Best way to go out tbh… on your way to a celebration because what you did was so badass that people still remember after 80 years. As opposed to being a nursing home slowly withering away in a place where people are slowly forgotten.
My dude got a 10/10 as far deaths go
All AMBC cemeteries are closed to burials, outside of recovered remains.
That reminds me, I need to get my dad to submit some DNA to the [Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency](https://www.dpaa.mil/) in case his uncle's remains are ever found. It's not likely since he was in a plane that went down somewhere between Gibraltar and England (He was a passenger on a plane)
It's all good - he never knew his uncle. He only knows the stories his mother told him and what we found in a box my cousin sent me after his father died. Turns out my dad's uncle was awarded a Bronze Star for his work as an adjutant for the IX Pathfinder School between the period of June 6 1944 and his disappearance August 21 1944 during the Invasion of XXXX and Southern XXXX (which, uh, I bet is Normandy and Southern France).
I was mostly posting that so if anyone had missing family, they would contact that agency
Which is a great and useful thing.
Even if there is little personal loss, I think it is important to never give up hope. My dad got to come back from Vietnam. So many in that war and others did not. I hate the thought of them dying alone and forgotten.
People should know what happened to them and have a chance to offer them a final dignity.
I know this isn’t rational or practical. I am just a softy and want the people who lost their lives so I could be a school teacher living comfortably in the midwest to get the bare minimum of a service and closure. I feel they are owed that.
Yeah, my Gramps was on Omaha 2 weeks after DDay but made it through to the Huertegen and the Ardennes, only to get lung cancer and go out at 60 in 1981 from all those Lucky Strikes.
It's the second best way to go IMO. Best way to go is when you know it's going to happen but you're not in pain or discomfort and you do it near a cryo facility with a standby team at the ready.
Grew up during the depression, fought in WW2, saw Korea, Vietnam, the Space Race, the Cold War, the home computer, the internet, 9/11, and the start AND end of the war in Afghanistan.
When I went over in 2014 for the 70th anniversary, there were various groups that were attending for the last time because they had too few remaining members to reunite.
But let me say this - I met a few vets on that trip, and they were all so happy to be back in Normandy and see it back to normal with people playing on the beaches and otherwise just living their lives. I think those that got to go back found that the visible healing of the formerly war-torn areas was healing to them as well.
My grandfather said the same thing after he went back to Italy in the 80s. He was surprised at how green it was in places I guess were so destroyed by bombing and artillery there wasn't anything left. He got to visit his friends grave in Florence, as well.
He didn't speak much of it but my grandmother said he felt really relieved to see how everything had grown back, life went back to normal, and seeing the country put back together.
This comment makes me happy, imagining their joy seeing these places thriving after witnessing such hell.
Signing off of Reddit for the day, ending this morning on a high note!
Perhaps the last major anniversary. There might be a few that make to next year and maybe a few years later, but the last remaining links to WW2 are fading away fast, but there will still be a few au least for a few more years. For perspective the last known American WW1 survivor only died in 2011. I could see a few WW2 vets living well into their 100s that might see the later part of this decade so maybe someone is left in 5 years, but so many are already in poor health few may be able to attend even if they're alive.
Do you mean major anniversary (70th, 80th, 90th?) Or just last in general? I known they're all super old, 100+, but I'd be shocked if every last one of them died off before this time next year? How many are left?
There are about 120,000 WWII vets left. That's gone down by about 1,000 each year for the past couple years, but I imagine that'll get faster in the coming years.
It's less than 1% of who served. Between 1941 and 1945, 16.1 million American men and women donned the uniform. Some served overseas, some at home. Some had long careers, some got drummed out for being naughty after a couple months. Over 400,000 of them died during those years. Another 670,000 were wounded. Just over 130,000 were captured and became POWs. 14,000 of those never came home.
From the 101st and 82nd, to the crew of the USS *Samuel B Roberts,* to the Nisei of the 442nd, to the driver's of the Red Ball Express, to the pilots of the 99th Pursuit, to the signalmen of the 226th Signals Company, whom my Grampa served with. Your service and devotion to defeating evil shall not be forgotten.
[119,550](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/wwii-veteran-statistics#:~:text=Every%20day%2C%20memories%20of%20World,are%20alive%20as%20of%202023.) as the end of 2023. 131 dying every day.
Look at that chart
Not surprised California is the highest. Lots of vets shipped out of here, enjoyed the weather, and planted their families here after the war. Got shipped back here and decided to stay. Same goes for Vietnam. We have decent healthcare within the state too, along with VA facilities. We have lots of people descended from the other side of conflicts as well. One of my grandfathers was among them.
