Not quite Warbird related ...

[Mark Allen M]

This was sent to me by Gen. Reg Urschler (ret. pilot of CAF P-51D "Gunfighter")

"About six miles from Maastricht, in the Netherlands, lie buried 8,301 American soldiers who died in "Operation Market Garden" in the battles to liberate Holland in the fall, winter of 1944.

Every one of the men buried in the cemetery, as well as those in the Canadian and British military cemeteries, has been adopted by a Dutch family who mind the grave, decorate it, and keep alive the memory of the soldier they have adopted. It is even the custom to keep a portrait of "their" American soldier in a place of honor in their home. Annually, on "Liberation Day," memorial services are held for "the men who died to liberate Holland." The day concludes with a concert. The final piece is always "Il Silenzio," a memorial piece commissioned by the Dutch and first played in 1965 on the 20th anniversary of Holland's liberation. It has been the concluding piece of the memorial concert ever since.

This year the soloist was a 13-year-old Dutch girl, Melissa Venema, backed by André Rieu and his orchestra (the Royal Orchestra of the Netherlands). This beautiful concert piece is based upon the original version of taps and was composed by Italian composer Nino Rossi."

http://www.flixxy.com/trumpet- solo-melissa-venema.htm

After you watch the above web site, check out the below.

Our European legacy, in alphabetical order

1. The American Cemetery at Aisne-Marne, France... A total of 2289
2. The American Cemetery at Ardennes, Belgium.. A total of 5329
3. The American Cemetery at Brittany, France... A total of 4410
4. Brookwood, England - American Cemetery... A total of 468
5. Cambridge, England... A total of 3812
6. Epinal, France - American Cemetery... A total of 5525
7. Flanders Field, Belgium... A total of 368
8. Florence, Italy... A total of 4402
9. Henri-Chapelle, Belgium... A total of 7992
10. Lorraine , France... A total of 10,489
11. Luxembourg, Luxembourg... A total of 5076
12. Meuse-Argonne... A total of 14246
13. Netherlands, Netherlands... A total of 8301
14. Normandy, France... A total of 9387
15. Oise-Aisne, France... A total of 6012
16. Rhone, France... A total of 861
17. Sicily, Italy.. A total of 7861
18. Somme, France... A total of 1844
19. St. Mihiel, France... A total of 4153
20. Suresnes, France... A total of 1541

[JohnB]

I have a lot of respect for the Dutch who do a lot to commemorate the war. A few years back, I mentioned in a post here that an uncle fly gliders in the Normandy invasion.
A Dutch gentleman saw that and asked his name which I provided.
He in term provided a service photo and combat records..It seems that Uncle Bob, the husband of my mom's sister...a mellow guy who fished, are chili, drove a neat Pontiac Bonneville and had a succession of cocker spainials (all named Brucey) also participated in the invasion of southern France as well as Market Garden.
He said the Dutch government had a decoration for Market Garden vets and I put him in contact with a cousin so she could receive it.

BTW The new book, "B-47 Stratojet" has several mentions of General Urschler's time in SAC where he was well known for his missions flying RB-47s...dangerous work considering the Soviets shot down two.
He is a real hero of the Cold War and deserves recognition.

[Pogo]

Very good post for sure. But gotta say I'm especially delighted to hear from General Urschler, been wondering about him lately. I will forever associate Gunfighter with the man.

[Mark Allen M]

Thousands and thousands of very young lives wiped out. Never having a chance to start a life as most of us know it. If I recall it was a staggering number of around 260 American lives lost for each day of WW2. All gone. What could the world have looked like if that damned war didn’t take away so many lives from the world. And it’s still happening.

But hey!!! Looking at the bright side. We got Warbirds right?!!

[JohnB]

Mark
Of course it didn't have to happen.

But look at the costs of crime, the lives lost or ruined from self induced preventable diseases, or drink/drugs. Makes WWII look cheap in terms of lives and dollars.

The fact is, there will always be bad guys. You can either pay a terrible price to stop them...or not. The U.S. had to be drug into the war, it did not go looking for a fight.
Some countries got off cheaply in the war but still enjoyed the benefits of the bad guys being defeated. Not fair, but it still happens.

Let us know if you find utopia.

[Mark Allen M]

Not quite the point and I’m well aware of history. Utopia is for dreamers and I’ve never been a dreamer.
I do believe in history repeating itself and unfortunately that’s happen once again. So you can dissect that all you want. Finding Utopia from me? Not quite.

