The longest day soon the least remembered, with Knife content

[lt632ret]

I just wanted to see if anyone was going to mention D-Day. Now why would they on a Schrade forum well. Again if history would only be recalled instead of relived Schrade would be remembered as quite a viable part of D Day. Many a Nazi found that American Steel bit just as hard and deep as Solengen. I have included some pics I hope you may find interestiing. Schrade made some lockbacks which denoted the various landing sites in Normandy on June 6 th 1941. Zippo lighters also put out a series of lighters to remember this day and had the Allied generals as well as a generac fifth lighter these all came in a special canister.

As you may know Zippo lighters are affiliated with Case knives ( same out fit ) . So I was surprised to find this particular collection. Upon researching this collection I found that this grouping together, was never issued by either company.

No instead some other Don Quiote of in vain rememberance had gotten one of each set and taken the time to hand build the display case and make this rememberance to the sacrifices we hold so self evident that we often forget this date.

I dedicate this posting to Frank ( CURLY ) Lockwood . previously a Ranger shot in the Ass on D Day in Normandy ( day one ) and refused to be evacuated. " I can still fight sir".

A soldier, the first motorcyle police officer in the city of Newburgh NY, a Correction officer for the state of NY. A friend, A mentor, A drinking and hunting buddy, Oh yes and my crossing guard when I was in first grade.

He told me one day, he had Cancer and I cried. "Hell sonny I got a lot left". He lived 10 years after that. Oh yes when I had that tear in my eye I was his lieutenant on the job. I drove him in my 69 Ford galaxy convertable in the fiftieth anniversay of D Day aside from me all that rode that day are all gone.

I do not believe in heaven or hell I believe we are the sum of how we carry ourselves right here and now. If I am right Curly was sure one of the best.

Good nite and as long as just one remembers you are not forgotten. Lt

 

[El Lobo]

Never Forget.......

Good night LT.

Bill

 

[glennbad]

That was a great story. LT...

Nothing more to say...

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[hso]

Well said!

 

[textoothpk]

Can I piggy back on another dedication? Here is a fifty cent piece. My best friend and I joined the army at the same time. As we left for basic at the bus station, his dad, Tom, gave each of us a kennedy half dollar to put in our boot, under the liner. His own dad had given him one, and it ws in his boot the day he was airdropped into france on D-day.

All through basic training, all though AIT, for 2 years and 9 months, including a tour in the big muddy,, I kept this in my boot. I credit it, as Tom did his, with getting me throught it all safe and sound. Oh, Mike, his son, bought a pack of smokes with his, two weeks into basic training. And he made it through everythign too.

But this fifty cent piece still gets tossed into my swampers, under the felt liner, during hunting seasons. Very worn. I am surprised the scan actually enhanced things.

Cancer got Tom too, in 1990. He was always amazed whenever I showed him this fifty cent piece. Tom Treloar, Airborne, 101st Division.

No knife content, and sorry again for borrowing the thread for my story. And a note. 2000 WW2 vets pass away daily.

Phil

 

[TedGamble]

My wife and I just returned from a week of traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway on our Goldwing. One of our stops was the D Day Memorial in Bedford, VA. We did not plan the visit to coincide with June 6, but as fate would have it, we were at the site on June 6, 61 years after the invasions.

To say that our visit was an emotional one is the equivalent of calling the Grand Canyon just a big ditch. You can not imagine the humbling experience of standing next to men who were actually on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. It is such a privilege to look into their eyes tell them "Thank you" face to face.

D Day has been called the turning point of World War II. It was the crucial blow that broke the back of the Nazi army.

We are losing our World War II veterans at a rate that astonishes me (I think I heard that we lose 1000 a month - although I might not be accurate). Whatever the rate, it is imperative that we do all that we can to express our appreciation to the sacrifice and courage that the men and women of WWII went through so that we can sleep peacefully at night. These men and women set the standard for future servicemen such as myself to follow. They didn't consider themselves heroes - only ordinary people from ordinary places, doing what was necessary.