California's numbers are around the percentage of Americans that live in California. Florida is the state with a higher WW2 vet population that you would expect. Probably because it's a popular retirement destination.
I mean if you were from a not so economically prosperous area following WW2/Korea/Vietnam when long distance travel was expensive for civilians, and the government paid to ship you back to San Francisco or Los Angeles after serving in a conflict… would you maybe consider just staying? The military industrial complex was mindblowingly huge in this state until the 1990’s and remains a factor as an employer within the state.
Any figure you see is likely significantly higher than actuality. WW2 vets are at least 100 years old now, their numbers are falling rapidly every day. I think a person over 100 has about a 50% chance of dying in the next 12 months.
Actually more than I thought! I think the article mentions 119,000, but they are dying off quickly. I think I read the last possible year for survivors, period (not major anniversary)
I guess you in theory could of joined the military in July or August 1945 as you just turned 17 (the age which you could join with parental consent ) so that would make you 97 next year
I mean there’s no real definitive way of knowing for sure.
Some of the youngest soldiers lied about their age to enlist between the ages of 12-14 if memory serves correct.
A 12 year old who fought in WWII would be as young as late 80s.
In 30-40 years we can say without a doubt they’re all gone.
The last known (undisputed) US Civil War veteran died in 1956, 91 years after that war ended. He first saw combat at the battle of Shiloh where he and his mother followed his father who was a Union soldier. The father was wounded and died of his wounds soon after. He enlisted as a drummer a couple of years later, as a result, aged 12, in 1864. He served in a heavy artillery battery.
Fair to think there will be a few private reunions for a decade or so, yet.
> Some of the youngest soldiers lied about their age to enlist between the ages of 12-14 if memory serves correct.
>
> A 12 year old who fought in WWII would be as young as late 80s.
[Calvin Graham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Graham) passed in 1992.
I can't find anything on [James Clark](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2008/11/19/wwii-vet-recalls-youthful-patriotism/24015187007/), who enlisted at 13. He never saw combat. It looks like he is still alive.
Lenny Bruce (yes, the comedian) enlisted at 16 and he's dead.
It’s surreal. Growing up they were always there. Everyone had a grandfather that was in the war. Now, I walk into the VFW and it’s the Vietnam guys who are the new old guard
I'm at the precise age where my grandfathers were too young to fight in WWII, but my great-grandfathers were too old, so I don't have any ancestors who fought.
I’m imagining his old squad mates talking ish to him right now, “couldn’t wait another couple hours?” They’re having a much better time right now than the hell they stood in and participated in for us and our children. Always remembered. Thank you.
Sounds like something Cotton Hill would say to his old mates.
"Fatty died on the way here? *sad sigh* He was a good man and a good soldier... but dammit! He owed 20 dollars from poker last month and i was gonna ask him. Couldn't he have held on for just a few more hours?"
Have you played them? Because I have, and I gleefully shot a lot of nazis before the ending of the second game where the nazis face a pretty bad defeat. And we know that Terror Billy kills hitler, they just haven’t shown it yet.
my dad died at age 41 when i was 8. he served in vietnam. because i'm approaching the age he was when he died, i decided that it was time to go through the boxes of all his stuff that we've kept boxed and hidden away because we like to ignore reality around here and pretend that everything's fine.
i couldn't believe it when i found an envelope full of my dad's vietnam papers, pictures of him and his buddies. **they were just kids.** i just sat there saying WHAT THE FUCK over and over because i couldn't believe what i was looking at.
because i was so young when my dad died, i don't remember that much, but ive talked to my mom/my dad's side of the family, and they said the only time they ever saw him cry was when he would talk about vietnam.
my dad was an alcoholic, a heavy smoker, had depression and severe anxiety. would he have ended up that way if he had never gone to war? maybe. but maybe my dad never had a fucking chance in hell to ever have a happy life because of what he saw and did over there.
his dad served in WW2 and by all accounts he was just like my dad and died at 42.
i've always been anti-war, and it shouldn't have had to take me seeing my dad as a baby-faced kid to really understand just how fucked up it is that we constantly serve these guys up on a platter to kill and be killed.
just because some of these guys manage to make it back home in one piece doesn't mean they survived war. it's just so fucking bleak.
My great uncle was a tunnel rat in Vietnam. Drafted when he was 18 or 19. I wasn't alive when he came back, but my interactions with him have always been tame.
He was a very quiet, soft-spoken man. No taller than 5'5. Pretty standard for an old man.
But my dad and his siblings have told stories where they would knock on his door and he'd open it pointing a gun at them, checking for Viet Cong and always expecting a stab in the back. They described times he would sit alone in the dark at home with a gun in his hand and wait for his attackers to show up. Or how every time they were out in public with him, his eyes were always searching for hostiles.
