TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin I wonder what my father woud think?

My father was inducted in WWII. He didn't know if the 2 year time would be extended. My mother worked making ammunition for the war as the area was close ti Winchester Western. All the women hoped their husbands would come back whole. And while they were waiting they had to live off of ration coupons. The persons that weren't able to fight gathered metals to help the war and won prizes who got the most tonnage. And now I read so may people think missing a few months/or a year they complain so much.

Wendell

Good to hear Wendell , but still not a "joke" right now . Peace.

Wasn't a joke to my father and mother either. My uncle came back without a lower leg and shrapnel in the other. He let me feel it one time as it was never removed.

Wendell

My dad is a WW II combat vet. He's doing well at age 94, and is annoyed as hell at the restrictions the virus is putting on his life.

Dan

I hear you Wendell and I shake my head, too.

My grandfather left for England in November 1914 and didn't get back to Canada until late in 1919. He was wounded in early 1915, recovered in hospital and sent back into the front lines. No vacations for them, just 3 or 4 years slogging through muddy trenches, being constantly bombarded and wondering if the next time "up over the top" might be their last.

My father was an RCAF officer from 1934 to 1962 and served in the UK, France and Germany, including a stint until 1946 with the Air Force of Occupation. He was separated from his family for almost 7 years, from the outbreak of war in September 1939 until his return in late 1946. My father-in-law will be 101-years-old in September and has so far survived this pandemic. He was born just after the last great pandemic. He survived the Depression and enlisted in 1940 with the Canadian Army. He is a Normandy vet and spent the last year of the war fighting from northern France through to Germany.

Like so many other WWII vets of the allied nations, they fought through hedgerows, up mountains, in dense jungles, in the air and on the seas. They put their lives on the line and didn't complain because it had been a few months since their last vacation. They are and were members of the Greatest Generation and were aptly named. They put their lives on the line. All we are being asked to do is limit our social contacts.

We hope things will change enough to be able to honour our 5-week booking in St. Maarten in mid-January. We want to come not just for ourselves, but to enjoy and help the people and economy of the island. But at the end of the day it is a vacation. If it is not safe to do so, we can wait. It is not a huge sacrifice.

SXMWendell, my hubby has photos of he, his brother and his sister on a pile of tin cans collected for the war effort. Everyone did their part. Now if we could only get the entire USA to do their part now with this virus.

Yes this is a moment in history that we are making comparisons to what our ancestors had to endure during the epidemic of 1918, and during the years of WW2. Unfortunately today many feel enabled, and their right to freedom and prosperity outshines the desperate need for EVERYONE’S contribution to EVERYONE’S public safety. These uncaring and disrespectful people who put others’ lives at risk are not only embarrassing our country to the rest of the world, but are recklessly driving this pandemic to new heights...
Shameful...my father who fought along others who died in the Pacific was a Republican, like me, but would be so saddened (like me) by our lack of leadership from our “President” - nay - lack of integrity and caring for the people of this country.

crmoores--PLEASE, no political talk!!!

Wendell, I hate to guess what my Dad would think of the current times and the behaviors of some members of our current generations.

My Dad came to the States a couple of years prior to our involvement in WWII because of economic hardships at home. He obtained all his papers and was legally employed here when "Uncle" tapped him on the shoulder and suggested, "You can stay son, but I've got a job and a gun for you - or - you can go home. - your call."

Needless to say, he stayed and became a part of that GREATEST GENERATION. He didn't look back or think twice about it - he stayed, he joined and he fought so that I and my siblings could enjoy the privileges we know today.

I know for a fact his sense of patriotism would be aghast at what is happening in our country today. He was alive long enough to see the flag he fought for legally desecrated and too many of the young people around him having no concept of what a great country we live in or what these symbols meant to those who fought and died for them. It's so sad to speak to some of our 'naturalized' friends and hear them speak against the backdrop of what we see on TV and in our newspapers and magazines as they have so much more respect for what a great land we live in. Before his passing we talked often about the lesser of his war experiences and remembering some of his words, it breaks my heart to see the lack of respect and love too many show for our country and all her peoples.

OK, that seems like a good place to end this one, as I knew this would go off on a political tangent.