I love listening to these old vets. I was born in 1950 just barley 5 years after the end of WW2. My father served in the Army and was involved in all the actions from Normandy to the Bulge and the end of the war. All my uncles served in some capacity during the war and one uncle was killed by a Kamikaze during the battle of Okinawa while serving in the Navy. My father was only 29 when I was born. They were all still young men when I grew up with them. They taught me how to hunt and fish, how to ride motorcycles and in some cases how to drink. I remember listening to their war stories when they would open up about their war experiences with each other which they would not do around other people. My grandfather was a WW1 USMC vet and talked me out of joining the Marines during Vietnam. I went in the Navy instead. He, at the very least, saved my sanity and probably saved my life... At 71 years old I feel more of a connection with the generation that fought WW2 then I do with the current state of affairs. I feel blessed to have been brought up with and kept company with such men...
Agreed. These guys open up when they get old. Because many times it's painful to talk about and they feel nobody really understands. Well, the latter is true.
They truly were the greatest generation! Growing up coming out of the depression I'm sure made them both tough but also they knew how to get by with little, didnt expext alot and with the morals and ethics of them times made damn good men. Not to be seen since might i add and i say that as a Gen Xr
What a great man. His humility and sensitivity is awe inspiring. The dedication to his mates is inspiring and it shows me how this man held onto his humanity and humour throughout his war. A privilege to hear his story.
What a man. My uncle fought alongside this guy I bet. He was with the 4th army. 3rd armored division 37th tank battalion in the Cobra King tank (1st into Bastogne). KIA on 19 March 1945. It was interesting to follow along with Spauldings story. My uncle was killed in Bad Kreuznach Germany just before they crossed the Rhine River.
My grandfather fought along with him as well at the bulge and Bastogne he was 4th armored division he also revived a bronze star! He made it home but was killed by a drunk driver before I was born never knew what he done bc of the archives burned so only way to know was to have his release papers and didn’t find them till my grandmother passed we sent them in and the government sent us all his medals and some detail to his deployment!
@@Sockmonkey5600 My uncle was in the fourth. I have the fourth armored division class book with all their pictures. If your uncle was in the fourth from the beginning I can look up his picture. What was his full name.
Further evidence of the greatest generation! I just love all these old guys and my heart just broke for this gentleman when he spoke of his buddy that got his leg blown off when their mortar to blew up on them. His pain is palpable.
He is very articulate. Amazing memory for an older gentleman. Unbelievable the courage of such very young people. They were a wonderful generation. as a little boy I got to see returning soldiers who were now civilians. I remember how impressive they looked eventhough they were no longer in uniform. They were very impressive having spent several years fighting for our country. I was about 7 or 8 but knew they were special by the way they carried themselves.
This is the voice of our history... always to be remembered and cherished. We are lucky to have many left to tell us how it was in ww2. I am unlucky due to both my ww2 veteran grandfathers died both before I was born in 75 and the other when I was 11 in 1986. Please give love to all we can learn from now
These interviews with veterans have often some things in common. in the most time they speak very articulated and try to avoid vulgar words and also they try to hold back tears when the memorys of gruesome events come back.
A wonderful story. My father was a field surgeon in Patton's 3rd Army during The Battle of the Bulge. He labored 12 hours a day on the front line and saved hundreds of lives. So many men were wicked wounds, and patched up more, he tells of the many amputees. He was an expert Cornell U trained NY physician and saved many hand arms, feet, and legs. He barely spoke of the carnage and casualties of one of the bloodiest battles on record. He saved the lives of many heroes.
Similar story for my step father. Medical school U of Vermont, followed the push after D-Day, Patton's Army. He was an excellent artist and recorded the action around his field hospital. He also did not speak of the horrors till I asked him just a couple of years before he passed 2005. ⚕️⛑️💔✝️🇺🇲
He was only in the 10th grade when America entered the Second World War. Just 22 months later, in Second World War Europe near Germany's Border as a ground soldier. His introduction to it was looking down into a dug out hole at his friend missing his leg at the hip. And came out of the Battle of the Bulge alive. Just recently after leaving high school.
@@michaelgmoore5708 Yes, certainly. He had to gather himself to maintain composure once during the interview. The recall memory of it caused him to momentarily lose his breath and grimace in speech. We cannot know what they saw with their eyes. What they smelled. What they heard. And felt. It is not within our comprehension whatsoever.
Those men lost their innocence far too young, but saved the world in the process. We’ll never be in enough debt to what those men went through and the horrors they lived with.
My uncle served in the Army in WWII, in a mash unit. He picked up wounded off the battle fields. Whatever he saw and experienced there haunted him all his life. He was a chain smoker and in several occasions me and my dad would have to get up early in the morning hours and take him to the hospital. He had severe PTSD and numerous nervous breakdowns.
Every generation has its heros. I see men just like him in my beloveded marine corps today.. It might be a smaller persent but dont kid yourself they are always there when needed..
Thank you for your service! I spoke to my grandpa about the war when I was a young kid, didn't really know the importance of it but was fascinated by the things he saw and went through. I should have written it all down but clearly didn't know better back then. Then I I spent a year in the US as an exchange student and interviewed some of the veterans of my host family. One thing became clear very early. They were all fighting for their lives who could have been friends if met on a different occasion. Clearly and without a doubt the greatest generation of men! Thank you all for your service, no matter on which side! Cheers from Germany
What can be said about such men? I pray for them and my heart swells with gratitude for my freedom. The best that America produced, I cry for those who died and look forward God willing to see them all in heaven.
