jdfreefly 1 #1 November 8, 2002 I met a friends grandfather. He was like, "Hey gramps, this is Daless. He is an avid skydiver. (to me) Gramps was a paratrooper in WW2. (Back to the old man) Daless has over 800 jumps!" Then I open my mouth and ask for a big slice of humble pie. "How many jumps do you have?" The old man grins: "I only have 1......... .... .... Normandy." Respect your elders. Methane Freefly - got stink? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christoofar 0 #2 November 8, 2002 *gulp!* ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pyke 0 #3 November 8, 2002 Quote"I only have 1......... .... .... Normandy." and yet.....somehow even a thousand jumps seems small in comparison to the magnitude of this ONE. Man, I bet he'd have a few stories to tell of friends "going in"...... flashes of the first hour of Saving Private Ryan are now going through my head. Kahurangi e Mahearangi, Kiwi, RB #926, AFF-I, FAA Snr. Rigger, RN/BSN/Paramedic Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJL 232 #4 November 8, 2002 Talk about a hairy First Jump Course. "Ground obstacles consist of trees, powerlines, Panzer Tanks, and Anti-Aircraft guns. Be sure to PLF." -Doug"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #5 November 8, 2002 got to respect the guys that have a gold star on thier jump wings..... i respect any vet, combat jump or not... remeber guys vetrans day is monday!!!! hang your flag proudly for those that didn't make it back and can't hang one themselves.... ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seedy 0 #6 November 8, 2002 Met an old paratrooper once and asked him that question. He told me he never did jump. I asked how you could be a paratrooper and never jump. He told me, "Never jumped once. They had to throw my butt out every time!" I intend to live forever -- so far, so good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,148 #7 November 8, 2002 A friend's father has just the one jump, too. Out of a B-17 after it caught some flak, and after it shot a couple of other planes down. He spent the next year in a POW camp. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtval 0 #8 November 8, 2002 Vet's are cool to talk to. they ARE living history. if you can get one to actually talk to you about the experiences you LEARN A LOT. none of the bullshit you read in your history book either! being in the mlitary myself it seems anytime someone( older) hear's Im active duty. they immediately wanna share stories... I'm Like "dude, Im a pu$$y. its a different military for me" My photos My Videos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #9 November 8, 2002 Quote A friend's father has just the one jump, too. Out of a B-17 after it caught some flak, and after it shot a couple of other planes down. He spent the next year in a POW camp. Wendy W. My dad never talks about his time in the Air Force as a bombardier. Did a full tour over North Africa and Italy. I had about 200/300 jumps when a friend is over at the house. He says "What do think about your son jumping? Have you ever wanted to do it?" My dad says "Well...we were returning from a run one night and following the lead plane. The lead navigator got lost, so the rest of us became lost with him. It was over a desert and mountain region, and we didn't have a place to land, so SOP is to bail and crash the planes." "We saw the lights of a town and on the first pass, all the enlisted guys got out. The plane turned 180 and the pilot and co-pilot got out. They were too close and the co-pilot opened, swung once, and broke his leg. It took 3 days to carry him down out off the mountain." "I landed closer to the town, walked in, woke up the Arab guard and he pointed me to the town police station." My buddy and I were just standing there. I had never heard the story. My dad had a letter about it. Imagine your first jump is a night jump with a round over terrain you can't see. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #10 November 8, 2002 My father, too, has some great stories he'd entertain us kids with. Until very recently, he did not talk about some of the more impactful things. He fought in Burma/India and was in China as well. While not airborne, his experiences are intense and powerful. An early note of thanks to all those who serve, long ago or today. I appreciate your service. Ciels and with deep respect- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #11 November 8, 2002 my mother's father was in the marines in wwII and he has told a few stories when i was youger..... he was in the pacific and an artilery guy..fought on iwo jima (sp) and alot of other places. i think the one storie he had that got me was when he was explaining about diffrent kinds of mines... utility=take out a vehicle, personel=blow off a leg... he and his good friend where disembarkin a landing craft and his buddy landed right on a utility mine...he said he remebers his friend's head being blown right off.....gave me alot of respect for what he did and all vets... i'm proud to have him as my grandfather!!!! other grandfater was a ball turet gunner and tailgunner on b-17's.... he doesn't talk about his time in wwII......both of em are my heros!!!! ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebazz1 2 #12 November 8, 2002 Well my mom was not a veteran but she did do 60-70 sport parachute jumps in the early 70's up in Antioch. Eventually a kid named Sebazz and I think a hard landing made her give it up.. One tough mother though. I'm still trying to get her back out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #13 November 8, 2002 QuoteHe fought in Burma/India and was in China as well Whoa.....shake his hand for me. Those guys were bad asses long before they gave away funny looking hats for being a bad ass. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #14 November 8, 2002 Quoteremeber guys vetrans day is monday!!!! The bigger question is....What is Canada remembering? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #15 November 8, 2002 QuoteQuoteHe fought in Burma/India and was in China as well Whoa.....shake his hand for me. Those guys were bad asses long before they gave away funny looking hats for being a bad ass. The British in Burma had a line that they attached to their rigs. They used it to repel out of the tops of the trees that that landed in. Hammering in under a round is bad enough. Into a tree is doubly bad. Once you got down, it wasn't a happy place either. Shake that hand for me also. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #16 November 8, 2002 Quote The British in Burma had a line that they attached to their rigs. They used it to repel out of the tops of the trees that that landed in. We had that in the US military too. It's called a belly mounted MIRPS reserve...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #17 November 8, 2002 Quote The bigger question is....What is Canada remembering watcha mean by this clay???? ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymiles 3 #18 November 8, 2002 Canadians are remembering the soldiers lost in WWI and WWII, even the ones lost before the US entered either war. Phil Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird 0 #19 November 9, 2002 QuoteThe bigger question is....What is Canada remembering? You forgot the j/k behind that question. Yeah, that's what happened. You're not serious. No way. You'd never make that statement on an international site, unless you were joking. We respect your Veterans, you respect ours, like my grandpa. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #20 November 9, 2002 Bill and Clay QuoteWhoa.....shake his hand for me. Those guys were bad asses long before they gave away funny looking hats for being a bad ass. Will do. As I have gotten older, he has told me many more stories then the cute and fun ones about the wildlife stories (waking up with a snake curled on his chest for heat; panther (or some large cat) coming up and "investigating" him as he was point and trying to be stealthy...). The stories have matured as I have, and now talk about his fellows with their feet rotting off, the lack of food, the mines, bombs, and bullets he encountered, the injuries he sustained, permanent ones. As I have gotten older, I realize just how much he gave for this country - and how much less he was asked to give then some of his fellows dying next to him. As I have gotten older, I realize how hard it was for him, a skinny shy jewish young man from Brooklyn, to take this on himself and to give up what he did...to encounter the jungle in a way which was terrifying and intensely difficult to fight in - when, as he put it, "the only snakes I had ever seen were not hanging from trees stuck in the cement on my street, spaced regularly and trimmed. The snakes I had seen were in the zoo, behind thick glass. And they were small..."... and still be able to retain his humanity, dignity and love for all people. As I get older, I recognize what the war there did to him, and for him. Yes, I will make it a point to shake his hand on your behalf. I am taking him out for dinner on Monday (something I do every Veteran's Day). He is my hero, and he is my Dad. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fasterfaller 0 #21 November 9, 2002 QuoteQuoteremeber guys vetrans day is monday!!!! The bigger question is....What is Canada remembering? Damn Clay , you are af funny guy I am still laughing over that one . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seedy 0 #22 November 9, 2002 A friend of mine is Canadian. We spent five months on a project in Germany. From all the stories he told me, he will be remembering Dunkirk. I intend to live forever -- so far, so good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,648 #23 November 9, 2002 Quote Vet's are cool to talk to. they ARE living history. if you can get one to actually talk to you about the experiences you LEARN A LOT. none of the bullshit you read in your history book either! being in the mlitary myself it seems anytime someone( older) hear's Im active duty. they immediately wanna share stories... I'm Like "dude, Im a pu$$y. its a different military for me" Yes they are. I had dinner last night with the Tuskegee Airman who wrote the book "Tuskegee Airmen 1941-1945". He had flown P39, P40, P47 and P51s in WWII. Said the P51 was his favorite by far. These guys are becoming few and far between now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,648 #24 November 9, 2002 QuoteQuoteremeber guys vetrans day is monday!!!! The bigger question is....What is Canada remembering? Vimy Ridge, maybe. Or El Alamein. Or the Battle of Britain. Or the Dieppe raid, or Normandy... Remarkable how many people think WWI started in 1917 and WWII in 1941. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
homer 0 #25 November 9, 2002 Quote got to respect the guys that have a gold star on thier jump wings..... i respect any vet, combat jump or not... remeber guys vetrans day is monday!!!! hang your flag proudly for those that didn't make it back and can't hang one themselves.... I will never forget an old retired bird colornel I met in Omaha Nebraska a couple years back while attending the 82nd airborne national convention. We got taking while downing a couple glasses of tequila sunrises and he told me about his WWII days. The dude had jumped into Normandy, Holland, Sicily, and Salerno with a post combat jump into Nimegan. Thats 4 COMBAT JUMPS I was speechless I didn't know what to think or do. He just talk about it as if it was nothing. The man is a god as far as I'm concerned He talked for about an hour telling me all his war stories before putting me under the table. The dude hadn't had a drink in over 40 years and he drank me under the table I only wish I could remember his name. CSA #699 Muff #3804 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
