Further note to heyseed and jamie. Jamie, if your ancestors looked up in the sky during daylight hours and see those planes bombing your factories, they were Americans. The RAF was to chickenshit to fly days so they "missed" their targets while hiding in darkness. It's ok though, Americans returned the next day to hit the factories the Brits missed.

Note that I didn't mention that in my OP until you jumped in with your respective bullshit.

 

Start of World War 2: September 1939.
Germany abandons attempts to conquer Britain: October 1940.
USA enters the war: December 1941.


Remind me again what I said that was bullshit. You want to honour the Americans who fought and died; go ahead. We've been doing that for the last seventy years. Don't make out like your country joined out of some sense of moral duty to the world; you didn't have one then and you still don't have one now.

 

Your post was riddled with your lack of knowledge of the situation in this country when war broke out in Europe. We were still in the Great Depression, feeding our own in soup lines was routine. You are too young to have experienced any of that. When we got a sentiment in our Congress we went to war. We had already given Briton millions of dollars of equipment to fight with. If you don't like the way you "heard" we entered the war, tough. But use your head and don't come on a American post dedicated to people who saved your parents lives so you could breath. I was following the war when you were still hanging in your daddies sack. Fuck off, in short.

 

Heyesey, I'm glad that you are free.

I'm glad that your sense of gratitude is so short lived that you forget what really happened, it must make it easier to bear.

I'm glad that you can forget about the hundreds of US ships that were sunk and all the 10 thousand US merchantmen who perished so that your families could eat and your military have supplies. All before 1941.

 

My father-in-law fought under Gen. Patton in the artillery during WWll in Germany. He was in the occupation army at Dachau.

My maternal grandmother was from Germany and my maternal grandfather was from Holland...both came to America in the 20's, but both left siblings behind in each country. Needless to say, it was a very difficult time during the war.

 

Maybe this post should have been done for the correct day, then it would not look like yet another 'banner waving' post from an ignorant and loud-mouthed American.
Someone who obviously thinks, and feels, that the rest of the world owes him more than just a kind word of thanks.

Every country that fought on the allies side did their bit, and this should NEVER be allowed to be forgotten. Which is what November 11th is for, NOT November 20th.

Maybe you should step outside of your blinkered view and take a good look at the world situation as it was during WW2.

 

Just a few things that bear mentioning, from my own personal standpoint.

My grandparents spent much of World War II in an internment camp, although they were American citizens guilty of nothing whatsoever. Many people like them lost all their possessions and their land. My grandfather went on to serve with distinction in a segregated Japanese-American unit.

The United States deliberately destroyed two cities in Japan with atomic bombs. Many residents who survived the bombing suffered from the effects of radiation. Many died of radiation-induced cancers.

There's nothing about war worth glorifying. Sorry, that's just how I feel.

 

Thank you! Thats exactly how I feel as well! Thats why we don´t have the whole memorial/veterans culture here!

 

No one here Kimmy is GLORIFYING war. My post was only meant to pay tribute to our American Vets. I am not proud of the treatment of the innocent Japanese Americans who were swept out of their lives and went to those camps. They were, however provided for, there was no cruel treatment. If one compares the treatment rendered to captured civilians, military, women and men at the hands of the Japanese military there is no comparison. One only have knowledge of the Bataan death march in the Philippines to see the sheer brutality against unarmed and often very sick prisoners. The bombing of Japan was justified. Japan launched a sneak attack against America when we were not at war. My older brother fought in the pacific against the fanatic Japanese. Had we not ended the war with our bombs the death on both sides from an invasion would have mounted into the millions. Had the Japanese not initiated the war they would not have suffered the consequences of it. I am sorry for the suffering of the innocents but the burden is on Japan, not us.

 

"If one wanted land and soil in Europe, then by and large, this could only have been done at Russia's expense...

"For such a policy, however, there was only one single ally in Europe: England."

- Adolf Hitler, from Mein Kampf Volume I, Chapter IV, Munich

--------

The United States and Great Britain could have avoided fighting in World War II. I am glad we did not, but we could have. Neither Germany nor Japan had any intention of conquering us. Japan only wanted to conquer China. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor because the United States froze Japanese assets, and more important, the United States refused to sell Japan any more oil. Back then the United States was an oil exporting country.

To supply their war machine, the Japanese decided to conquer Indonesia, and take their oil. They thought we would attack them if they did, so they hit us first. Bad move. The Japanese misunderstood public opinion in the United States. The American people would not have supported an attack on Japan, unless the Japanese hit us first.

 

sorry Rick but WHAT? An atomic bomb is NEVER justified! The world had never seen destruction like that before! It is the kind of weapon men should never possess! Nothing can justify a weapon as cruel and devastating as that! What it creates is worse than death!

 

I'm staying out of this one. All I'm going to say is this, I'm thankful to everyone that played some role in defeating the Nazis. Irrespective if their involvement was for selfless reasons or not, even if the difference they made had no bearing on the final outcome of the war. Every single person that was part of the allied campaign, be it working in a shipyard, or fighting on the front line. Their efforts haven't gone unnoticed, at least not to me.

 

I was alive and kicking at the time, you were not. So much for my "blinkered" view. No one asked you or any other non American for a damn thing in my post. That you feel it necessary to comment is interesting but not very factual.

 

It would have been nice had the Japanese leader listened when we told him of our intention, sadly he did not. It was justified at the time. It's ok to disagree.

 

I'm off to the BBQ but thanks to all who contributed to this lively exchange.

 

United States Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific War)

I get flamed whenever I point this out. I don't care. The truth is stronger than the insults posters throw at the Master of Facts.

----------

Washington, D.C.
1 July 1946

United States
Government Printing Office
Washington : 1946

Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts, and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated.
*not_secure_link*www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/USSBS-PTO-Summary.html

 

Ever heard of the term propaganda?

 

This was a bait topic and you all fucking fell for it

 

Im not going to pretend to be some expert on war but the fact that so many gave their lives is incredible, but you say how America sacrificed so much with out giving a equal amount of praise to any of the other allies is just rude.
I respect that you are a vetrain and you are probaly thinking 'who is this gypy shit?'but I believe that it is rude to just mention a single nation as giving a sacrifice in a world war.
11:11:11 remember

 

I almost hate to mention this but Finland was aligned with Nazi Germany during WWII. Not conquered by, but deliberately aligned with the Nazis.