My mom and dad were both involved deeply in WWII. Dad was a Navy corpsman with the Marines in the South Pacific and saw some truly bad shit. My mom worked at the secret Oak Ridge (TN) atomic bomb plant refining uranium for the two bombs dropped on Japan. Oh the stories they told after the war. From what people told me who knew them in high school, neither one of them were the same after the war... dad had nightmares the rest of his life and his health was ruined in the jungles of the Pacific islands. Mom became less introspective and a true leader in our small community and the church.
Thanks for recognizing that. Yes he did. Because of that experience and his lifelong admiration for the USMC, both my brother and I joined the Corps when we grew up. Best time of our lives, and I would do it again, although I know I would be rejected due to my age now.
Oh my mom and dad were fully behind dropping the 2 atomic bombs on Japan. They saw it, and I agree, as a way to end the war without the high casualties that invading Japan would have cost.
Well I'm old enough to remember the time after WWII and there was ZERO moral ambiguity among most of the US population over "the bomb." A few liberals wrung their hands and clutched their pearl necklaces, but we thought that they were just odd ducks. Never forget that Japan started it and the Christian US nation was all too happy to end it. In my small community of Baptists and Methodists, no one had any guilt over the matter. It was a very different time back then, and it may be hard for younger people today to understand that.
As a former FMF Corpsman myself, your father is an idol to me. We all wanted to be as good as them. My GF flew Hellcats in the Pacific. He did his share of damage. My hero growing up.
My mom and dad were both involved deeply in WWII. Dad was a Navy corpsman with the Marines in the South Pacific and saw some truly bad shit. My mom worked at the secret Oak Ridge (TN) atomic bomb plant refining uranium for the two bombs dropped on Japan. Oh the stories they told after the war. From what people told me who knew them in high school, neither one of them were the same after the war... dad had nightmares the rest of his life and his health was ruined in the jungles of the Pacific islands. Mom became less introspective and a true leader in our small community and the church.
My dad hated "the Japs" for the rest of his life.
Navy corpsman -- Marines --- South Pacific. He went through hell.
Thanks for recognizing that. Yes he did. Because of that experience and his lifelong admiration for the USMC, both my brother and I joined the Corps when we grew up. Best time of our lives, and I would do it again, although I know I would be rejected due to my age now.
Your parents and other Patriots responded with honor. It is the government that is dishonorable.
At the risk of being insensitive (I'm not trying to be, I swear), what were your mom's feelings on the bomb? I recently saw Oppenheimer's famous quote about it, so I'm curious about this...
That being said, I can't imagine the hell your father must have gone through, or the strain it must have put on your family...
Oh my mom and dad were fully behind dropping the 2 atomic bombs on Japan. They saw it, and I agree, as a way to end the war without the high casualties that invading Japan would have cost.
Agreed, but I can only imagine how much that would weigh on a person to feel responsible for so much death, even if it was necessary...
Well I'm old enough to remember the time after WWII and there was ZERO moral ambiguity among most of the US population over "the bomb." A few liberals wrung their hands and clutched their pearl necklaces, but we thought that they were just odd ducks. Never forget that Japan started it and the Christian US nation was all too happy to end it. In my small community of Baptists and Methodists, no one had any guilt over the matter. It was a very different time back then, and it may be hard for younger people today to understand that.
As a former FMF Corpsman myself, your father is an idol to me. We all wanted to be as good as them. My GF flew Hellcats in the Pacific. He did his share of damage. My hero growing up.
Roger that.