Need WWII info

[Stosh]

If one is looking for information, TV and books are great. If you are looking for an experience for your boy, get him down to the American Legion or VFW and talk with the members. There is nothing more personal than hearing it first hand. I have found very few men associated with these organizations that aren't interested in sharing their experiences.

 

My great uncle served in the cavalry in WWI and was a fountain of wealth when it came to really knowing what was going on in the trenches.

 

Have your boy go do some volunteering at the local VA hospital if you are lucky enough to have one near. Those gentlemen would love to get a visit from a child who wants to hear about his experiences.

 

Reenacting groups in the area are also a wealth of information because many of them research the field far beyond what one could find in books or on TV.

 

I talked with an elderly gentleman a few months ago and asked him what he did during WWII. He told me it was not much because all he did was repair boots and shoes. It was fascinating.

 

My girl friend's dad served in Korea as a DJ on Armed Forces Radio. That was another great afternoon of learning all about that.

 

My dad is a WWII veteran who was a radio/navigator on a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. His story of how he learned to shoot aviator machine guns is fascinating.

 

I have an uncle who served on the crew of a PT boat during WWII. His captain was John F. Kennedy.

 

JUST ASK A VET, HE'LL BE HAPPY TO TELL YOU!

 

Stosh(This message has been edited by jblake47)

[John-in-KC]

As a note,

 

The great die-off of WWII Veterans is well-nigh complete. There are something under one million WWII era Veterans still alive, of well over 10 million total served. A young man who was 18 on 1 Jan 1945 turned 83 the first of the year.

 

One of our Eagles did as his ELSP the Library of Congress Veterans Oral History Project for our Chartered Partner, a VFW post. That was seven years ago. One is still alive.

[Gags]

One of the first books I read at probably the same age was "Guadacanal Diary" - not sure if it was the original or a kids version - probably about 150-200 pages. As it's one of the more famous stories from the war, it should be in the local library, if not his school library.

 

As an alternate topic, and depending on his reading level - Killer Angels (Gettysburg / Jeff [Mike?] Shaara)is a quick moving book that adds dialogue (sp?) to the storyline and can help bring a story to life for a young boy.

 

What I would stay away from is the "WWII in HD" series that just came out. Much too graphic for a 9 year old - it's "refreshing" (poor word choice, but best I could do) to have a show that's not just the same war film clips edited together - this one does a pretty good job of showing the aftermath in places like Iwo Jima and Okinawa - as in burnt bodies, random limbs, etc. Just thought I'd give you a heads up in case it pops up on the tv guide.

 

I hope your son develops as much a love for history as I have. My wife doesn't appreciate it quite so much - there's not much room on the bookshelf for things like pictures. I always thought shelves were for books? If I could only learn to read them faster than I buy them. [Damn you Barnes & Noble discount section!]

 

YiS,

 

Gags

[scoutingagain]

As a son of a WWII vet that served in N. Africa and Italy I've heard my share of WWII Stories. They usually came up after watching an episode of Combat! with my Dad.

 

After a while in my late teens I sort of realized that anyone from that generation has great WWII stories. I got into the habit of politely asking folks who were alive then what they were doing between 1939 and 1945. I've heard stories about rationing here at home, going without butter, collection drives etc. Stories of a little chinese girl running west across China from the Japanese until her family hit the Gobi desert and her dad decided that was far enough. Of a young Navy CB that spent much of his time in the Phillipines skin diving for shells in tropical waters...or on the orders of his Chief basically comandeering an Army truck to move some of the Navy stuff to a safe area.

 

As others have mentioned. Talk to the VFW. You can get a great story from just about anyone who was there. That old guy down the street, you see on a bus, or in a store just may have been at Normandy, Guadacanal, Anzio, or on a ship at sea running from U-boats, or on a carrier in the Pacific. I found when asked they opened up.

 

SA

[Hal_Crawford]

I think I was about 10 or 11 when I read Thirty Seconds over Tokyo. As he gets a little older Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far are both good. Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers and Wild Blue are also great. The latter is about a B-24 crew commanded by George McGovern. I have read all these books more than once.

 

Hal

[SSScout]

Recommend Bill Mauldin's ""Up Front"" and ""Back Home"".

[WAKWIB]

Scoutfish,

Recently I read the book "The Greatest Generation Speaks", by Tom Brokaw. It was comprised of letters written from vets and others from that time in response to Brokaw's prior book "The Greatest Generation" (I have not read that one yet). Very interesting stories of life in training, combat, and stateside during WWII. Look it over before giving to your son, but I don't recall any questionable material.

[Eagle92]

Also remember The Great Escape, the book not the movie, and Stalag Luft 13. If memory serves the second book is based upon a USAF Col.'s dissertation on the Great Escape, includes some declassified info not in the TGE book, AND tell what happens afterward to everyoen invovled, including the camp commandant 9arrested by the Gestapo, almost put on trial for treason, captured by the allies, tried for the executions, exonerated and attended a few reunions).

[DancesWithSpreadsheets]

One nitpick Eagle92; the movie was "Stalag 17". Stalag 13 was the camp in "Hogan's Heroes". The former was a much more accurate portrayal of WWII POW camps, but the latter is fun too.

 

Regards,

 

DWS

[HobcawChaos]

If you've visited the USS North Carolina enough, hop on 17 South and visit the USS Yorktown in Charleston. It would be a perfect weekend trip. The Medal of Honor museum is not to be missed and has volunteers from many wars and conflicts. Anytime is good. You may want to visit during Navy Week April 12-18th (http://www.navyweek.org/) or Harborfest June 12-18 (http://www.charlestonmaritimefestival.com/index2.html) when there is even more going on in town.(This message has been edited by HobcawChaos)

[Eagle92]

DWS,

Thanks for the correction. I admit I always get the numbers confused.

 

And BTW that Stalag Luft 17 book, although based on a dissertation, is actually written at about a 6th grade level. Someone LSU press said it would be a good dissertation to turn into a book. So it was edited top become a book.