Proud Uncle....UPDATE pg 2

[BPTactical]

Some here may know that my father, who is now 88yo is a WWII veteran of the 10th Mountain Division (85E). If you don't know anything about the 10th back then they were an elite unit, trained in mountain warfare and many consider them the forefathers of Special Warfare. They saw heavy action in Northern Italy late in the war. They were a fairly small unit, consisting of about 10,000 men.
Out of that number, they lost just shy of 1000 (997 IIRC) KIA. That equates to 10% which was the highest per unit KIA rate of any unit that saw action.
This was a highly specialized group of men that were hand picked and to even be considered for the 10th a candidate had to have 3 letters of introduction/reference.
After the war these veterans went on to be instrumental in the development of the ski industry in the US and as many other vets of our "Greatest Generation", accomplished some great things for our nation.
I am very proud to be the son of a 10th veteran.

Fast forward 65+ years.
My nephew TJ who is my BIL's eldest son was sick of not really doing much with his life outside of working and playing video games left for Basic at Fort Benning in January of this year. He went in for infantry, he wanted to be a grunt because he really wants to push himself. He has qualified "Expert" in marksmanship and would like to try for Sniper School.
Apparently he was able to have a bit of say so where he was to go after Basic and guess where he chose?
Fort Drum NY!
He CHOSE to be a 10th Mountain soldier.
I haven't spoken directly with him but my youngest has, my kiddo asked him why he chose the 10th.
"Because of your Grandfather, he is a great man and I wanted to follow in his footsteps and keep a legacy for OUR family."
Make my eyes hot and knock me over with a feather.
Simple words cannot describe how proud I am of him.

[ray1970]

[Awesom]

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

Awesome man. Lots to be proud of.

[Jmetz]

[Awesom]

2nded.

[cstone]

Traditions start somewhere.

Congratulations!

[sniper7]

Very awesome! Congrats

[Great-Kazoo]

Good for Him and your family. Hope he knows some canuk, dat der lingo be a mighty tricky. ;_

[buffalobo]

Congrats to nephew and your clan. Have you told your dad yet? Let us know what he says.





Lobbed from my electronic ball and chain

[BPTactical]

Congrats to nephew and your clan. Have you told your dad yet? Let us know what he says.





Lobbed from my electronic ball and chain

That's the other side of the emotional roller coaster. My dad is suffering from dementia quite severely and doesn't even recognize my mom, to him she is "The Lady that lives with him."
My mom is going to tell him when she sees a lucid moment.
We are going to have to get him in an assisted living home soon, my mom told me that soon I am going to head west and help get him moved.
The ups, the downs.
Ce'LaVie

[Squeeze]

Man Bert, that is awesome! Such a great thing to be proud of. Nothing like seeing a youth turn life around on his own volition. Most children these days need someone to follow them around with a sharp stick to keep them moving in a forward direction. You have an awesome nephew and my hat's off to him!

[Bowtie]

Nice, my grandfather was in the O.S.S. and he trained with the 10th mountain at camp Hale by Leadville.

[Rucker61]

That young man is a MAN!

[Bailey Guns]

Outstanding, Bert!

[Fentonite]

Awesome!

[roberth]

Fantastic Bert, congratulations. Great news. I hope he goes far.

[OtterbatHellcat]

Cool how that turned out with your nephew,..that's really neat.

I'm sorry to hear about your Father, bless his soul, I'll be sending my thoughts and prayers to you and your family, dealing with that situation.

[StagLefty]

Great story Bert. Congrats to your nephew and prayers for your Dad.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2

[Dave]

Climb to glory!

[Gman]

Really cool. Please thank him for us for his service.

[brutal]

Bert,

Your story made my day brighter. Your father is a hero and your nephew is a courageous young lad to honor his achievements.

You ain't half bad either. :D

[DSB OUTDOORS]

Damn Bert. That's great about your nephew, and sad about your Dad. And you knowing me, and me knowing you. We are both two peas in a pod. I have to be a smart ass to bring the two together.


http://youtu.be/8A4ADzu-v3s

[Mazin]

Thatatta boy! Truly outstanding Bert, I wish I had a legacy in my family like that. Tell him a bunch of guys he has never met are truly proud of him!

