aTmAg said:
Does anybody else get depressed when watching WW2 shows/documentaries?
Those dudes were badasses, and I don't think half of modern America would bother to get out of bed to fight the Nazis. In fact, they would blame us for "genocide" and horsecrap like that.
It's interesting you said that…there is a part in the Masters of the Air book that talks about how people were concerned that these young 18-20 year olds who fought in WWII wouldn't rise to the occasion. I forget exactly what it said, but basically, after the suffering of the Great Depression, there were a lot of young men without motivation or drive and with little awareness of the global situation. The first military stationed in England were really not liked and were judged harshly by the British for all these reasons.
But they really stepped up after Pearl Harbor and continued to rise to the occasion as the war progressed. The book talks about how many of them didn't even know the all the details about Hitler (at least initially). They fought for each other - it was very much a Band of Brothers, even in the sky.
Part of the reason I'm so interested in this period of history is because of the immense suffering - of both civilians and enlisted military. It really was horrific all over the world. Living in Europe at that time must have been a nightmare. And as a woman, I can't imagine having your beau or husband go off to fight only to never see him again.
What gets me about it is it was barely two generations ago. This is what my grandparents lived when they were my age and a little younger. It just amazes me that they were able to rebuild their lives at all, although, I know there was a lot of collateral damage (most of which is probably untold, even to this day).
In a lot of ways I feel individual families are still living with the repercussions of it all. This is very personal for me, but my maternal grandmother served in WWII in Europe. A few years ago, my dad told me she was engaged to a doctor who was killed. She wound up meeting and marrying my grandfather (also serving). She had my mother, but they had an awful marriage. Despite divorcing when my mother was young, the animosity never dissipated. My mother had a terrible relationship with her mother, and that carried on to me (and I'm still living it). I'm sure there are tens of millions of stories like this.
