Heros are everywhere......

[Mortarman11c]

Today whilst picking up the usual from the commissary (ie tampons, motor oil, kitty litter etc,) I spotted an older fella wearing his 82^nd Airborne Division hat cocked and locked and stepping with pride.

I stopped the fella and said “Airborne”! He of course responded “All the Way!”…well, his HH6 knew it was a lost cause because two generations of paratroopers where gonna spend the next few minutes chatting and she shook her head and wandered off.

We get to talking and he reveals that he served in the 505^th in WWII! Ooooooo! My eyes light up and asked him what unit….he said 1st Battalion, in a Demo Platoon. He then revealed proudly that he jumped in Normandy and jumped one of the first new bazookas into Holland! He stayed in 22 years and retired from the Division as a SGM after he came back from the Dominican Republic and Operation Power Pack! Wow!

After about 20 minutes his wife came back and saw we were still chattin’ like old women and I told her that I was sorry for taking up his time. She said not to worry that he does it all the time with fellow paratroopers.

He’s 85 and doesn’t use the net at all, but I told him that since I am the VP of the Panther Association, he’s getting a 505^th Panther hat gratis from me!

H-Minus! Airborne all the Way there SGM Monnie Sanders!

[VB]

Today whilst picking up the usual from the commissary (ie tampons, motor oil, kitty litter etc,) I spotted an older fella wearing his 82^nd Airborne Division hat cocked and locked and stepping with pride.

I stopped the fella and said “Airborne”! He of course responded “All the Way!”…well, his HH6 knew it was a lost cause because two generations of paratroopers where gonna spend the next few minutes chatting and she shook her head and wandered off.

We get to talking and he reveals that he served in the 505^th in WWII! Ooooooo! My eyes light up and asked him what unit….he said 1st Battalion, in a Demo Platoon. He then revealed proudly that he jumped in Normandy and jumped one of the first new bazookas into Holland! He stayed in 22 years and retired from the Division as a SGM after he came back from the Dominican Republic and Operation Power Pack! Wow!

After about 20 minutes his wife came back and saw we were still chattin’ like old women and I told her that I was sorry for taking up his time. She said not to worry that he does it all the time with fellow paratroopers.

He’s 85 and doesn’t use the net at all, but I told him that since I am the VP of the Panther Association, he’s getting a 505^th Panther hat gratis from me!

H-Minus! Airborne all the Way there SGM Monnie Sanders!

Nice story. If you should see him tell him thanks from all of us.

[PARATROOPER801]

That's good stuff right there!

[Ops NCO]

Great story, Al.

I normally don't give you rep, I figure you have enough unit coins to play with.





But I'm gonna make an exception this time.

[ArticPara]

Its fun discovering those old timers. Good thing you where airborne once otherwise you'd have nobody to talk to

[HDParatrooper78]

I was on a flight today from Baltimore to Chicago and as we were standing up to deplane I looked over a there was a man in a 3 piece with a Purple Heart Lapel Pin on. I thanked him for his service and found out he was an Engineer that had been retired for 10 years now. He went on to tell me that he had spent time all over the world from Korea, Germany, Bragg, Lewis, etc. After we got off the plane the conversation continued and when he was heading out he gave me his coin and his business card. Turns out this guy is the Assistant Director of Logistics for the FBI out of Quantico. It made his day to talk about being in the Deuce and chatting up a fellow Paratrooper.

[zuluzerosix]

H-Minus! Airborne all the Way there SGM Monnie Sanders!

GBU and thanks for your service Sergeant Major!

[blackflagg509]

Great story Al.

[mphellon]

Nothing like hearing history from the old timers that were there. Not too many of them left. Great post brings back memories of an old WWII/Korea MSG that I knew when I was working in Hawaii. He and his wife owned a "buy me drinkie' bar in Kalihi. Lots of beer, stories and laughs.

[skeet5413]

Great post Al...its always good to hear and read the stories from the old-timers. I sometimes meet some of them myself and get to talking about the old times and the different units assigned to. I recently met one that was retired military and was also retired FBI. Interesting fellow. Paratroopers are everywhere!

[Skyshark]

Great Posts. Thanks for sharing.

[Hardcore Harry]

Here is one of my experiences with this:

When I was in the hospital at Fort Sam Houston after being wounded in Grenada I met my share of them. One particular hookup still sticks out.

Ward 43C on Beach Pavilion was an old fashioned open ward. So basically you could talk and visit to the guys left and right of your beds and beyond and to the front. So there I was one morning and this guy next to me saw me reading Ross Carter's, Devils in Baggy Pants and he knew from overhearing my previous conversations that I had been wounded in Grenada. He identifies himself as a member of the 504th PIR in WWII. Go figure! We hit it off and he shares his experiences North Africa, Sicily Salerno and D-Day and whatnot. Somewhere along the line we start talking about the Sicily jump in detail and how several planes of the 504th were shot down by the US Navy on the night of the drop--the Navy had just been hit by a Luftwaffe bombing run and fired up the C47s before they realized they were friendlies--really tragic stuff.

Lo and behold we are discussing this and wouldn't you know that the bed to the left is occupied by a retired WWII US Navy vet who took part in the Sicily landings and just by gawd happened to be manning one of the guns that had fired up teh 504th that night! I kid you not! Imagine that! Go through all of that and nearly 40 years later to link up with in that manner!!

I got to say it was quite an education to hear these two share their versions of the same incident all those years later.

I became quite good friends with the 504th vet and once he was discharged from the hospital and back home in Louisiana he sends me a set of the silk maps of Sicily and Italy that each and every paratrooper had been issued in their escape kits!!!

Pretty damn cool shit! I still have them too!

Hardcore Harry

[Rocket1972]

OFS! Thanks for sharing. I bet it was a pretty humbling experience for sure.

[lawndart504]

The history books are great, but there is nothing better then hearing the story from the Person firsthand.

Thanks for sharing those stories.

[Bell]

I'll share.

Went to a Ranger Reunion in Reno back in '03. Ben Defoe (RIP) and I were last men standing every night. That WWII Darby Ranger changed the history books in my mind.

One particular story was about General Patton. Ben said that history sure had a way of making things sound different than they really were. He said that Patton was a glory hound and killed his men to get it.

They say, in the history books, that General Patton was killed when his jeep overturned. Ben said bullshit!! The dumb son-of-a-bitch was in a goddamned hurry and ordered his jeep driver to cut through the line. He got creamed by a tank! Patton was in a hurry to get his troops somewhere and was marching their butts off to get his name in the paper again. He said there was a small amount of cheering when that tank ran over that jeep.