The War

[buffettgirl]

Is anyone watching the Ken Burns series, The War? I've caught most of the first two episodes. Last night a segment covered B17's. My dad was a radio operator on a B17. He was shot down and taken prisoner for two years. I wonder what he would think about the series. (He died 10 years ago.) I know the war was a huge part of his life, but he rarely talked about it. In fact, most of what I know is from stuff my dad told my DH.

My sister and I spent last weekend cleaning out my mom's house. She just moved into a nursing home. One of the things I brought home is a box of old letters. When I was showing it to my daughter, the first thing we pulled out was the telegram to my grandmother telling her my dad was MIA.

 

[SRP]

Wow, Robin. That's pretty intense. My uncle saw serious fighting in Vietnam, and he won't talk about it to anybody. He's okay, happily married, etc., but that definitely left a mark on him. Fortunately my dad was a helicopter repair guy and wasn't on the frontlines. War is terrible.

And no, I'm not watching the series. The only time my TV comes on is if there's a workout DVD in it. :7

 

[L Sass]

Oh wow Robin - that gives me chills. I think it's so awesome to have those things preserved. My DH spent a little more than a year in South Africa and worked with Nelson Mandela. We wrote letters (remember snail mail) every week for that period of time and the discussion of the human rights and political atmosphere was pretty cool. I hope my kids will appreciate them one day. Good for you and your sis and daughter.

Lorrie

www.picturetrail.com/lsass

 

[cakebaker]

I'm taping it to watch later. There is a Veteran's History project in conjunction with PBS whereby anyone can interview a veteran for an oral history. I'd like to do that with my dad. Here's the link:
http://www.pbs.org/thewar/vet_hist_project.htm

 

[materialsgirl]

Wow, I didn't even know about this series. I should watch it.

Robin - my grandfather has a very similar story to your dad. He was also a pilot, and was shot down over Germany and held as a POW. I wish I knew more details - he died 14 years ago.

I can't even begin to imagine the heartache of getting an MIA telegram.

 

[Miss Lee]

Oh no, I missed it:-( . I hope...I'm sure they'll air it again. DH and I would love to see it.

My Uncle was killed in WWII. I, along with his remaining brother and sisters, had the opportunity to visit his grave in Holland this past May and take part in the Memorial Day service. It was a moving and solemn experience.

My mom experienced a vivid apparition one afternoon -- my uncle appeared and spoke to her. They got a telegram a few days later saying that he had been killed. I still get chills when I think about that.

 

[crazystepr]

Wow, Robin, that's crazy. I've been watching the series and it's just amazing. I didn't catch all of last night's, but I was glued to the tv watching it on Sunday. It's an phenomenal program.

Allison

 

[WormwoodScrubs]

My dad was in WWII and has been talking about this series for weeks now. He watched it on Sunday. My mom (who despises anything 'war related') called me and said, "Will you please see a movie with me?" so we went out. But I did watch "The War" after the movie. In my opinion, Ken Burns does such a great job.

 

[dlavie]

My Dad served in Europe during WWII. He met my Mom is Scotland. He worked at an mobile evacuation hospital. Somehow he earned medals that we never knew what for, a Silver Star for instance. His record like a lot of other servicemen's was lost in a big fire. We'll never know why he earned them. He never talked about it.

He was traumatized by the war, his unit was "detailed" to assist the International Red Cross in helping the concentration camp survivors. I know that if he were alive today he'd be spitting blood over the "holocaust deniers". I remember getting caught drawing a swatstika when I was a kid, it was the worst (of many) beatings that I ever got.

One of my Scouts that earned his Eagle did a "Living History" interviewing surviving vets from WWII on. Some of the interviews were touching.

 

[Beavs]

Thanks for posting Robin and sharing.

I was going to post something about this but I find that people want to sidestep the serious topics, particularly a war that begun almost 66 years ago (for the U.S. anyway), and chit chat about Britney Spears.
I've been tuned in from day one and was simply amazed at the new footage and depth of the personal histories. I will likely end up owning this series.

BTW, Robin, if the Commemorative Air Force hits an airport near you make sure you step on the B17. It was really cool for me, but knowing your Dad was on one should make it a pretty amazing experience to take in.
http://www.arizonawingcaf.com/?gclid=CKTuvYKf344CFR05UQodbwE1OQ

 

[marnold]

Robin,

Thanks for bringing this series to my attention. I am, as you know a vet, and have several veterans in my family...guess you could say it is a family tradition. I am truly touched when it comes to other soldier's stories. I will definitely lose my composure when I see it. The last time I watched a war documentary which included good commentary was Band of Brothers. I was seriously shook up by that series.

It looks like I might miss this one, so I am definitely putting the DVDs on my Christmas list.


Thanks again!

 

[lala1]

My parents brought this to my attention and it is completely fascinating. This is a major part of US history and as my Dad said, made us what we are today (good or bad) and especially for us baby boomers and beyond, we are so prosperous due in a huge part to this part of our history (GI bill enabling more to go to college, etc). I am TiVoing it to watch at my leisure and hope my kids watch it, too. I hope that the history teachers are recording it. Newsweek has an interview with the creator of this series from the Sept 24 issue. He said that to have made this any earlier would have been impossible simply because those who fought weren't talking...much of what other posters have said. Those soldiers pretty much kept what happened to themselves and according to Burns??? (can't remember his name) it is only fairly recently that they are opening up.

OK, I don't post much and this was really long, but this is a MUST SEE!

 

[Beavs]

Ken Burns is his name and he has done other really awesome documentaries including one on jazz and the Civil War. I was able to catch the part last night about Anzio and tonight I really look forward to seeing the Battle of the Bulge which has nothing to do with obesity...it refers to the battle of the Ardennes. So next you here that catchy phrase you'll know who really fought the Battle of the Bulge.

 

[marnold]

LOL at Beavs' comments ^^^^. I watched last night with DH and was brought to tears many times. I love his documentaries and watched the Civil War series too. The War is one that you cannot miss! Excellent!

 

[buffettgirl]

Beavs, I've been lucky enough to see B17's, or parts of them, several times. I've never seen one fly. My DH took our son to an air show that had one. We have a picture of our son sitting at the console my dad would have sat at.

I agree that this series is a must see. I'm happy my DH is taping it. It is on too late for me to watch every night. Some of it is so intense, I can't watch it all at once. We liked his Civil War series too, but my favorite of Mr Burns series has been the one about baseball.

History can be so fascinating when it is presented on a personal basis. I urge anyone who hasn't been watching this series to try to catch it.