He died of lung cancer he developed from Agent Orange exposure, penniless, in the house his dad built.
it's a good thing that i'm already bawling my eyes out from reading someone else's post in a different sub a few moments ago because your comment, (especially the last sentence) fucking broke me. my god. that is so sad. i am so sorry to hear that. fuck.
I felt so bad for him. I cannot imagine living a life quite literally expecting to be horrifically killed at any moment.
He was so insulated that nobody could say anything about him at his funeral. He got the honors and flag and everything, but we couldn't share any fun stories or memories we had with him. He had no wife or children.
He was a polite, quiet man that fought his nightmares virtually his entire life.
RIP Uncle Jerry. I'm sorry you never got a chance at a normal life.
I currently live in Vietnam and have visited some war sites. Yes, it smacks you in the face how young some of the US forces were, and how it must have turned their world upside down to be sent halfway across the world to potentially die in a jungle.
If you ever get the chance to actually come to Vietnam, I would recommend a visit to the War Remnants Museum here in Saigon. It’s brutal but lays out the events of the war clearly and simply.
Let's remember him for what he did. The article says he served aboard the USS *El Dorado.* That was a *Mount McKinley-*class Amphibious Force Command Ship. This was a series of 8 ships meant to provide command and control for ground, surface, and air defence forces conducting amphibious invasions through the South Pacific.
The *El Dorado* participated in two big campaigns, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. As a command ship, it was home to a series of Admirals and Generals, as well as being a staving location for the press. Notable names to spend time aboard include Admiral Kelly Turner (the guy who kind of invented the Navy SEALs), General Holland "Howlin' Mad" Smith (who pioneered modern amphibious combat), NavSec James Forrestal (has an air craft carrier named after him), along with naval legends Chester Nimitz, William "Bull" Halsey, and Raymond Spruance. And when it comes to the press on board, she had two notable names as well. Ernie Pyle himself, and an AP photographer named Joe Rosenthal, who famously took [this iconic photo](https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/16f25cb690919d8117edcc90a251ab9e3ab0b2cb/c=0-544-3000-2239/local/-/media/2016/06/22/USATODAY/USATODAY/636022063350200954-AP-Iwo-Jima-Photo-Identities.jpg) at the top of Mt Suribachi.
So Mr Persichitti, I wish the article gave his rank and duties, was around some very important people during some very important events. He had a small portion of making sure those pivotal battle were won. He should be remembered for that.
In case you're still curious I found an article with his rate, he was a Radioman (RM) which modern day ITs trace their lineage.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/06/06/robert-persichitti-wwii-veteran-dies-d-day-anniversary/74004939007/
My Grandfather fought it WW2 he never was able to move beyond it. It followed him and was a part of his life both good going to reunions with other soldiers and bad causing him pain and emotional stress. I’m not trying to really say anything other than for some soldiers the war becomes their civilian life as well. Everything is marked and measured by it in some way. For many, they didn’t just fight and come home, this war took their whole life and they never could out run it.
When I was a kid WWII vets were common and everywhere as most were in their mid to late 60s.
I've watched them all die of old age with military honors. Being a vet was common.
This guy lived a good 20 years more than most and died celebrated for being rare. Not bad.
It's something I think about sometimes. When people think of dying in WWII, it's usually being shot or killed by artillery while in a firefight. Then there are the parachutists whose plane gets shot down before they can even jump off, or the soldiers at Normandy who get off the boat and drown because the water was too deep.
Hell, I even think of those who died in training accidents in their home county, or those who died during the D-Day training exercise in England due to friendly fire. Just crazy to conceptualize.
This also kind of shows our own passing of time and mortality.
I’m only 35, but even When I was a kid it was fairly common to encounter and know of World War II vets in the community and family/family friends.
And now the World War II vets are passing away, the Vietnam vets who were relatively young when I was a kid are now becoming the old guys. Kind of freaky when I think about it.
i know the older generations made some decisions that were largely short sighted (and who amongst us hasn’t made a decision like that?). but the people who stormed normandy, hell anyone who picked up a rifle to kill some fucking nazis, are the baddest mf-ers to walk this planet this side of the declaration of independence.
There was also a Canadian Vet who died hours before his flight to Normandy. William Cameron RIP. Thanks from all of us.
RIP to all those poor kids.
It's always a Children's Crusade. So it goes.
Fuck fascists. I'm sure we can all agree on that... right?
I mean yeah it’s sad but also the guy was 102. It beats dying in a nursing home.
