Dave, and Dale;
...And my Dad went thru the war in a General Sherman -from D-Day + 1
-all the way into Germany via France and Belgium through the middle of the
Battle oif the Bulge and on to the Remagen Bridge.
just about 65% of his Tank Battalion sunk to the bottom and drowned in
16-18 feet of water just outside of a place called Omaha Beach. The dam
things were expected to not only float, but propel themselves onto the beach
with the whirling of the tracks going as fast as their Cadillac engines
could rev.
I think each one weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of about 28-35 tons
if my memory serves me -the sealing they had put in all the cracks of the
tanks to supposedly keep them afloat leaked and they immmediately became
steel coffins. Four American Boys to a tank. If his tank had'nt of floated
I would'nt be writing this now.
They don't show that kind of stuff in the movies, nor do any of "our
leaders" acknowledge it either....
I'm DAMN proud of MY Dad. though I'm afraid he didnt talk an awful lot
about it. I do however have and cherish a stack of photos of a young man
caught in a war-and I imagine a young man very scared of what the very next
dawn might bring....
GOD BLESS AMERICA GOD DAMN those who show no respect.
-Doug Anderson aka "doug down south"
(who's Dad loved airplanes just like his son.....)
---------------------------------------------------------
From: Dave Dahlgren <ddahlgren@snet.net>
My dad was there too same mission in a B-24 Liberator.. I still have the
pics
too!! His unit was prominent in the book 'Low level Mission' that chronicles
the
whole thing. His pics were better though and some the same as in the book,
wonder where they got them from, he would never tell. the Confederate Air
Force
stops by here once a year and i had the privilege to get a ride in a B-24
wore
dad's flight jacket to give it one more ride as he has passed away many
years
ago.
Dave Dahlgren ( one real proud son!)
------------------------------------------------------------
"Clay, Dale" wrote:
>
> Amen, brother! I won't even go to see movies anymore. These over paid
jerks
> take their notoriety and money and use them for political purposes I
don't
> agree with, well not with MY money!
>
> Yesterday 5 of those B25's were at Falcon Field in Mesa AZ, where I work.
I
> got to look them all over and talk to the crews. They were BEAUTIFUL!
> Excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail. They are not "props"
they
> are treasures.
>
> Today they're in Fresno, CA for a Doolittle Raid reunion and then they go
to
> Hawaii (!) for the opening of the movie Pearl Harbor.
>
> I was on the ramp when they all started up and took off, then made a
> low-level pass down the runway. Tell you what, I had a lump in my
throat.
> My dad flew B25's and B26's in the war and was shot down in the second
> Ploesti raid. Let's never forget what that generation did!
>
> Dale C.
>
>////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
> ////
> Subject: Thought you all might like to read this.....
>
> Hi all.....
>
> I was reading the latest Newsweek over coffee this morning and came
> across an article about this "blockbuster" movie called PEARL HARBOR due
out
>
> soon. You know, how the publicists get the spin out early...... well
> anyway, they had this interview piece with the lead actor Ben Affleck (
> whoever he is....) and they did a good job 'cause they nmanaged to "poush
my
>
> buttons this morning. So I just spent the lasst little while giving
> Newsweek a piece of my mind.
>
> Hope you agree with me, if not, ....too bad. :=)
>
> -"Doug down south" -south NuYawk thet is
>
>
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