"Band Of Brothers" this ain't....another side of WW2

[Konigballer]

Hey, i found this old guy's website talking about his WW2 experience with the 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division.

http://www.parida.com/ww2.html

His experience as a grunt fighting the germans in europe is so different than alot of the more white washed stuff you read or see about the US footsoldiers WW2 experience in books by Ambrose or shows on The History Channel. He's very blunt to say the least. Alot of old veterens seem to look back on what they did, or how good they're unit was, with "rose colored lenses" so this is an interesting taste of sincerity.

His job was a foward scout, literally being the "eyes and ears" for his entire company hile moving through enemy territory, so I love his statements about the reality of his job in combat:

"In all my time in combat it is rather incredible but the following is true:

We never knew where we were to an exact degree.
We most frequently did not know the name of a village,town or even city unless we stumbled on it.
I, for one, never had a compass even though I was supposed to lead the way!
I, for one, never had a map. Much too frequently the officers had no maps either!
I was never but never told where I was to go except that the direction was pointed out with a hand wave or an arm pointing. "

[BlackVCG]

I think it's pretty well evident the difference in his regiment and the men of Easy Company. One was trained well and the other was not. That can be a pretty significant factor in how a soldier goes through war and the perception he derives from all of it.

I met a guy that was PT Boater in WWII that says he thoroughly enjoyed the war. It all just depended on who you were and where you were.

[Konigballer]

yeah, the guy from the website sounded like he was fighting with the Bad News Bears or somethin'.

[TransMan]

Interesting read I enjoyed it

[SlartyBartFast]

Feel sorry for the guy. But seeing as he was drafted and entered the war only in 1943 it's understandable that he and his regiment were green and inexperienced. It's unfortuantel he fails to grasp the need to get bodies to the front and that long periods of training were a luxury that could not be had.

But, I find it amusing that he claims that he was a Canadian citizen and didn't have to serve. Considering the Canadians had been drafting long before the Americans and has a HUGE portion of our population in uniform, I'd think that his residence in the US had allowed him to avoid serving sooner.

There's a lot of hate and resentment in his stories. Hopefully his venting them will allow him some kind of peace.

[Repoman-gene]

yeah, the guy from the website sounded like he was fighting with the Bad News Bears or somethin'.

I would fight ANY 3 men on this forum with just Tanner at my side.

[oldsoldier]

HAHAHAHA!!! Wait, let me ewxplain: My unit is the 26th Yankee Division. It was deactivated after WWII, and reactivated in 94. Now, the 104th Inf Reg is also located in MA. It is one of my sister units. I have worked with them several times, and, well, their training is WAY sub-par. As a matter of fact, they rarely show up prepared. The "no map, no compass, no clue" statement is as true today with them, as it was then. They remain true to their roots.