Here are some of the photos that I took at the memorial.

 

[El Lobo]

Thanks much for the pictures, Ted.

Stops the heart.

Bill

 

[lt632ret]

Thankyou LT

 

[Kukri4302]

I never forget ,neither do I forget Dec.7,or a place called Bataan! You see,my Dad was at Pearl,another family memeber survived Bataan.Both are long gone now but Dad,saw to it that we never forgot,I think my brother,sis & I were just raised right.
Jim

 

[lt632ret]

I am sure you are right on how you were raised. I know you are correct on the importance of the dates you mentioned.

My question is why do we after seeing the lessons of history continue to insult the brave souls who sacrificed and died by repeating the same mistakes. We remember the past but never change these sorrows in the future by correcting the circumstances with our actions in the present.

The USS ARIZONA is a monument to treachery. Almost 60 years later we have the World Trade center as another date to remember and monument to the same villian. ( treachery )

Hindsight they say is easy but really there is no such thing because the hindsight of Pearl Harbor should have been the foresight of 911. Human nature being the most unchanging thing in nature will assure that 911 will be just another example this in the future.

After the first bombing of the World Trade Center I represented the NYS Dept of Correction at an FBI seminar regarding that incident. I remember several specific things from that seminar. I remember that it was only by the rarist of luck that the supporting columns managed to sustain the the building due to the actual position of where the van blew up. I also remember the question posed to the instructor and his answer. The question was "Do you feel they will try again?" The answer was "Almost definitely yes".

In fact in my dept ( dissident) inmates ( who are allowed access to public phones in the institutions ) had already been found sending letters and making calls for that very purpose.

The quote "Mans inhumanity to man" should be changed to " Mans indifference to his fellow mans lessons and sacrifices is inhumane."

The point of the long winded boring treatise is simply yes remember the dates, remember the valiant people but above all remember the reasons they made those sacrifices. Not for us but to do the impossible to change the future so that the next generation will learn what our generation was supposed to remember from Pearl Harbor. LT

 

[Codger_64]

Trechery, war, unprovoked violence always has been and will be with us. Here:
**********
May 31, 2005 - Every so often, a journalist finds a story that inspires him to do more than simply report it.

Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Phillips found his in Iraq, where he began researching the life of a Marine from Scio in Allegany County, who gave his country a "gift of valor".

Phillips had just returned for his third stint as an embedded reporter in Iraq.

“I got back to the battalion, it was out in that western area of the Sunni Triangle. I asked the guys "what's been going on," and everybody wanted to talk about Cpl. Dunham and the extraordinary thing that he did,” said Phillips.

Cpl. Jason Dunham's extraordinary act was to throw himself on a live grenade, covering it with his helmet - to save the lives of two men in the unit he commanded. He died eight days later.

Phillips wrote a powerful article for the Wall Street Journal - and was overwhelmed at the response from readers.

“And they were touched. This was during Abu Ghraib when people weren't sure what to think of American troops, and they were so relieved to find the same kind of valor that took place at Normandy or Iwo Jima and Vietnam still existed between the American military people,” said Phillips. ***********

What makes a difference is that we, Americans, every since the struggle for the nation's founding have embodied a spirit of selfless sacrifice for the preservation of our nation and the ideals that it stands for. No, not every man, woman and child, but always enough of us common men displaying uncommon valor to make a difference. To overcome all odds. I remember all of the dates of the great second World War. And the men who sacrificed for something bigger than themselves. And at Inchon, Yaloo, and Seafloat, Mekong, Grenada, and a thousand exotic places. I also knew a survivor of Bataan. I met the crew of the Memphis Belle. And a few from the dirty goings on in Central America. No, we are not always right. But the men who did their duty to the fullest measure were 100% right. And as surely as there are those who give, there will always be those who remember. And give thanks. It is eternal vigilence, and it is a terrible price we pay. But generation after generation, we pay it in spades.

