posted
She had been married one year and was nine months pregnant on D-Day, not knowing where her soldier husband was on that day. She heard that 6,000+ were killed. Where was her husband? Was he alive? One week later she gave birth to a son, still not knowing if her husband was alive. That was my mom.
God Bless her and my dad.
( My father WAS at Normandy .. 3 days after D-Day. I guess he had to step over a lot of dead bodies. UGH. )
posted
Wow!! That's amazing. How hard that must've been on you Mother until she heard. So many lives were changed.
-------------------- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. Posts: 338 | From NEPA | Registered: Mar 2011
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linky123
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Member # 19974
posted
Your dad was a hero. I can't even imagine being there on that awful day. So glad he came home to help raise our Tutu. He and your mom did a good job.
My dad was from the same generation. He was not at Normandy, but fought for Bastogne at the Battle of the Bulge. He too returned home safely to help raise my brother and me.
He didn't talk much about the war, but did say he never wanted to see another snowflake again, after almost freezing to death in the Forest of Ardennes.
They truly were the 'greatest generation'. I sure do miss them.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
That's a neat story, Lymetoo - that was the defining event of my parents' generation - my parents still talk about WWII a lot -
Posts: 13171 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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posted
Thanks you guys. I'm so proud of both of my parents. I'm going to ask my brother if he knows how long it took for Mom to find out if Dad was alive. It could have been months.
linky .. My dad went on to the Battle of the Bulge too. I used to think it wasn't such a big deal since Dad was a cook (& Medic) in the Army. Then when I got older I realized he was in the middle of everything and suffered just as much as those in battle. He saw all the killing and suffering .. he just didn't kill anyone himself. (not to my knowledge) That would be really hard to live with, I know.
Today would have been my dad's 95th birthday.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I'm always amazed at the strength it takes to go through that.
I would never do well in that kind of situation. I can see it now... my knicking someone on the arm and my running over to the enemy and saying "Oh my gosh, are you okay??"
-------------------- IgM: [18++,31+++,34++,41++,83-93+] [39 IND] IgG: [41 IND] Positive according to IGeneX. Negative according to CDC. Negative for co-infections. Currently treating for Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia Posts: 225 | From Minnesota | Registered: May 2011
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
Tutu,
They were all heroes, no matter what their job out there. Just think, all those soldiers had to eat; they were in the middle of everything and so was your dad. He gave them nourishment so they could keep on fighting.
Your mom must have had amazing strength too.
Happy Birthday to your dad. My dad would be 91 if he was still with us today.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
You're right, linky. And my mom...?? She was a Rosie the Riveter!!! She worked in a plant in Waco, TX where they made airplanes!! She lived there with some people who gave her a room so she could work there. They became lifelong friends.
I'm still in contact with my dad's best Army buddy's children. Our families used to go visit each other every year or so when we were growing up. We would travel all the way from TX to MN.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
That's amazing. I think the reason we were able to win that war was that everyone pitched in and did their part.
A whole different mindset back then.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
My dad's army buddy's daughter sent this to me:
"When Dad & Roy came into Normandy beach, dad said the bodies were stacked like cordwoood. For those interested in Gardelegen (Germans burnt POW's in a barn) ck out the pics on www.scrapbookpages.com/gardelegen/massacre.html. Some of dad's photos that he took there are almost identical to what's posted there. *****, I bought the book "Paths of Armor (about the 5th Armored Div). It's still available online at the 5th Armored website. According to that website, Luxembourg was liberated by the 5th Armored on Aug 10th."
+++++++++++
We were talking about whether or not my dad was at the concentration camp above. His group had liberated Luxembourg, but he was injured by a truck several months later and did not make it to Germany. (I'm glad he didn't see what was is on the above link.) They thought he had broken his back and he ended up in a hospital in England, then was sent home.
WARNING.... the link above has very graphic photos.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
My widowed mother-in-law recently was remarried to a wonderful, sweet man. He had been a widower for some seven or eight years. They had all attended the same church in our small community for quite some time.
Unfortunately although we live very close by, I don't see them often (my health problems). Well, on Mother's Day we were all together. While he was saying grace, he broke down.
Later, while we were alone, I asked my mother-in-law about it. She said that he does that often. He is in his mid-eighties and in pretty good health.
But, she said that recently he has begun to talk to her about WWII and his experiences. She said he finally is talking about things that he had kept inside for all those years. She says it is both interesting and painful to hear.
Apparently he was on the USS Forrestal, a ship that was hit by kamakaze pilots and their planes. He is remembering and reliving the horrors of the deaths he witnessed and the harrowing time in the sea after the ship was destroyed.
What those men went through was unbelievable. And to think after all that, they returned home and built the country into the world power that we are today.
I agree with linky123, it was different than wars since because everyone in the nation was involved. It was impossible to forget that a war was going on "over there."
Not to be political, but I think that is what has been lacking since. We all need to sacrifice. Then maybe we would not be so prone to continue to be involved in so many conflicts around the globe.
My father (now deceased) was career Marine and I grew up during the Viet Nam era. Today, with an all volunteer force, we are truly asking too much of our service personnel and their families.
Sorry...I'll get off my soapbox.
Thanks for remembering D-Day!
p.s.. In 1998, I had the opportunity (pre-Lyme) to go to France. My visit to Normandy was one of the most moving and memorable of my life!
Also visited Viet Nam for 3 weeks in 2000 and walked many of the battlefields and visited many cities and villages with a group of vets and college students. It was one of the most emotionally draining, yet enriching experiences of my life.
Sorry for going on so long...thanks for listening!
Posts: 101 | From MS | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
Wow, Missy. Thanks for sharing. This statement is so true... "What those men went through was unbelievable. And to think after all that, they returned home and built the country into the world power that we are today."
That's why it's so painful for many of us to see it crumbling.
I think my friend above heard more things about WWII than my family did because her father died when he was about 94. My father died at age 77. My father only began sharing about WWII a few years before that .. and never said much. We had to ask .. and we often felt we shouldn't ask.
Seeing Normandy must have been an awesome sight!! I know I would break down and cry if I saw it .. but I would be so proud too.
Did you hear that they want to put wind turbines somewhere on the beaches there???
footnote .. I realized later that my mother was 19 on D-Day! She would turn 20 a few weeks later. And she had only been married 10 months and one week on D-Day...not one year.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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