One of My Heros

[tjmurphy]

I know I've posted this before but to me it's worth posting again. This is Bob Williams. He was part of the 101st Airborne Division that parachuted into Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, D-Day. Bob was 21-years old at the time. On June 6, 1994, 50-years later, he made that historic jump again at the age of 71. This picture was the cover of NewsWeek, June, 1994. Bob is my friend and my hero and I am so very proud and honored to call him Friend. Thank you Bob Williams.

[jerryd6818]

And a crazy son-of-a-gun 'cause jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is crazy to start with but at 71 years of age, it's just plain nuts.

They are my heroes too. If anyone happens to mention that in their presence, to a man, in their typical humble way, their response is almost always, "I was just doing my job".

A huge THANK YOU to each and every one of those men and women from 'The Greatest Generation' for "just doing their job's".

[orvet]

A huge THANK YOU to each and every one of those men and women from 'The Greatest Generation' for "just doing their job's".

X2

[Colonel26]

Amen! We sure could use some more of them right now!

[jerryd6818]

Amen! We sure could use some more of them right now!

Oh, we have them Wade. This generation of military men and women are Gung Ho, hard corps, hard chargers. They won't let us down as long as the ROE doesn't strangle them. I have a great deal of respect for today's Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen and Airmen.

[singin46]

Yep, I've always enjoyed the mini series Band Of Brothers! Watch it all the time.

[orvet]

I have a great deal of respect for today's Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen and Airmen.

I totally agree Jerry!
I worked with many returning veterans until I had to retire in 2004.
These folks are all volunteers and very well educated.
One of my Marine clients told me his MOS, which I didn't recognize form the "Old Corps."
He explained he was sort of the web master for the battlefield Internet.
He kept everyone's computers talking to each other.

And I thought every Marine was a rifleman!

But I am with you, I cannot say enough good things about the folks in the military these days.

BTW Jerry, my daughter in the National Guard said she got promoted to Specialist, E-4.
Took me 3 years to make Cpl. and I didn't get it until I had been medevaced back to Oak Knoll Naval hospital in California. The bonus was there was NO Swabbie there who would even think about pinning my blood stripes on!

[jerryd6818]

Even though the Grunts pooh, pooh it, every Marine is a rifleman. ITR ring a bell? Infantry Training Regiment? Everyone got the basics. There was a recent Commandant that reaffirmed the "Every Marine a Rifleman" creed.

These days it's no longer ITR. Now it's SOI, School Of Infantry.

"The School of Infantry's training mission ensures "Every Marine is, first and foremost, a Rifleman". At SOI, Marines with the Military Occupational Specialty of infantry (0300 occupational field) are trained at the Infantry Training Battalion (ITB), while all non-infantry Marines are trained in basic infantry and combat skills at the Marine Combat Training Battalion (MCT Bn). SOI marks a transition in the professional training of entry-level students from basically trained Marines to combat-ready Marines."


I was over four when I made Corporal, forty days before I got out. It was just a carrot so they could offer me Sgt to re-up. Didn't work. There was a guy in the next hooch over that made Sgt in two years. I had more time in grade as a PFC E-2 than he had in the Corps.

[orvet]

I was over four when I made Corporal, forty days before I got out. It was just a carrot so they could offer me Sgt to re-up. Didn't work. There was a guy in the next hooch over that made Sgt in two years. I had more time in grade as a PFC E-2 than he had in the Corps.

But your nose wasn't brown.............

[jerryd6818]

But your nose wasn't brown.............

That's one thing I can say with complete confidence but that wasn't the reason he was E-5 and it took me over four years to make Corporal. He was just in the right place at the right time. Rank was so easy at that time, it was like a dam burst. Difficult to get promoted one day and the next day they were handing out stripes like penny candy.

My issue was partially timing. When I left 29 Palms, I had seven months TIG, enough for L/Cpl. Next I went to school for 15 months where rank was frozen. With 22 months TIG I reported into Cherry Point and immediately pissed off a Staff Sergeant that I ended up working for. No love for Jerry D. during that nine months. I got L/Cpl and my Good Conduct Medal at the same formation and probably only then because that A__hole had transferred out because he wasn't going to Viet Nam with us. Gotta love the military.

[Paladin]

Thank you Bob Williams and all the greatest generation for what you did! Thanks to TJ for posting it and thanks to all you Vets out there.

Ray

[jerryd6818]

Speaking of The Greatest Generation, I'm reading Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation" right now. I'm almost finished and it's very good. Well written and interesting, I recommend it.

[Colonel26]

Yes sir Jerry, I agree. Our current crop of vets are amazing in their own right. There were just so many more in the greatest generation.