Seventy-eight years ago today, my father was flying a mission over Northern France on D-Day +1. He was a member of the 388th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the “Hell Hawks”. He flew a P-47 Thunderbolt. His mission was to strafe German supply lines, trains, and entrenched positions. In the process, his plane was hit by ground fire and he had to make a crash landing. He was successful, climbed out of his plane, and made a run for it while his squadron-mates covered him from the air. In the end, he was captured and placed in a German prison camp for the duration of the war.
That's a great story about Popeye. It's easy to demonize those folks on the enemy side. Our government made a significant effort to do that to inspire us Americans. When I look at some of the propaganda posters they issued/created and how they depicted the Germans and the Japanese, it makes me ashamed of some of the actions our government took.
But, as demonstrated by Popeye, there were some real/compassionate people on the German side. They were just not the ones manning the valves at Auschwitz. Popeye probably hated his job as much as your Dad hated being there.
Handsome man, Tom. He looks so innocent.
That's a great story about Popeye. It's easy to demonize those folks on the enemy side. Our government made a significant effort to do that to inspire us Americans. When I look at some of the propaganda posters they issued/created and how they depicted the Germans and the Japanese, it makes me ashamed of some of the actions our government took.
But, as demonstrated by Popeye, there were some real/compassionate people on the German side. They were just not the ones manning the valves at Auschwitz. Popeye probably hated his job as much as your Dad hated being there.
Tom