My grandfather was a member of the army ground forces during World War II. He served first in Camp Wheeler. There, he said, the men learned how to live together and how to defend themselves. During his fourth week of training, he and the others were working on hand-to-hand combat, and he slipped on the clay, causing him to break his leg. While he was in the hospital, the attack on Pearl Harbor came. Many of the survivors were taken to the hospital he stayed in. The interesting thing was that my grandfather kept saying, “We.” Even though he was not at Pearl Harbor, he still considered himself as part of those who were there. It made me think that the sense of unity was much stronger then.

He also remembered when the Italian moved to Africa, and stated the water literally turned to blood from the US’s troops. But he also remembers when we defeated the Italians, and said that was a great victory. When he got out of the hospital, he worked on building barges and a couple airplanes. He said that many think about what went on overseas, but a lot of stuff also happened in America. They had to build shipyards, training centers, and such. He said, “Self was put on the backburner.” People bonded together, as they all were worried about their family: those who would be affected by the war.

He talked a lot about many other things. V-E day, the attack on Normandy, V-J day, and then stated that he had hardly mentioned anything at all. I could tell that there was so much more that could not even be put into the words, and the emotion that had stayed with him through the years impacted me greatly. It was neat seeing the war through a personal level instead of a general overview. It made it seem much more like a real event. I learned that people tend to bond in a time of need, especially when it affects so many people. He said people found a purpose. It seemed the war gave everyone a common focus. I think I find this time so interesting is because of how others worked together to help others, not themselves. There was so much sacrifice. The soldiers were heroes, as were those who stayed on the home-front in their own ways.

Military brat

My Dad, my Dad's Dad, My future father-in-law, and his Dad, have all served in various branches of the military. I plan on doing so too, going through ROTC.

My Dad served two tours of service in Iraq, and one in Kosovo, for a total time of separation from our family of about two and a half years.

My grandfather's brother, my great uncle, was killed in WWII, during the first hours of the Battle of the Bulge, in late 1944. He was located in Sadzot, a tiny town that is merely a collection of farm buildings, in Belgium. He was located nearly precisely where the tip of the arrow of advancing German troops broke through Allied lines.

In the summer of 2003, my grandparents flew over from Nashville, TN, to where my family lived in Germany, and took my brother and I on a trip to Normandy, where my grandfather's brother had landed, to retrace his steps all the way to where he was killed. And so we sat in that tiny collection of buildings. And we talked with an old man who had hid in the woods as a boy during the attack. And he showed us the house Uncle Jesse had been killed in, which was burnt to the ground during the battle. We stood on the foundation, and even to a brick home with us.

That was the only day I ever saw my grandfather, a very strong man, a pastor, break down and cry.

*laughs * Are you from a civilian family, Wolf?

The term is used to describe the children of servicemen, and actually has a historic base. See, a long time ago, when we didn’t have the technology we do now, the children of men in the service would often go long periods of time never seeing their fathers. As we can see in our society today, the absence of fathers often has devastating consequences on children. The children of these men grew up unruly, as a general rule, and in some cases were holy terrors. Thus, the term was born out of the brat-like qualities exhibited by the military children.

Today it is used as a term of endearment, often said by the fathers themselves. My Daddy has referred to me as a military brat (because of course, I was born into the lifestyle and lived longest in it out of all the children) for as long as I can remember. The friends I grew up with were also referred to as such.

So while it could be seen as a negative thing, I’ve never met a military brat who took offence.

Today it is used as a term of endearment, often said by the fathers themselves. My Daddy has referred to me as a military brat (because of course, I was born into the lifestyle and lived longest in it out of all the children) for as long as I can remember. The friends I grew up with were also referred to as such.

So while it could be seen as a negative thing, I’ve never met a military brat who took offence.

It's lovely, and so important, to remember these days.

Right, it's a term that brings with it quite a lot of pride today. It's saying we traveled the world with our parents, we sacrificed them. We were part of it, grew up in that culture, and know it.

Yes, it is.

Darkness reigns with vengeful glare,

Bodies are lying everywhere;

Crashes of shells and the chatter of guns

Sightless I stagger; trying to run.



****! I hear somebody yell;

Was he there at prayers? I cannot tell

But screams and cries make me think I’m in hell

I seek cover from the falling shell.



I see his body lifeless there

Legs blown off and splattered through the air;

Face contorted in a silent scream;

I hope that I will wake from this dream.



Bullets are zipping through the air

Blood is flowing everywhere;

Boys are dying on the floor.

Please God, I can’t bear any more.



What will happen to my wife?

Will she have a happy life?

Will my son remember his Daddy’s face?

Will he remember the day we ---

* * * *

Somewhere where the field was green,

Countless white crosses were to be seen.

She placed a single poppy where he lay;

But never really knew what he saw that day.

Happy memorial day, Americans! *Throws red and white glitter* Oops, I better add some blue in there too. *Throws blue glitter*

It's lovely, and so important, to remember these days.

That is a very good way of putting that, Eli. *high fives * That really does sum up what the term means to a MB and their families.

I'm glad I could help enlighten, Elanor. I love talking about this kind of stuff...

I hope you don't mind me rambling . . .

Thank you for sharing.

Tricksy Canadian trying to leave out the blue.

Some of my kin went through the war...but we do not have many stories. They did not wish to talk about it. It hurt them. We must remember...that even those who did not die sacrificed so much.

I know several people who do not talk about Vietnam, most especially. Our men had so much psychological damage done to them during that war....