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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAt 96 years-old, this D-Day veteran veteran is still my hero!
This is my my Uncle Ted. Born Nov. 9th, 1917 in Texas and raised in the oil fields of southern Illinois, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 8th, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
On June 6th, 1944, he was a S.Sgt. landing on Omaha Beach, just after dawn. While almost 70% of his unit sustained casualties that day, he was uninjured (at that time, any way), and went on to fight in every major battle in Europe thereafter, until V-E Day on May 8th, 1945. As a result, he received a Bronze Star with a 'V' device for valor (combat heroism) and 3 Purple Hearts. Upon discharge, he married my father's oldest sister, became a father, successfully built an independent oil company and, eventually, retired to Florida.
Uncle Ted is modest about his combat experience, as are most members of The Greatest Generation. If you ask him about it, or attempt to thank him for it, he will offhandedly say, "Others did lots more". I know that that's true, even within my own family-- I have 2 uncles who lied buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, and one of his brothers lies buried in France-- yet I still stand in awe of this 'gentle giant' of a man.
You are a hero to me, Uncle Ted, and on this very special day I simply want to say, "Well done, and thank you!".
shenmue
(38,506 posts)ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)ellie
(6,929 posts)ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)His health is generally good, too. He's been working in his garden this morning, he told me.
Lochloosa
(16,066 posts)To this day, I wonder if I would have been able to do it.
Thank your Uncle for all of us.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)I'll tell him, although we both already know what he's going to say!
Ex Lurker
(3,815 posts)You don't want to let down the guys on either side of you. You'd rather die than fail them. That's the way it is.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)I'm thankful that I never had to make that choice.
Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)tartan2
(314 posts)I am missing my Dad right now, he too was a WWII veteran, in the Navy on a ship that tended submarines in the Pacific. He didn't see any fighting action but he participated in the support of those who did. I had the privileged of taking him to the WWII Memorial in Washington DC, he was wearing his WWII veteran hat and a woman approached him and thanked him for his service. There is something about that generation of people here in the states or overseas that is truly great!
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)My Dad was in the Army in the Pacific during WWII, so your dad was one of the guys supporting my Dad!
wryter2000
(46,051 posts)What does he think of the accuracy?
What a hero.
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)Thank you!
renate
(13,776 posts)He looks so nice, and since you describe him as a gentle giant, I guess he must be!
ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)He has a very sweet, mellow and loving disposition. Even at 96 and bit thinner than he used to be, he still stands 6'3" and weighs 190 lbs. .