There's a video on the internet with Arnold talking to another 90+ P-38 veteran. The other guy flew in the Pacific late in the war, from the little island of Ie Shima. I wasn't in agreement with Arnold about Hiroshima. He said it was wrong for the U.S. to have dropped the bombs. But, I'm in awe of all of the men, like these, who did what they did in spite of their opinions and politics. I often find myself wondering if I could have been one of them. Could I have withstood the mental torture to see freinds die every day, and yet, again and again, climb back into the cockpit for, yet, another mission? Knowing, of course, that this time it could be me. Only two men left out of a class of 14 after only six months of combat is a rather high attrition rate!
They were different, though. They survived some tough times. Rather then be protected and coddled like present generations, many grew up in hardship. They had to go to work at a very young age to help their famiies through the depression. The ones who grew up in the midwest grew up in poverty, seeing their families move again and again due to the dustbowls. They didn't grow up thinking that they automatically deserved everything. They saw that you got what you needed through perseverance and hard work.
It made them strong. The term "The Greatest Generation" aren't just some vacuous words.
I hope that I have a chance, someday, to see this sculpture.
Last edited by Pooch; 05/25/19 03:15 PM.