Today , June 11th 1945:
In the Ryukyu Islands... On Okinawa, the Japanese pocket in the Oroku Peninsula has been reduce to perimeter measurable in yards but their resistance remains fanatical. An assault by the US 1st Marine Division (US 3rd Amphibious Corps) fails to capture Kunishi Ridge. A regiment of the US 96th Division reaches the town of Yuza but is forced to withdraw by intensive Japanese fire. An important height east of Mount Yaeju is capture by American forces.
In the Philippines... On Luzon, fighting at Orioung Pass continues as Japanese forces continue to hold the US 37th Division.

Today , June 11, 1970 :
Battle for control of Kompong Speu in Cambodia

 

[textoothpk]

The only member of my family currently serving in the armed forces, my step brother Steve. Photo taken last week, in Iraq. Posted with his permission, but I'll only leave it online here for a week.


Phil

 

[textoothpk]

Ted Gamble, thanks for the pics. I am embarassed that I did not know such a memorial existed.

My affection for the Camillus ASEK, one of which I sent along with Steve to the desert, stretches back over thirty five years. Here's one of the special issues that have been made over the years.

From the Wayne at War series, made by Camillus, licensed to United Cutlery, I give you the Duke:

 

[Don Luis]

I have always thought that the importance and reason for D-Day was not so much to defeat Hitler, who was already in bad shape, but to stop Russia from going further, can you imagine if Western Europe had taken the path of Eastern Europe?... And the cold war began...

Believe it or not I know of a Mexican who was there and went on to Berlin with the US army, uncle of a High school buddy, I never met the guy though and only heard about him from my friend.

Luis

 

[jim_l_clifton]

lt,
The ans.to your question is complex.One "they" no longer teach history!THEY try to rewrite it.My Dad listened to an "Academic "a person with many degrees & a speaker give his take on WW2 it's reasons etc.Dad looked dismayed,turned to me & said"Your generation doesn't have the right to criticise mine!! Yours wasn't there"!!Yours didn't see & experience what mine did!! Well,we come to this time THEY hit us & we go after them & NOW we have our own people making EXCUSES for them!!Personally ,I think we should take the gloves off & let our guys fight.Make "them" understand their way can be a terrible price to pay! However ,this will not happen!
Jim

 

[glennbad]

Some really nice stuff here, guys.

It's frustrating to me to see how people forget the past so easily. Generations before us have learned the lessons, we just fail to acknowledge them anymore.

When we spend more time covering the Michael Jackson Trial, than honoring the sacrifices of those in Iraq and wars past, it is extremely sad.

I grew up in a military family. My father retired AF. My brother served, as well as my 2 sisters. I served as well, though not in war time, and I feel the same sense of patriotism and duty now as I did then. It makes me sick to think that 2 planes had to crash into a building for people to fly a flag in front of their house. I guess we are victims of what America was originally founded on. Freedom to do what you want, when you want. People have become lax in that freedom, buffered by invisible borders, and have forgotten what it is to be an American.

In WWII, men and women literally dropped what they were doing and ran (that's right, ran) to join up for the war effort. They lied about their age just to join up! Now it's just the opposite. The country came together and worked as one big machine, with the same goal in mind. They weren't so much worried about world opinion, just about giving the enemy an a$$-whuppin'.

So many gave so much for those after them to live life however they choose. It's sad that the schools are trying to rewrite the history books. There are way too few people in the country today that would "throw themselves on a grenade" for their buddies.

My son will grow up knowing the sacrifices of those before us.

Lest we forget...

Glenn

 

[jim_l_clifton]

When was the last time ANY of you sat & talked to some teens??Try discussing history!! They look blank,if you mention Bataan,Battle of the Bulge,I swear one couldn't name who fought against us in WW2.Lewis & Clark,Kit Carson,you confuse them.Iraq,they think we should TALK & try to understand THEIR culture!!Try it, you all might really feel SICK!Oh yeah,they get MOST of their views from THE NEWS COMMENTATORS!(I almost puked)!!
Jim

 

[Sword and Shield]

You're sadly right.

