If I could choose to go back in time and fight in a war

[AirwickWithCheese]

I think I would choose WWI.  Besides the Confederate War, of course. 

England was still a great country. Horses, tanks, planes, man, they had everything. 

We looked snazzy in our new uniforms and got all the british and french women. Zeplins dropping bombs, flamethrowers, masks for canines in case of chemical warfare. This was the big show!   

We did have Woodrow Wilson but Congress was strong. We had that spirited Over There song and there were no hippies back home ruining everything. 

I would not want to be in the infantry. I would want to fly the new biplane in support of Blackjack Pershing. Letters would arrive 3 months late but you knew your girl was faithful to you unless you were from California, Chicago, or Asheville. 

When I got home, I'd buy a house on Clarendon Avenue and finish my degree at Furman. I'd chase women for awhile then settle down and build houses for my Greenville. 

When Billy Sunday would come to town the wife and I would jump in our Stanley Steamer and pack a picnic basket. Life would be sweet with Mr. Coolidge in office. 

[Road Runner]

You would probably succumb to the flu pandemic of 1918.  It killed 20 to 50 million people.  My grandfather's first wife died from it.

[Wilbur ★]

My grandfather fought in the 1st.  It was absolute hell.  Hideous conditions, hand to hand combat and gasses.  I would choose WW2.  From the air of course! 

[AirwickWithCheese]

2 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

You would probably succumb to the flu pandemic of 1918.  It killed 20 to 50 million people.  My grandfather's first wife died from it.

But if I did make it, saying you fought in WWI baby was the absolute top.   

[AirwickWithCheese]

1 minute ago, Wilbur said:

My grandfather fought in the 1st.  It was absolute hell.  Hideous conditions, hand to hand combat and gasses.  I would choose WW2.  From the air of course! 

Too mechanical. WWI had the perfect balance. It's what would happen if you combined all the previous wars and still had some respectability. Your grandfather was awesome!  Have a pic?  

[Wilbur ★]

2 minutes ago, AirwickWithCheese said:

Too mechanical. WWI had the perfect balance. It's what would happen if you combined all the previous wars and still had some respectability. Your grandfather was awesome!  Have a pic?  

Yes, somewhere...  He also fought in the third Anglo-Afghan war in Kandahar.  I have the medals for that one. 

[AirwickWithCheese]

Yay!  Much improved avatar, btw, and we need pics of GrandDad Wilbur.   

[Road Runner]

nm

 

[ChrisL]

All kidding aside this is a freaking stupid thread.  Think about what you are saying here... I am greatful my unit didn't deploy and count my lucky stars I will never have to go back and fight.

[AirwickWithCheese]

2 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

The 1918 flu killed almost 700,000 Americans, more than died in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam combined.

Yet one of the greatest disasters of all time is rarely mentioned and many people are probably not even aware it ever occurred.     

Understood, but post-WWI is when Greenville became the leader of the South and greatest city in history. GrandMomCheese was born in Greenville in 1911.  

[Kirby]

26 minutes ago, AirwickWithCheese said:

 We had that spirited Over There song and there were no hippies back home ruining everything. 
 

 

[Road Runner]

2 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

All kidding aside this is a freaking stupid thread.  

Calm down.  You can't take the kidding aside from a Cheese thread.  There wouldn't be anything left.   

[Wilbur ★]

13 minutes ago, AirwickWithCheese said:

Yay!  Much improved avatar, btw, and we need pics of GrandDad Wilbur.   

On the left.  I was not happy at the time.  Evil step grandmother..

[AirwickWithCheese]

Wilbur, here's an interesting thought. Roughly the same amount of time has passed from WWI and your pic as from your pic and now. Pic from now slightly more, yes?  That blows my mind.  

[Wilbur ★]

2 minutes ago, AirwickWithCheese said:

Wilbur, here's an interesting thought. Roughly the same amount of time has passed from WWI and your pic as from your pic and now. Pic from now slightly more, yes?  That blows my mind.  

Even WW1 is recent history....and I am getting old.   

[Wilbur ★]

32 minutes ago, AirwickWithCheese said:

Too mechanical. WWI had the perfect balance. It's what would happen if you combined all the previous wars and still had some respectability. Your grandfather was awesome!  Have a pic?  

I am but a cowardly person Cheese.  Hand to hand combat isn't for me.  I much prefer to be high above it all in relative safety.   My great grandfather use elephants for hauling heavy equipment in the British infantry in Kandahar.  

[Road Runner]

4 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Even WW1 is recent history....and I am getting old.   

When I was a kid, I remember the War Between the States was nearing it's centennial.  There were a couple veterans still alive.  WWII had ended only about 15 years ago.

[Wilbur ★]

31 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

All kidding aside this is a freaking stupid thread.  Think about what you are saying here... I am greatful my unit didn't deploy and count my lucky stars I will never have to go back and fight.

I don't think it a bad thread at all.  Nobody wants or wanted to go to war.  Just imagination applied to the honour of combat duty to ones country. 