[Guylee]

10th MTN are some stand up guys, but the climate SUCKS!

[Tinelement]

Thanks for sharing Bert.

Stand up kid.

Gives me hope as I close out today.

[Irving]

Thumbs up.

[BPTactical]

A couple of corrections, the kiddo said he couldn't hardly hear the cousin when they talked. He called me a while ago and he is at Benning, not Bragg. He missed his "Expert" qualification by 1 point, he had to score 36 but got 35. He is currently crewing a 81mm mortar but he is hoping to requal when he gets to Drum.


A little more on my dad's service, I posted this on "That other site" in response to a post regarding a gent who had spent some time with a German"Fallchirmjager" who had served in the Po River Valley:

My father was in the 10th Mountain Division (85E, HQ) and saw action in the Po River Valley during the same timeframe. 14 April 1945 my father was in action and as a result was awarded the Bronze Star.

A little background: My dad was born and raised in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. He was an outstanding outdoorsman and by the time he graduated High School he had worked 4 summers with the Forest Service, ran a pack mule train for a local hunting guide for three years and had been a ski jumper for his high school. He graduated in June of 43 and two days after graduation was on a train headed for basic.
After basic he was stationed at Camp Swift in Texas guarding German POW's (officers). He saw a recruitment poster for the 10th and asked his CO if he could put in for it. He CO told him no, he was going to spend the duration in Texas. My dad requested to go over his CO's head and went to the base commander. The base commander was all for my dad trying for it.
The 10th Mountain Division was a highly specialized, elite unit that were trained in high mountain and cold weather warfare. They were originally intended for ground warfare in the Alps, as the Alps had been an insurmountable obstacle in WWI. All the troops were hand picked by one man, Minnie Dole. To even be considered for the 10th a prospective soldier had to have at least 3 letters of recommendation that documented they had outdoor/mountain/skiing experience.
My dad got ahold of his mom and she got letters from the Forest Ranger, Ski Coach and hunting outfitter my dad had worked for and submitted his application. He said about two weeks after submitting his application to the 10th he was called into his CO's office. His CO said: "Private, you have aroused my ire going over my head, you will be on the parade ground at 0600 tomorrow morning with all your gear." My dad thought he was dead meat.
He was quite surprised when he and two others were driven to the train station and put on a train to Colorado Springs. They hitch hiked to their new station, Camp Hale outside of Leadville CO. When he got there and went through the basics he was made an assistant skiing instructor and a marksmanship instructor.
They set sail for Naples, Italy out of New York late December 44 or early January 45.
When they landed in Naples they rolled north towards the Apinine Mountains.
My dad actually drove a Jeep into the Coliseum in Rome!
My dad was assigned to HQ as an artillery observer but with a twist, they had a liason with the Army Air Corp assigned to him. He, his driver and the liason basically drove around in a Jeep until they got opened up on by the Krauts and then called in an air strike. Forward Air Controllers were a new concept as was close air support. My dad was one of the first FAC's.
He said they had to walk back to the lines more than once cause their jeep either conked out or was shot out.
The 10th saw heavy action in February, March and April of 45 in northern Italy, specifically the Apinine Mountains and the PO River Valley. Mount Belvedere, Lake Garda are all burned into the history books thanks to the 10th. One of the greatest victories of the 10th was the assault and capture of Riva Ridge. Soldiers from the 10th scaled the slick, foggy cliffs of Riva Ridge at night with unloaded weapons(they did not want to chance a ND and give away their positions) and captured the garrison on top of the ridge which was critical to the assault on the PO River Valley as the Germans had the high ground and could observe the entire valley from Riva Ridge.
The position was taken with barely a shot fired, that's how complete the 10ths element of surprise had been and the Krauts were actually startled to see the American soldiers on them so silently and effectively.
I knew my dad had been awarded the Bronze Star when I was a kid and every time I would ask him how he was awarded it the only thing he would say is: " We went into a sticky spot and pulled out some boys that were hurt pretty badly." Humble hero.
I was able to get with a historian of the 10th Mountain Division and he was able to find the citation for my dad's Star.
He was decorated for "Meritorious Actions in Heavy Combat". He and his driver had heard of a unit in heavy contact and they took the ininitave to try and help. "Under withering and murderous enemy fire PFC X and Corporal X repeatedly endured fire to evacuate the wounded to an aid station." My dad and his driver made 3 trips to evacuate wounded soldiers. After the second trip they had to get a different jeep and even though his drivers left side was full of shrapnel, he refused to be evac'd until they got all of the wounded out. They pulled out 11 boys who had gotten hit and all 11 survived. My dad's driver survived his wounds but was basically useless on his left side. My dad didn't even get so much as a scratch(which bothered him, he had a "survivors guilt" he carried for a long time.)
When VE came my dad assisted in de-briefing Germans that had surrendered and I now have the Mauser HSC that a German Captain presented to my dad.
In June of 45 my dad and his unit boarded a ship for parts unknown. Only after the bomb had dropped and Japan surrendered did my dad learn they were headed to the Pacific to stage for the invasion of Japan. The 10th Mountain Division was slated to invade northern Japan which is quite mountainous. My dad told me he was thankful for the bomb, as they were told to expect 80% casualties were they to invade Japan.
One little known fact on the 10th Mountain Division: they were one of the smallest units of the war (10,000 men) and were in combat only briefly but suffered the highest KIA rate of any other unit. They suffered just under a thousand KIA, which was 10% and that is not counting wounded and captured. Most units suffered 2-3% KIA.

