Thinking about writing

Why I started this blog to begin with. Maybe political stuff, but the arguments are angry and so am I when reading the arguments. Military stuff maybe. That covers a lot of ground. And air. And even an ocean’s worth of water. California to Korea on the water and a few places between. Maybe things from growing up. As much as I have grown up.

Thought association. One evening I got home after a weekend drill out of town, at Camp Maxey, which is more than 4,000 acres of good land and trees and if the state decides to sell it and I have a few millions I would put in a bid. I got home after dark on a Sunday. My wife was on the phone. She said to whomever, “I’ve got to go. Bob just got in from playing soldier.”

That kind of made me mad. Playing soldier? I was not playing soldier. I said that to Priscilla. I don’t remember her reply, but later on I decided she was right, in a way, but not in the way she meant. Later on I decided that even though you’re wearing a uniform, if there aren’t bad guys shooting pointy bullets at you, you’re playing soldier. You might think you are training for war, but nobody can really train for war. You can learn everything about your assigned weapon or your track or tank or truck, but you cannot train for war.

Speaking of Camp Maxey http://www.jfgvictoryverlag.com/battlebabies/maxey.html has pictures of the 99th Infantry Division training in 1943.

The 99th was hit hard on the first day of the Ardennes offensive. German forces penetrated the division’s line, but the three regiments – 993, 394 and 395 – held the northern shoulder. The 394th’s Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon of 18 scouts and four artillery observers held a German battalion,and the Sixth Panzer Army following, for more than a day before surrendering when out of ammunition. In 1981 the platoon received a Presidential Unit Citation. Other awards to the platoon included four Distinguished Service Crosses, five Silver Stars, and ten Bronze Stars with V for Valor.

http://deddygetty1.home.comcast.net/~deddygetty1/CampMaxey.html also has pictures of Camp Maxey, including one from the funeral for a German POW. One POW holds a guidon with a swastika.

In 2000 I interviewed a former POW after he sent photographs to the newspaper in Paris, Texas.