[AirwickWithCheese]

3 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

When I was a kid, I remember the War Between the States was nearing it's centennial.  There were a couple veterans still alive.  WWII had ended only about 15 years ago.

Exactly. It's that time correlation and relationship to us each individually that I find so fascinating. I wish I had understood enough at a young age to perhaps understand the enormity of their sacrifice and thank any vets that I came into contact with. I don't have that opportunity with WWI vets and I can't recall the last time I met a WWII vet but I have had thst honor and for that I am very grateful. 

[Road Runner]

I think I would prefer to fight in WWII.  I think what we were fighting for and what it meant for future generations was far more important than WWI.

BTW, WWI was just an incubator for WWII.

[ChrisL]

20 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

Calm down.  You can't take the kidding aside from a Cheese thread.  There wouldn't be anything left.   

I'm fine, there is just nothing funny about war.   Here's what I see in this thread..

Let's chop and hack our enemy with swords haaa haaa, no I'd rather use artillary and mustard gas, hee heee, wait let's use atomic weapons and kill thousands of civilians, yuk yuk, no wait let's slog in rice paddies and die by ambush, yeah now that's funny, no wait let's get our asses blown off by IEDs now that's really funny.

[Ralphie ★]

2 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I'm fine, there is just nothing funny about war.   Here's what I see in this thread..

Let's chop and hack our enemy with swords haaa haaa, no I'd rather use artillary and mustard gas, hee heee, wait let's use atomic weapons and kill thousands of civilians, yuk yuk, no wait let's slog in rice paddies and die by ambush, yeah now that's funny, no wait let's get our asses blown off by IEDs now that's really funny.

I am constantly amazed that my cow-orker made it through Vietnam in the infantry alive and unmiamed.  Now THERE is a survivor!

[donkpow]

This is funny.

Life in jsharr's unit.

[AirwickWithCheese]

5 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

I think I would prefer to fight in WWII.  I think what we were fighting for and what it meant for future generations was far more important than WWI.

 

How so, Sir?  

[Ralphie ★]

Just now, AirwickWithCheese said:

How so, Sir?  

WWI was fought for Franz Ferdinand, just a mediocre band.

 

[jsharr ★]

War is hell.  I would chose to not fight in one at all.  Are wars ever fought for good reasons?  Like most things in this life, it boils down to land, resources and ultimately, money.  Evil thing war, spawned by greed.  

[Road Runner]

1 minute ago, ChrisL said:

I'm fine, there is just nothing funny about war.   Here's what I see in this thread..

Let's chop and hack our enemy with swords haaa haaa, no I'd rather use artillary and mustard gas, hee heee, wait let's use atomic weapons and kill thousands of civilians, yuk yuk, no wait let's slog in rice paddies and die by ambush, yeah now that's funny, no wait let's get our asses blown off by IEDs now that's really funny.

When I said that Cheese was kidding around, I meant about the stuff he talks about in the aftermath.  I don't think anybody here thinks war is funny.  Your interpretation of this thread is a gross over-reaction, IMO.  Have you had your coffee yet?  

[donkpow]

 

[Road Runner]

3 minutes ago, jsharr said:

War is hell.  I would chose to not fight in one at all.  Are wars ever fought for good reasons?  Like most things in this life, it boils down to land, resources and ultimately, money.  Evil thing war, spawned by greed.  

Maybe, but fighting in some are necessary, given the circumstances at hand.

After we were bombed at Pearl Harbor and with Hitler threatening to take over most of the world, what should we have done?

[AirwickWithCheese]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

War is hell.  I would chose to not fight in one at all.  Are wars ever fought for good reasons?  Like most things in this life, it boils down to land, resources and ultimately, money.  Evil thing war, spawned by greed.  

Hmm, you know the amount of respect I have for you so I'll just say yes I believe some wars were fought for very noble reasons. Not perfect, so many un-noble aspects of war. What I will say is the men and women who have fought for our country are very noble. 

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, Road Runner said:

Maybe, but fighting in some are necessary, given the circumstances at hand.

After we were bombed at Pearl Harbor and with Hitler threatening to take over most of the world, what should we have done?

You are right, it was not over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

The attacked has to fight back to defend itself, but the bottom line is that Germany and Japan both wanted things that others had and they did not.

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, AirwickWithCheese said:

Hmm, you know the amount of respect I have for you so I'll just say yes I believe some wars were fought for very noble reasons. Not perfect, so many un-noble aspects of war. What I will say is the men and women who have fought for our country are very noble. 

I am not demeaning the noble warrior.  I am demeaning the evil ruler who will take by force that which is not his to take.  We have gone to defend others who we, as Americans felt deserved our aid, but the agressor in most wars is waging war not to give but to take.

[donkpow]

 

[Road Runner]

2 minutes ago, jsharr said:

The attacked has to fight back to defend itself, but the bottom line is that Germany and Japan both wanted things that others had and they did not.

So you would not have fought in WWII?

