they would start having flights in May. I would really like to be there for one of the homecomings for our WWII vets. It may be a cool thing to pass on to your students. Anyone can show up at CVG and cheer them on as they come home after visiting their own WWII Memorial. Edited February 9, 2012 by hoops5
Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) WW 1 was even more brutal on the psyche of the world than WW II. Outdated tactics met modern weaponry and it was a blood bath. As to your last wonder, watch an HBO special on Post Traumatic syndrome in just the American soldier. They traced letters and stories back to the Civil War from vets and the horrors they experienced and impact on their mental states. NO WAY, if that running list in USA Today of soldiers lost in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars(2 wars) was any where near even 100,000 of allied forces then all of our troops would have been out of there half a decade ago. Those numbers really are hard to comprehend. Also A LOT more close quarters combat and in some cases even hand to hand combat, hard to imagine how much that must have impacted a lot of those men. I saw that HBO program. Very interesting, and sad as well. The Civil War was similar to WWI as well with regards to outdated tactics and modern weaponry. The rifles were becoming more accurate, ammunition more deadly in both rifles and artillery, and of course, new inventions such as the Gatling Gun (although it wasn't used as extensively as some movies would suggest from what I've read). We can imagine what another 5 decades had resulted in with regards to technological breakthroughs. Even better infantry weapons, more powerful artillery, chemical weapons, fighter planes, bombers, the first tanks...all while using virtually the same old tactics of warfare. Read this book - "On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society" It was written by a retired Army Ranger, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. My older brother, an Army combat engineer, made me promise to read this before I accepted my appointment to the United States Military Academy. This book is the reason I went to NKU instead of West Point. Edited February 9, 2012 by Colonels_Wear_Blue
formerkywrestler Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 Read this book - "On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society" It was written by a retired Army Ranger, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. My older brother, an Army combat engineer, made me promise to read this before I accepted my appointment to the United States Military Academy. This book is the reason I went to NKU instead of West Point. Just bought it. Thanks for the recommendation. P.S. What is a combat engineer exactly?
Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 P.S. What is a combat engineer exactly? They build bridges and blow them up, haha. Combat engineers actually have a lot of duties - primarily based around construction and demolition. My brother started on the "mobility" side of things - clearing the way for roads and the like, and then he ended up as an explosives expert in the "obstacle breaching" area of combat engineering, specializing in clearing landmines. Think "Hurt Locker". It was very scary for my family every time things started heating up with Saddam in the Middle East - that guy planted minefields like we plant corn.
Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 Radiohead wrote and recorded this song immediately following the death of Harry Patch, the last surviving British WWI active duty soldier. It's moving every time I listen to it. Seems appropriate.
Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 Also, how many here have read "All Quiet On The Western Front"? It's absolutely one of my favorite books. I'd love to see an accurate version made into a movie in this day and age. The 1930 version was excellent and 1979 versions was pretty good as well, but I'd love to see what could be done with modern movie technology.
ThrillVille Cardinal51 Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 Also, how many here have read "All Quiet On The Western Front"? It's absolutely one of my favorite books. I'd love to see an accurate version made into a movie in this day and age. The 1930 version was excellent and 1979 versions was pretty good as well, but I'd love to see what could be done with modern movie technology. Sophomore year of High School, Ms. Mosco's class. Great book. I think it's crazy that a this guy fought in a war most likely before his 16th birthday. Pretty sad time in western history.
MJAlltheWay24 Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 Also, how many here have read "All Quiet On The Western Front"? It's absolutely one of my favorite books. I'd love to see an accurate version made into a movie in this day and age. The 1930 version was excellent and 1979 versions was pretty good as well, but I'd love to see what could be done with modern movie technology. We had to read it in school. I should probably go back and read it again.
formerkywrestler Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 We had to read it in school. I should probably go back and read it again.Me too. It's been a long time.
DragonFire Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 It's surreal to think that there are no veterans left of "The Great War". Another piece of history lost as time marches on. Soon we will lose the veterans of WWII and memories of the Great Depression.
PepRock01 Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 I don't know about anyone else, but I have always felt that WWI was underrepresented in schools. It gets glossed over in comparison to other periods and other conflicts. I was very thankful to have had the opportunity to take a course specifically on WWI while in college.
hoops5 Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Also, how many here have read "All Quiet On The Western Front"? It's absolutely one of my favorite books. I'd love to see an accurate version made into a movie in this day and age. The 1930 version was excellent and 1979 versions was pretty good as well, but I'd love to see what could be done with modern movie technology. Dreaded the assignment in high school. Powerful and Unforgettable
Recommended Posts