Every experience is a unique one, and I hope we recognize and never forget that those emotions in the retelling are universally human - regardless of country or uniform. God bless our veterans!
My uncle fought at the battle of the bulge in the infantry. He was wounded by German mortar fire and received a purple heart. The shrapnel went through his wrist. Greatest Generation!
He was so ready to answer your question at 12:05. Thank you for everything you've done hero your experiences will live on for ever here on youtube thank you for sharing.
My wifes father was in the battle of the bulge. During the war he was " uninjured but knocked out by shelling twice. He got early onset Alzheimer's and died before 60. Doctors said his body was like a man 30 yrs older. They thought it must have been the repeated shellshock he lived through.
Delighted to be apart of general Patton's army. Patton was a man of action. If you were a part of the first army you had general Mc. Carther to put up with. Great words about that theater.
actually, it was monty who commanded the first army, for several weeks, during the battle of the bulge. Mr. Spaulding meant to say "21st Army" (group). Patton pretty much hated monty, who had a reputation of being overly cautious. (would only attack when he had atleast 3 to 1 advantage, or something like that). US 1st army beat Monty (21st army group) "over the rhine" by 2 weeks, in mid-late March, 1945.
Very fine interview, it’s so good to have these historical testimonials in records. Thank veterans and families for your sacrifices. I’ve watched many of these accounts. Just recently watched Band of Brothers series (for the 2nd time).
My uncle Hugh was at the Battle of the Bulge. He got trapped behind enemy lines with another soldier for two days, they hid out in a tank, Germans all around.
My great uncle William Joseph Corley was trapped in a tank that was bombed and had permanent nerve and hearing damage. I wonder if our uncles knew each other. I never met mine. Only heard stories from my grandpa.
You never know, maybe he was the other soldier! I am amazed any survived in that brutal weather, many froze to death. My uncle didn't talk, I learned his story from my Dad and other older family members. @@celestialchaoscustomsoaps2653
@@cugir321 These guys had only g.i. issue clothing on, freezing feet in boots not taken off for 30 days straight, starving hungry 75% of the time, sleeping on hard ground, never seeing a bed 4-5-6 months, not getting a bath in 3 months or more, never seeing a toilet either for a year or more, often walking for 70 miles on foot a day, whipping biting cold that broke 100-year records, sleeping in a sitting position with ears still listening, never getting to brush their teeth, cramping from steady constant dysentery, carrying around 10 pounds of metal constantly in your grip, looking at dead men on the ground week in and week out, and getting killed, was a daily grind. Add to this that ride in that Jeep. I don't think play-day on a motorcycle in a non-war scenario gets close to the suffering they endured.
Very interesting. Just talked to a veteran of the 86th Cem. Mortar Battalion. He said the exact same think about exploding shells and watching every single serial number on the mortar rounds. This veteran was in A compony in the fire control part.
When he talks about the accident with his friend and the mortar crew it reminded me of something tragic that happened a year or so ago , a whole Marine mortar crew was killed they said it was a faulty mortar but never explained what happened? But 13 young Marines died , and they were only training! What a shame
❤❤❤ thank you words can not express my sincere gratitude for your service and devoting your life for freedom, may the Lord bless us and keep us safe 🙏 ❤️
As we spend the day of May 31st in the year of the Lord 2021 our family gives thanks for those of of you who risked life and limb for our freedoms. You're truly an American hero. Love and respect from the oil and gas territories of Colorado. God bless you and God bless America.
And a lot of them faced certain injury or death. I can’t even imagine. Such a horrific war. All those beautiful souls. And it wasn’t just them. So many were conscripted/forced into the German army from the conquered countries and they pretty much hated them. I think for me, the 20th century wins the award for most horrific century in known human history. The war century. It was hell.
Its amazing watching these interviews ive noticed these old ww2 heros remember alot more detail than alot of our Vietnam heros... Strange observation but impressive I guess it was the time they grew up
Go to 8:42 to see why these guys don't talk usually talk. Thank you, Mr. Spaulding for subjecting yourself to being interviewed in order to educate our generation.
Ya this interview from this interviewer is better then some ive seen. At least hes not constantly interrupting thinking he knows what we want to hear from these heroes. Let them speak. Its clearly hard enough for them to talk about it. Anyone who gives his own name BEFORE he gives the name of the hero he is speaking with is a douchebag. In fact, if the interviewer makes any attempt to state his own name during one of these interviews, he is a douchebag.
@@thomasmills3934 very good use of the word douchebag! Jk, you're really on the money though and it drives me nuts when an interviewer asks the question and then proceeds to answer it himself! Happy New Year in 2023!
Hi, I try to listen to all of these pod casts. Did you ever interview anyone from the 15th Cav, Rcon. He was one of the first in to the town of Brest , France. Called in the coordinates then got badly shot up and hit with shrapnel after his jeep got hit with an 88 she'll. The Germans picked him up and brought him in a barn, asked him a bunch of questions and patched him up, basically saved his life. He was held by them for about a week, but then the Americans came in and captured the 10 Germans that captured him plus about 400 more since he had reconned the situation before he got hit. I do have his Purple Heart and bronze star, but I often wonder if he
Today's Senate and Congress owe their sorry lives today ( June 2021) to these American Patriots. No sense of correctness and patriotic duty. Just self serving. God bless this gentleman. He's still suffering grief today for his brothers. Gave his all for our country. We need to " earn it " everyday. 💔✝️🇺🇲
My Uncle Hugh fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He and a fellow soldier got lost behind enemy lines and had to hide out in a tank for two days. That's about all I know.