Americas Oldest Living WW2 Veteran

[Joshua Slocum]

Still Driving, Still Smoking

 

[blackmetallic]

Does he tell British people how he single-handedly saved our asses in WW2?

 

[Joshua Slocum]

Does he tell British people how he single-handedly saved our asses in WW2?

NO, but I think that as an African American he is worth listening to, a lot of his friends still lie in France

 

[Goldbricker]

Does he tell British people how he single-handedly saved our asses in WW2?

He fought in the Pacific as a USAAF Construction Engineer building airbases, but thanks for being a throbber

 

[devexwarrior]

NO, but I think that as an African American he is worth listening to, a lot of his friends still lie in France

Why should his being an 'African' American or for that fact an 'American of any sort' make him more (or less) worth listening to?

 

[Saturation]

He fought in the Pacific as a USAAF Construction Engineer building airbases, but thanks for being a throbber

If he was building airbases, then he wasn't doing much fighting was he?
Important as building airfields were.

 

[Goldbricker]

If he was building airbases, then he wasn't doing much fighting was he?
Important as building airfields were.

So Engineers never came under fire? news to those who built Guadalcanal Fighter strips and improved Henderson field, Munda, on Bougainville, on or the Hurricane fields in Burma at Sinthe, Allagappa, Onbauk, Myitche, Sadaung and Mandalay North

 

[Joshua Slocum]

Why should his being an 'African' American or for that fact an 'American of any sort' make him more (or less) worth listening to?

How many 109 year old men can you listen to ?
and people seem to think it was a white boys war
Lots of Black Dudes gave everything for Freedom, oddly mainly for white dudes ?
so a bit of respect is not out of order
luckily I am colour blind

 

[Bravo_Bravo]

If he was building airbases, then he wasn't doing much fighting was he?
Important as building airfields were.

Do some research about the US Pacific campaigns, and island hopping in particular.

Can best be summed up as "F*ck that"

 

[FourZeroCharlie]

On a related theme, it's a bit of food for thought that the youngest D-Day veteran is 90.*

If the Last Tommy rule is applied (Harry Patch died aged 111), then there will be no living WWII UK veteran by 2038.



*edit: at a push, 89, if he was RN Boy service and (obviously) serving on a ship that was involved in the landings.

Edit: Bad sums error courtesy of @stacker1

 

[Joshua Slocum]

I have a relative who was in Bomber Command
he is 96
cant be more than a handful
his story is worth listening to, and luckily it has been recorded

 

[Banker]

My mother was a WAAF Sgt.....still going at 94.

 

[Baglock]

On a related theme, it's a bit of food for thought that the youngest D-Day veteran is 90.*

If the Last Tommy rule is applied (Harry Patch died aged 111), then there will be no living WWII UK veteran by 2056.



*edit: at a push, 89, if he was RN Boy service and (obviously) serving on a ship that was involved in the landings.

I believe that I saw a show on dday 60th anniversary speaking to a coxwain who drove landing craft on to Omaha beach as a 15 year old. He'd be 88

 

[Bravo_Bravo]

My mother was a WAAF Sgt.....still going at 94.

You might want to rephrase that, some of us are eating...

 

[FourZeroCharlie]

I believe that I saw a show on dday 60th anniversary speaking to a coxwain who drove landing craft on to Omaha beach as a 15 year old. He'd be 88

Possible, I suppose, though helming an LCI at 15 has got to be stretching it a bit.

Then again, even if the old boy's memory is . . . errm . . . generous in the extreme, serving as a quickly pressed crewman at that age is more logical. And equally bum-clenching for someone who's voice has yet to break.

 

[javaguzzisti]

You might want to rephrase that, some of us are eating...

And?
BTW my father went through the whole thing and is still going at 96

 

[MoleBath]

Some insurance company actuary got an interview without coffee for valuing the company pension liability !

 

[overopensights]

The Pacific war went on for over four years, I think American KIA was 400.000, high considering other theaters. It was not an 'easy go' However I do wish they would mention British involvement. Britian had eleven aircraft carriers in the Pacific war, over 350 of the pilots above Iwo Jima were British and Commonwealth. I am sure someone on here will come up with correct figures for Carriers and pilots.

 

[Bravo_Bravo]

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The Pacific war went on for over four years, I think American KIA was 400.000, high considering other theaters. It was not an 'easy go' However I do wish they would mention British involvement. Britian had eleven aircraft carriers in the Pacific war, over 350 of the pilots above Iwo Jima were British and Commonwealth. I am sure someone on here will come up with correct figures for Carriers and pilots.

I had no idea - I watch a good deal of eg. the Discovery Channel's stuff on the Pacific War and have never seen mention of that.

 

[Seadog]

HMS Nelson Wardroom is hosting a handful of D Day Veterans to a guest night dinner next month. No word yet as to whether or not they are all Navy or even all Allied. Whoever they are, God bless them.