Rise of the Nazis......

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by finnbow

My dad was a medic in McArthur's New Guinea campaign. We still have dozens of Victory Mail letters he and my Mom exchanged during the war. We even have the letter by which they got engaged and him telling her where to go with her mother to pick out a ring.

My Dad was 30 years old, working full-time and going to Georgetown U. at night, when the war broke out. At his draft physical, the doctor said "Mr. Finn, you won't be drafted until Hitler comes goose-stepping down Rockville Pike" because of poor eyesight (he wore thick glasses). He was drafted 3 months later and was trained to be a medic. His brother was drafted and served in North Africa, Sicily and Anzio.

Some of the toughest duty there was, was in New Guinea, Finn. Hat's off to your old man.

My dad hotfooted it down to a Naval recruitment office shortly after Pearl Harbor. He so wanted to fly against Tojo, only to find out that he was colorblind. Mom says that it was the only time she saw him break down and cry.

The draft board decided he would be with the ground pounders fighting under some general from Pasadena, Ca. name of George Patton.

Gen. Patton basically stole the 10th AD from Patch Adams' 1st Army (maybe 7th?). As a ploy to hold onto them he kept the division at the spearpoint of his army. That way Ike couldn't snatch them back. Then Bastogne happened.

I still have his Nazi dress dagger war trophy and a copy of the bust of a Roma Maid from a bridge across the Rhine at Trier that Rome's 10th Legion built way, waaay back in the day. IIRC that was the last bridge that the Nazi's had primed to blow but they getting drunk at a local Ratskeller instead of manning their assigned position. Imagine their surprise when some dog faced pony soldiers showed up at their door. (grin)