Like I said, my uncle had nightmares about it for years. So I know it had to be a very traumatic thing to witness. I'm not sure why he told me the stories because I knew it was hard for him to tell them. Maybe he just wanted me to know the real truth about what happen. I am grateful to him for it.
Him telling me those stories is one of the things that got me hooked on WWII history.
I'm the same way, Kyle. I had 7 uncles on my father's side, 4 of them served in WWII, one of them in the Army Corp of Engineers, that helped built the Army Ammunition Plant near here. My dad only had one sister, and her husband was an American POW in Germany for the last 3 months of the war.
Dad and another younger brother served in Korea, the youngest had health problems that kept him out of the service. He passed away before I was born, at age 21, and I carry his name.
I have always carried an intense passion for WWII aircraft, especially the fighters, even though I've never flown, or ridden, in any airplane.
My favorite WWII movies are Saving Private Ryan, Battle of the Bulge, and Kelly's Heroes. (Gotta love "Oddball" and his Shermans!)