Veterans Day

@SandWitch Yes he was, 88th Infantry. He tried to get into the army air corp, but he was
color blind. Before he could figure out what to do next, he was drafted.

@SandWitch Yep, you are exactly right. The 88th Infantry was an ALL Draftee division. They
also did not get the latest gear. When they first got to Italy they were wearing WWI uniforms,
and doughboy helmets. They also did not get overboots, or sleeping bags like the regular
soldiers. My dad received a stipend his whole life for trench feet. One other thing, The Germans
knew they were draftees, and didn't think they would fight. History books show that the 88th
never lost a battle. They became the tip of the spear in Italy, they were the first ones into Rome.
The Germans than put two divisions against the 88th after that, and were still crushed in
every battle.

@SandWitch No, he didn't have much time to decide. He wanted to go in, all of his buddies
went in. He just didn't move fast enough. One of the other guys got drafted, two went into
the Navy, and two into the Marine Corp.

@SandWitch Exactly! That is why he was so adamant about me going into the Air Force.

If I had picked the Army, he would not have signed for me. I would have had to wait till I was 18.

You are right, he was lucky. He came out with some physical scars, but no mental scars,
except for the nightmares that he could not control. I might have told you, I received
two scrap books with all the letters he wrote to his mom, after he passed away. Mom promised
him not to give them to me before, because he knew I would ask too many question. I did
write a story about his service after reading all the letters twice and researching his unit.
And included stories I coerced from him after I went into the military, he finally opened up
a little. I wish I could figure out the AI stuff, that would probably turn my story into a good
book.

I sent some of the letters to the WWII museum in Florence, through a friend
that wrote the book Mt. Battaglia 1944, Dad was involved in that week long battle.

I'm going to send the rest to a Museum in California. I would be glad to spread
them around if you know anyone that collects that stuff.

@SandWitch Hi Sandy, Sorry, I just got back to Las Vegas,
I spent the weekend offline in southern Utah, with a few of my dogs.

I hope your Vietnam friend does not take let it effect his waking hours.
Dad lived a perfectly normal life, he would have a drink now and then, but he never got
drunk, at least not around me. I have found that most of the people that have tough
lives after being in war, are carrying too much guilt. Mistakes happen during war, that
cannot be controlled. Sometimes they are obvious, other times it is just second
guessing decisions. "If I had done this or that different" you know what I mean?

Other times, something just snaps. My dads best friend through boot camp, and
the entire war, was never the same, and he experienced the same things dad did.

Dad went to see him after the war, and he was a different person. It really bothered
my dad, he didn't know what to do to help. I have looked for his family, as I have
many pictures of him, and wanted to find out how he did.

I can only imagine what these guys went through. And I'm glad my dad was ok,
and that he carried no guilt for the horrible things he had to do. On Mt, Battaglia
they were forced to use bayonets, I can only imagine that was probably the worst
nightmares. I never asked him what he saw in his dreams. Attached is a picture
that was in Dads scrap book, of some of the Italians that helped the Americans.
Because of the rain and mud, only the mules could get equipment through the
mountains.