Over my education, it was wholly possible to make it through 4 years of HS and 4 of college with only 1 year of US history. That class scarcely made it to 1950. Heck, I knew people in there who were clueless of Vietnam!

Never mind my dad, who was one number away from going in 1965. Never mind my uncle, who absent a bad back, would have. Never mind Bill down the street, who took a shot through the knees and never walked right again. Never mind old B down the block from me, ex-Marine and tough as hell. TRY telling him that his beliefs were wrong, or that he had no right to be there!

WW2 is nearly as bad. Grandfather and two great-uncles, all three of which luckily came home. Grandpa was a flier with the 8th over Europe, B-17Gs. Great-uncle Francis was a medic in the Army. Great -uncle Delmar was a paratrooper, got shot in the leg, "relieved" the German of his knife, and killed him with it. That knife sits in my closet to this day.

A wise man said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. I pray we don't find out.

 

[lt632ret]

The point is that we have all the answers. There is nothing new except the technology. It has all been done before, the causes and effects are known. The reasons are always the same. God, Money, Love, Greed, Power, Averice. It is all there in the past, to light the path of the future. supposidly man has free will I am afraid that this should be questioned. Why would a supposidly sentinent entity continue follow a course that continues to lead him to a lemming like head long leap into despair and horror. A course which is evident since time began.

In the 80tys when two of my children were in West Point I met and heard George Patton the 3 rd speak. He was asked where he felt the next problems in the world would come from. ( The USSR if anyone remembers was a strong contender at the time ). Pattons answer was that it did not matter the important thing to remember was that whereever it came from it would come because as long as man exists there will be war and sorrow and stupidity. It was the one consistency in the entire universe. How sad is it that this is the one incontravertable fact in a world where nothing is forever one day the sun will fall in upon itself and change into something else but mankind as long as it exists will be the one quantity that will not stop destroying everything it comes in contact with until it finally destroys itself. Why else do we continue for thousands of years to do the exact same things and make the same mistakes. It is all there to be learned from, be it one mans bible, or Koran, or just an honest study of history and human nature.

It is like a mans spirit watching his son walking into a tree he yells stop son stop, but of course the son cannot or will not hear a spirit and walks into the tree he steps back and perhapes walks into the tree again until finally he says humm I better go around there is a tree there. He had to learn for himself hopefully he could teach his children about the tree but his son will undoubtably have to make his own mistakes as well. This would it seem to be the parable fate, of mankind itself each generation must suffer the same fate of the past. This is evident just look at the past. We do it over and over. It never gets better Caesor gets a sword, Lincoln gets shot, the Arizona gets bombed, The trade center gets planes full of jet fuel.

The fact is that any specie that is so stupid to have been shown its own stupidity day after day over thousands of years and still commits the same mistakes, only because it by virtue of its position of not having anything in its world to hunt it, hunts itself.

You know what, we deserve exactly what we get. All the sorrow, horror, despair and whatever else we bring upon ourself. What a Damn stupid shame. The stars await, the destiny to learn all the wonders of the universe are with in our means we have only to rise above our petty quarreling and repetitive self destroying actions. Mankind has been given a great gift I just cannot figure out why. May they all forgive us for not changing the things they died to give us a chance to correct. May they rest for there job is done. Good nite to the valient. LT

 

[lt632ret]

Attached is a letter to the editor which appeared in the Middletown ( NY ) Times Herald Record today June 23, 2005. Considering the content of this thread I found it interesting and quite applicable. What does it tell you? Does it, do you think confirm the name I gave this thread? "The longest day soon the least remembered." I have long considered this syndrome of society as a form of disease. I have now given it a name. Generational Alzheimers. There is no cure only the periodic innoculation of pain suffering and stupidity which will in time wear off, allowing reinfection. Apparently as with any disease it does not affect 100 percent of the population ( at least not all at once ) . The good people who posted there strong feelings and emotions as well as the fellow in the newspaper who wrote the letter to the editor apparently are still unaffected but, as we look around it becomes apparent that the time is growing short and we will soon need to ( as it were ) take our medicine again. LT