Humans killing humans is a tragic and pathetic reality of what it is to be human. Bad guys? Their like weeds in your grass, but you’ll always have more grass and less weeds of you properly take care of it.

My sanctuary is no Utopia but it’s close and when it comes to honoring fallen vets there’s no need for a history lesson.

[JohnB]

My point was simply there is a lot of bad/tragic unnecessary things in the world. The killing in wars is tragic as is my friend losing his only child, a 27 year old daughter, to a virtually unheard of type of cancer. Or a former girlfriend dying when her tonsilectomy sutures ruptured and she bled to death while bathing her 10 week old son.

At least those who died fighting against the forces of oppression and murder left a legacy, a testament to their sacrifice.

One doesn't have to like the tragedies and waste, but one has to deal with it.
One has to find comfort, peace...or utopia...where one can.

[Mark Allen M]

My point being a lot of very young men and women died during WW2 and it was, and still is, a tragic loss of life regardless of whether they left a legacy or saved the world. Nothing to do with other losses which are just as tragic. And my point had, and has, nothing to do with finding comfort, peace or Utopia. I came to terms with all my personal losses years ago and I deal with it sufficiently daily. I shared a personal email from a friend of mine as a reminder only to those who care for such reminders of service members who were KIA in far away places and are still buried there. (of which two are my uncles). Those who don't care to be reminded or wish to stretch this thread out to include other types of loss, I'd say this thread is not for you. This doesn't mean I'm not sympathetic to other tragic loss of life, but it never takes long for the Trolls to show up when a specific topic on this site fires off in all directions. I as well could certainly run in all directions with tragic loss, waste and tragedies, but that was not the intention of my original post nor since.

[JohnB]

I do hope you're not calling me a troll....
I'm not arguing with you, I think we are talking past each other.

[Mark Allen M]

Good god no John. I’m referring to Trolls who like to feed on an honest debate or difference of opinion and turn it into a flame war. I know you through your posts. Your thoughts and opinions are always welcome.

[Stoney]

Luxembourg, Luxembourg... A total of 5076
I walked thru a foot of snow in 1980 to pay my respects to General Patton, missed his son by 15 minutes. All those places are very moving to visit.

[old iron]

I was at a conference in Belgium several years ago and had opportunity to visit the WWI military cemeteries in the region. The German cemeteries were simple and somber, and as a previous poster has mentioned, do not get much visitation; typically several soldiers are buried beneath each flat-lying dark-colored stone.

The British cemeteries, on the other hand, are unbelievably beautiful. Flowers everywhere! Veritable gardens of amazing extent. Keep in mind that there is essentially not a person alive who actually remembers one of these soldiers in life ... yet while I was there the cemetery had hundreds of visitors.

[pjpahs]

Went this July to see the Flying Legends at Duxford UK and stayed in Cambridge. Used the hop-on-off bus and went to the Cambridge American Cemetery and was totally choked up with emotion.
All those crosses, all those young lives. 3812 crosses and a wall with 5127 missing, including the names of Glenn Miller and Joseph Kennedy Jr. When I arrived with the wife we went into the visitor center and listened to a veteran talk of his time in the Air Force and bombing runs during WW2, wish I had a video of it, came in at middle of his talk. Was walking thru the sea of crosses and what should fly over, knew by the sound before I saw it , but a Spitfire flying over the Cemetery. Then while during a tour of Wells Cathedral a gentleman asked our tour guide if there was anyone from Indiana and we were pointed out. His name is Patrick Brown and he said we were the first he had met from Indiana since he became a docent there, Apparently Hoosiers don't travel very far. He said he was with the British Royal Navy and was a Cadet trained at Naval Air Station-Bunker Hill between Peru and Kokomo, Indiana.Was there for primary training the was transfered to a station in Texas, probably in 1945. His training ended when as he told me "You wonderful Americans dropped the bomb , ended the war , and I didn't have to die in the Pacific". Went to air museum at York , UK, wanted to see more but ran out of time. Wish I could find time to be Normandy in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of "D" Day, and honor those cemeteries.

[cptsmith]

I'm not sure if this has been posted here before but this site honors the memory of the men on what would have been their 100th birthday. http://ww2fallen100.blogspot.com/

[Pat Carry]

I'm not sure if this has been posted here before but this site honors the memory of the men on what would have been their 100th birthday. http://ww2fallen100.blogspot.com/

I have been seeing this sight a lot on one of my FB groups. Its a great tribute to the soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We owe them a lot. Salute!