[maddmaxx ★]

I did fight in a war.  It's highly over rated.  I would not recommend it.  It is not quite like that pictured in the movies.  The wounds hurt.  The shit in your pants smells and when you come home many will decide that you were a murderer.

[jsharr ★]

2 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

So you would not have fought in WWII?

I have never said I would not fight.  I would be scared shitless and I cannot say with 100 percent confidence that I would fight on my onw, only if drafted.  We have a duty as citizens to be willing to defend that which grants our freedom.   But if possible, I would choose to end war, not wage war.

[ChrisL]

10 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

When I said that Cheese was kidding around, I meant about the stuff he talks about in the aftermath.  I don't think anybody here thinks war is funny.  Your interpretation of this thread is a gross over-reaction, IMO.  Have you had your coffee yet?  

 

2 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

I did fight in a war.  It's highly over rated.  I would not recommend it.  It is not quite like that pictured in the movies.  The wounds hurt.  The shit in your pants smells and when you come home many will decide that you were a murderer.

This is my point, discuss away but it is what it is...

[Road Runner]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

I have never said I would not fight.

 

14 minutes ago, jsharr said:

War is hell.  I would choose to not fight in one at all.

[maddmaxx ★]

26 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

I don't think it a bad thread at all.  Nobody wants or wanted to go to war.  Just imagination applied to the honour of combat duty to ones country. 

Yet, some of us did volunteer.  patriotic, perhaps.  Misguided perhaps.  But in the end I have no one to blame for being there but myself.  I had an automatic out........I was technically unfit for military service.  

And of course, I was not a combat soldier, just a technician who in the end was never there.

 

[donkpow]

 

[jsharr ★]

Just now, Road Runner said:

 

Given a choice to either have a war or not have a war, I would hope that we could not have a war.  I like Reagan and Peace Through Strength.  Japan viewed us as weak and acted on that perceived weakness and we had no choice but to fight a war.  Perhaps if we had a stronger world perception at the time as strong, then maybe they would not have attacked.

Perhaps if the European countries had a strong coalition in the 30s, Hitle would not have started what he did.

No way to tell. 

Will I fight, yes, if it is my duty.  Will I freelly chose to fight, no.

I hope you can see the distinction I am trying to make.  I feel that you can, and are trying to twist my words.

[Wilbur ★]

2 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Yet, some of us did volunteer.

Every Canadian that fought for England and Canada did so voluntarily.  No conscription, no shortage of volunteers. 

[maddmaxx ★]

1 minute ago, Wilbur said:

Every Canadian that fought for England and Canada did so voluntarily.  No conscription, no shortage of volunteers. 

I wonder if they would do it again if they could?

Perhaps some of the wars yes.

Mine..........I don't know.

[jsharr ★]

4 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Yet, some of us did volunteer.  patriotic, perhaps.  Misguided perhaps.  But in the end I have no one to blame for being there but myself.  I had an automatic out........I was technically unfit for military service.  

And of course, I was not a combat soldier, just a technician who in the end was never there.

 

I think that some of us are made of sterner stuff than others.  I am not sure of this, but I think some have an internal need to serve.  To go in harms way to help others, whether this be in the uniform of the warrior, the protector or the savior.  I appreciate and respect all who do this.  We are each gifted in different ways.   

[Road Runner]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

Will I fight, yes, if it is my duty.  Will I freelly chose to fight, no.

 

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

I feel that you can, and are trying to twist my words.

I'm not twisting your words.  I just can't seem to figure out what they mean.  

[Wilbur ★]

Just now, maddmaxx said:

I wonder if they would do it again if they could?

Perhaps some of the wars yes.

Mine..........I don't know.

My grandfather who fought in one of the bloodiest always said he would in defence of his country in a heartbeat.  And he was left in a very unhealthy state for the remainder of his years. 

[Ralphie ★]

6 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Every Canadian that fought for England and Canada did so voluntarily.  No conscription, no shortage of volunteers. 

Interesting.  Canada I can believe, but harder to believe for England.  Very good.

As I watch the rerun of the royal wedding, I keep thinking of the conflict between the Englich of being both the cradle of western civilization and so darn harsh and barbaric during the middle ages and so colonizing after that.

[donkpow]

 

[Wilbur ★]

1 minute ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

Interesting.  Canada I can believe, but harder to believe for England.  Very good.

As I watch the rerun of the royal wedding, I keep thinking of the conflict between the Englich of being both the cradle of western civilization and so darn harsh and barbaric during the middle ages. 

In the early 1900's, Canada was a new nation populated by Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh.  They were very much the new Canadians but were not going to see their motherland go down. 

[maddmaxx ★]

1 minute ago, Wilbur said:

My grandfather who fought in one of the bloodiest always said he would in defence of his country in a heartbeat.  And he was left in a very unhealthy state for the remainder of his years. 

The definition of "defense of my country" varies in times and places.  First one has to decide what "defense" means in each situation.  Then one has to determine if your country really gives a damn.