It's after midnight on the US east coast, well after midnight in Europe, so I'm a day late and as dollar short, but yesterday was the 60th anniversary of VJ Day

Thank a Vet. Also thank your parents and/or grandparents who suffered loss of life, loss of children's lives and deprivations of food, fuel and other necessities so that you (European and American) can live the lives you take for granted.

My father served in the US Navy in WW2. He wasn't in the D Day invasion, he wasn't wounded, he wasn't a "hero". He served on North Atlantic convoy ships that made several crossings, any one of which could have been, but weren't, sunk. He performed his duty and came home alive. That's heroic enough for me.

When the war was over my mother and father raised five children in a loving, Christian home. They were married for 50+ years and only death parted them.

They didn't beat or abuse us but I felt a belt on my backside once or twice (let's just say I was a somewhat rebellious child). We didn't call it "abuse", we called it "punishment" or "correction" and, as my father said, "this will hurt me more than it will hurt you". I know now that he was right and maybe a few more kids today need a good belt on the backside.

We had to go to church, every Sunday morning. Parents and kids, and good old Presbyterian Sunday School, too! Guess what, I learned more Bible in those 6-15 year old years than I have learned in the rest of my life.

What else did I learn in church? Amazing music - Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, even Wagner. I didn't appreciate it at the time but I certainly can now (many years later).

They are both gone now but of all of the heroes of that era I can not think of any two people that I could ever respect more.

These are the people that won WW2. I thank God that there were millions of people across the USA that were just like them and that I was privileged to be raised by two of them.

The Greatest Generation? I doubt they thought they were. I think they thought of themselves as ordinary people living ordinary lives. I don't think my father would ever have envisioned me as thinking of him as a "war hero" - but I do every day.

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Because without them you would be speaking German or Russian now.

If you can read this post:

Thank a Teacher

If it is in English:

Thank a Veteran

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

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Sbasiba, Kamerad. 

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So do I, but it is totally irrelevant.

I like the "the" part in that.

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Yes, I know quite a few Germans that are like everyone else, except when they speak German, it sounds like they're yelling, when in fact they are just talking.

EDITIt shouldn't be "like everyone else", but "nicer than most people", because most people are a**holes

Why wait for his [Heritic's]? We've already made some posts indicating the distinction between Nazis and Germans. I do have at least two older relatives still living who were veterans of WW2: one was in the U.S. Navy and the other in the U.S. Army (he'd started underage but that wasn't uncommon -- in fact, my grandmother lied her age to join the Nursing Corps in Canada -- just to help fight "the evil Germans"; howbeit, they are/were part German, themselves). Most of my WW2 relatives are now deceased and the same is true for Germany -- a different Germany: Nazi Germany. It doesn't exist anymore.
My point is that my WW2 relatives may be excused for stating that they beat the Germans (and it's also true that many Germans they fought were not nazis) -- but it was those of the WW2 era.
I realize that Bjorn sometimes responds too personally: he's not responsible for what every other German has done -- even if it were his own grandfather, cousin, etc. Heritic is quite capable of his own defense but sometimes he shouldn't have to be; it's one thing to have a chip on ones' shoulder but unnecessary for someone else to try to put it there.
The same is true for anyone else, regardless of national origin.