DIS Dads DDC XVI - Here because Fed allows it.

[RodBelding]

Sobering too...he described the event in detail and with a clarity I can't describe. My dad just stood there with his mouth open...I took detailed notes

That must have been incredible. My grandfather fought in WWII, but passed away long before I was born. I have a lot of his war mementos, from my father. I would have loved to hear the stories.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Jodi's Dad was at Iwo Jima, he watched as they raised the flag. He didn't talk about the war. My Dad served stateside.

 

[Swissdog2010]

An excellent book on WWII is 'A Time for Trumpets'. The author's name is Stephen (i think) McDonald. He was a captain with the 29th Infantry Division but the book is a foxhole view of the Battle of the Bulge. It gives incredible detail of the large and small unit action all along the front as well as behind. My dad was an BAR gunner in the 99th Infantry Division, one of the two raw divisions that was placed in the Ardennes, the quiet sector, for some seasoning. Forutnately for my brothers and I, he developed severe trench feet and was evacuated before the assualt began. He was in the hospital at Malmedy on the day the offensive was orginally scheduled to begin. The amazing thing of all this was after i read it i gave it to him to read, as he had recently retired and was looking for some reading material. Between that book and one called 'The last hundred days' he came to realize that he had been mistaken when he thought that the 99th had been the one to lose to regiments as POWs, which was in fact the 106th. He had gone for over 40 years thinking his division had come apart. Instead, they had formed the northern defense on the Elsenborne Ridge along with other outfits and were the third division into Germany after the Bulge was pushed back. He didn't live too many years after that but at least he knew the real story and took pride from it.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

We also had a hired man on the farm when I was growing up that served in Vietnam. We'd be sitting around taking a break outside the barn and all of a sudden he's say "helicopter coming". 3 or 4 minutes later, the rest of us would hear it and it would fly over.

Wow! That's amazing, and a little chilling.

That must have been incredible. My grandfather fought in WWII, but passed away long before I was born. I have a lot of his war mementos, from my father. I would have loved to hear the stories.

Jodi's Dad was at Iwo Jima, he watched as they raised the flag. He didn't talk about the war. My Dad served stateside.

My grandfather didn't talk much about it either. He did let us feel some pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his hand.

He also once met General Patton. He was digging a trench when, unbeknownst to him, Gen. Patton came up behind him and asked, "What the h*** are you doing?"

Without turning around, he responded, "What the h*** do you care?"

An excellent book on WWII is 'A Time for Trumpets'. The author's name is Stephen (i think) McDonald. He was a captain with the 29th Infantry Division but the book is a foxhole view of the Battle of the Bulge. It gives incredible detail of the large and small unit action all along the front as well as behind. My dad was an BAR gunner in the 99th Infantry Division, one of the two raw divisions that was placed in the Ardennes, the quiet sector, for some seasoning. Forutnately for my brothers and I, he developed severe trench feet and was evacuated before the assualt began. He was in the hospital at Malmedy on the day the offensive was orginally scheduled to begin. The amazing thing of all this was after i read it i gave it to him to read, as he had recently retired and was looking for some reading material. Between that book and one called 'The last hundred days' he came to realize that he had been mistaken when he thought that the 99th had been the one to lose to regiments as POWs, which was in fact the 106th. He had gone for over 40 years thinking his division had come apart. Instead, they had formed the northern defense on the Elsenborne Ridge along with other outfits and were the third division into Germany after the Bulge was pushed back. He didn't live too many years after that but at least he knew the real story and took pride from it.

I can't imagine what it was like to be in that battle. I'll try and find that book!

 

[Swissdog2010]

My dad never had a problem talking about the war because he never fired a shot in anger. He did have a couple of close calls though. One day he was sitting down with his back against a tree, i think they had been out on patrol, and some guy was messing with his rifle and it went off. It hit the tree above my dad's head. When he stood up it was right about forhead level. The other time he and his squad were on a patrol and got lost. They came out of the trees alongside a road and heard a noise so they hid and then jumped a German soldier on a bicycle returning to his unit from a short leave. They were behind enemy lines. They got the guy to show them the way back to the lines and were officially noted for capturing a POW.

 

[DisneyFed]

We also had a hired man on the farm when I was growing up that served in Vietnam. We'd be sitting around taking a break outside the barn and all of a sudden he's say "helicopter coming". 3 or 4 minutes later, the rest of us would hear it and it would fly over.

I've done that to my wife before...you do learn to hear those things from a while away

 

[Swissdog2010]

Wow! That's amazing, and a little chilling.





My grandfather didn't talk much about it either. He did let us feel some pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his hand.

He also once met General Patton. He was digging a trench when, unbeknownst to him, Gen. Patton came up behind him and asked, "What the h*** are you doing?"

Without turning around, he responded, "What the h*** do you care?"



I can't imagine what it was like to be in that battle. I'll try and find that book!

It's available on Amazon in paperback and it's Charles MacDonald.

 

[stopher1]

Sweet...

Very nice!

This reminds me that I've always wanted to do one of those helicopter rides when I'm down there. I've seen them advertised multiple times, with an image like this one - only a lot higher, but never taken the time to investigate them. I love helicopter rides having enjoyed many as a young punk. A cousin of mine is a pilot and lives half the year in Hawaii, the other half in Alaska and does the tour pilot thing for a living... he loves it! He would come over to the mainland and stay with us, and then take us down to one of the local airports where he had buddies and take my brother and I up in the whirlybirds. It was lots of fun. Anyone ever done this near Walt Disney World?