The 10th Mountain Division of WWII were very exceptional soldiers and many say they were the forefathers of Special Warfare.
To think that my father, a quiet, unassuming and humble Veterinarian went through that and was decorated for his actions is a tremendous source of pride and honor to me.
One of the neatest things to me: I put together a Garand (my dad always spoke lovingly of them) and I was able to take it to him so he could put his hands on one again. When I uncased it his eyes lit up like a little kid and when I handed it to him he snapped to port arms and the parade rest like basic had been yesterday. Then he said: " The damn things are just as heavy now as it was 65 years ago!"
It really meant a lot to me to be able to give it to him. (he refused it as a gift, said it needed to be kept for my boys).
He is still with us, the stories have faded and he is fading. He is suffering from dementia and it is sad to see a great man suffer this fate

[wctriumph]

Good on ya Bert. Thanks be to you and yours for your service.

[rbeau30]

As a 15 year veteran, could you please shake their hand for me and say thank you when you get a chance?

[10mm-man]

Nice share Bert! Brought back memories of my grandfather; he fought in the "Battle of the Bulge" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge). Unfortunately he died when I was 10, enjoy your dad all you can........ Good luck to your nephew, and God spede to him!

[rockhound]

thanks for sharing,

My grandfather was in the navy during WWII, joined the day pearl was bombed, as did a lot of men, he was a medic and saved many a man's life during the war. funny thing to join the navy as he had severe sea sickness issues, there were times during thwar that he kept himself alive with IV fluids cause he could not keep his food down.

[GilpinGuy]

This is good stuff. We (the American public) need to hear more of this these days and less of the "what happened to (insert a-hole here) last night" stories. My grandfather was a hero as well. He never spoke of his time in WWII without someone asking about it. God bless him.

[StagLefty]

Great story and thanks for sharing. Both my Dad and Stepdad were WWII vets.

[rondog]

Great stories Bert, thank you! My mom's brother Ralph was in the Rangers in WWII, but that's all I really know. I remember him as being a SEVERE alcoholic for many, many years, he drank vodka from the bottle like it was water. That alone messed him up pretty bad, but it was obvious there were underlying issues from his service. All my parents would tell me was that "he was in the Rangers and went through some pretty rough stuff". I believe my Mom also lost one of her other brothers. They all seemed to prefer putting all those memories and experiences in a box and up on a high shelf, to never be opened.

[sabot_round]

Congratulations Bert!!