 

[stopher1]

Avoid Egypt at all costs...especially now. There's **MUCH** more going on in regard to "instabililty" than is being pushed to the general public right now Trust me on this one. They had "security issues" in the best of times...at the moment, it's "critical".

Yes sir.

 

[stopher1]

Sobering too...he described the event in detail and with a clarity I can't describe. My dad just stood there with his mouth open...I took detailed notes

Must have been amazing to listen! My grandfather was one of the paratroopers. Worked on setting up communication lines.

Ever read Stephen Ambrose's books on WWII? (Band of Brothers, D-Day, Citizen Soldier) Some amazing stories in there.

I'll bet it was.

My grandfather on my dad's side remained stateside during the war due to health issues. My grandfather on my mom's side was in the Norwegian Underground. The Nazis had taken over Norway, and he was among many to blow things up and deter their plans for the long term there in Scandinavia.

 

[Emma's Dad]

Interesting way to watch the Super Bowl:

Sniper Nest

 

[theduck619]

This could be the start of a diet for you! Maybe you need a few pictures of said items..

Please don't!

I think the center dome is a Mosque. Not Notre Dame just some other cathedral. The last .

Notre Dame does not have a dome if I remember correctly. It is was built in the gothic style.

Must have been amazing to listen! My grandfather was one of the paratroopers. Worked on setting up communication lines.

Ever read Stephen Ambrose's books on WWII? (Band of Brothers, D-Day, Citizen Soldier) Some amazing stories in there.

All of those books are great!! We throw around the word hero alot in sports, but everyone of those men deserve that title

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

I'll bet it was.

My grandfather on my dad's side remained stateside during the war due to health issues. My grandfather on my mom's side was in the Norwegian Underground. The Nazis had taken over Norway, and he was among many to blow things up and deter their plans for the long term there in Scandinavia.

I would like to Thank you Mom's Dad! Some of Jodi's family in Norway spent some time in some of the German "summer camps". Jodi's Mom had a hard time getting to like me, I have some German in me.

 

[Disney Commando]

I picked up Star War tics for Sunday, I thought it was a 1 day only thing, but they will be playing it for at least a week

I passed 2 other Cinemas that are playing the movie also, but I have some standards, like I don't want to stick to the floor, or be over run by teens

 

[stopher1]

Notre Dame does not have a dome if I remember correctly. It is was built in the gothic style.

You are correct, no dome. But the dome that Randall was referring to was in "front of" the cathedral that I was thinking might be Notre Dame. If you look at the photo a few pages back you'll see what I mean.

 

[stopher1]

I picked up Star War tics for Sunday, I thought it was a 1 day only thing, but they will be playing it for at least a week

I passed 2 other Cinemas that are playing the movie also, but I have some standards, like I don't want to stick to the floor, or be over run by teens

Excellent!

Yeah it'll be a little bit that it plays. All 6 will be featured again in the theatres, but in 3D. Not sure how long it will be before Episode II is released though. We're going Friday during the day. Looking forward to it! I saw it's in about 9 different cinemas around us in the general vicinity. Hard to believe it's not in more, since it's bound to be a money maker for them, but whatever.

 

[stopher1]

I would like to Thank you Mom's Dad! Some of Jodi's family in Norway spent some time in some of the German "summer camps". Jodi's Mom had a hard time getting to like me, I have some German in me.

My mother has 2, maybe 3, photos of him from that time period, in bunkers. He didn't talk about that much. My grandmother shared stories later on after he had died. Several new stories we'd never heard before came out in the last 24 hours before she died. What a fascinating, and scary, time to have lived through.

In my home, we have on the wall, a framed piece of "art", that is actually needlepoint that my great-grandmother did of the government building in Oslo. It was designed in the 30's, and construction had begun before the occupation. The Nazis wanted it for their local headquarters and demanded that construction be sped up, but the locals and the underground would go in regularly at night and undermine things that were done in construction during the daylight hours. From what my grandmother told us growing up, the Nazis never did get to use that building for their Norwegian headquarters.

 

[theduck619]

Excellent!

Yeah it'll be a little bit that it plays. All 6 will be featured again in the theatres, but in 3D. Not sure how long it will be before Episode II is released though. We're going Friday during the day. Looking forward to it! I saw it's in about 9 different cinemas around us in the general vicinity. Hard to believe it's not in more, since it's bound to be a money maker for them, but whatever.

I am torn about going. I am not sure 3D is enough to get me. I have seen two 3D movies and was not impressed especially for the higher amount I had to pay.

But, I am a Star Wars nerd so I may buckle under the pressure of the Dark Side

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Interesting way to watch the Super Bowl:

Sniper Nest

Really? No one has jumped on the "Looks like Fed had a good seat for the game" joke yet?

 

[RodBelding]

Very nice!

This reminds me that I've always wanted to do one of those helicopter rides when I'm down there. I've seen them advertised multiple times, with an image like this one - only a lot higher, but never taken the time to investigate them. I love helicopter rides having enjoyed many as a young punk. A cousin of mine is a pilot and lives half the year in Hawaii, the other half in Alaska and does the tour pilot thing for a living... he loves it! He would come over to the mainland and stay with us, and then take us down to one of the local airports where he had buddies and take my brother and I up in the whirlybirds. It was lots of fun. Anyone ever done this near Walt Disney World?

Never done one in Disney. I took a helicopter ride around Kauai on my honeymoon though, and that was amazing. You get some incredible views.

I wonder how good WDW would be though, seeing as it's designed to be viewed from a certain angle(s). You probably wouldn't be able to gauge any of the forced perspective tricks from that height, but I'm guessing they don't decorate the tops of all their buildings or anything!