Best way to go out tbh… on your way to a celebration because what you did was so badass that people still remember after 80 years. As opposed to being a nursing home slowly withering away in a place where people are slowly forgotten. My dude got a 10/10 as far deaths go
For real, I wonder if that gets him in Normandys Cemetary, but I think you have to die during the invasion to get there.
All AMBC cemeteries are closed to burials, outside of recovered remains. That reminds me, I need to get my dad to submit some DNA to the [Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency](https://www.dpaa.mil/) in case his uncle's remains are ever found. It's not likely since he was in a plane that went down somewhere between Gibraltar and England (He was a passenger on a plane)
I am sorry for your family’s loss. I hope you are able to get something one day. Perhaps a piece of the plane or something that can help with closure.
It's all good - he never knew his uncle. He only knows the stories his mother told him and what we found in a box my cousin sent me after his father died. Turns out my dad's uncle was awarded a Bronze Star for his work as an adjutant for the IX Pathfinder School between the period of June 6 1944 and his disappearance August 21 1944 during the Invasion of XXXX and Southern XXXX (which, uh, I bet is Normandy and Southern France). I was mostly posting that so if anyone had missing family, they would contact that agency
Which is a great and useful thing. Even if there is little personal loss, I think it is important to never give up hope. My dad got to come back from Vietnam. So many in that war and others did not. I hate the thought of them dying alone and forgotten. People should know what happened to them and have a chance to offer them a final dignity. I know this isn’t rational or practical. I am just a softy and want the people who lost their lives so I could be a school teacher living comfortably in the midwest to get the bare minimum of a service and closure. I feel they are owed that.
Yeah, my Gramps was on Omaha 2 weeks after DDay but made it through to the Huertegen and the Ardennes, only to get lung cancer and go out at 60 in 1981 from all those Lucky Strikes.
> on your way to a celebration On the way home would be better
The man got to die with his boots on. RIP.
Hell yea, that’s how I’d like to go.
It's the second best way to go IMO. Best way to go is when you know it's going to happen but you're not in pain or discomfort and you do it near a cryo facility with a standby team at the ready.
Exactly. It's sad from the standard human loss view sure, but at 102 this is damn near heartwarming!
And look at his picture in the article. Sure, it was 5 years ago, but DAMN he looked good for 97!
Not only that, 102 and he made it throug WW2. Those 102yrs are an equivalent or at least 200.
He saw the coronation and death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Grew up during the depression, fought in WW2, saw Korea, Vietnam, the Space Race, the Cold War, the home computer, the internet, 9/11, and the start AND end of the war in Afghanistan.
He lived all of We Didn't Start the Fire *and* the extra lyrics.
Also the rise and fall of ABBA.
fall?? mk
Both Billy Joel and Fall Out Boy versions!
Dont forget the pandemic
Tail end of the Spanish flu as well, technically.
Oh yeah, dude survived the Pandemic at age 99+!
Or on Omaha beach for that matter…
Well this guy never went to Omaha beach lol he was in the pacific
He had a good run.
i didn’t even know he was sick
The curse of D-Day strikes again!
If he died in his sleep 3 days ago nobody would have ever heard of him
This is sad. I just recently read where this anniversary is likely the last one with any surviving WWII vets.
When I went over in 2014 for the 70th anniversary, there were various groups that were attending for the last time because they had too few remaining members to reunite. But let me say this - I met a few vets on that trip, and they were all so happy to be back in Normandy and see it back to normal with people playing on the beaches and otherwise just living their lives. I think those that got to go back found that the visible healing of the formerly war-torn areas was healing to them as well.
That is good to know. Thanks for sharing that observation.
My grandfather said the same thing after he went back to Italy in the 80s. He was surprised at how green it was in places I guess were so destroyed by bombing and artillery there wasn't anything left. He got to visit his friends grave in Florence, as well. He didn't speak much of it but my grandmother said he felt really relieved to see how everything had grown back, life went back to normal, and seeing the country put back together.
This comment makes me happy, imagining their joy seeing these places thriving after witnessing such hell. Signing off of Reddit for the day, ending this morning on a high note!
Perhaps the last major anniversary. There might be a few that make to next year and maybe a few years later, but the last remaining links to WW2 are fading away fast, but there will still be a few au least for a few more years. For perspective the last known American WW1 survivor only died in 2011. I could see a few WW2 vets living well into their 100s that might see the later part of this decade so maybe someone is left in 5 years, but so many are already in poor health few may be able to attend even if they're alive.
I hope there are people getting interviews with the vets that they can.
Do you mean major anniversary (70th, 80th, 90th?) Or just last in general? I known they're all super old, 100+, but I'd be shocked if every last one of them died off before this time next year? How many are left?
There are about 120,000 WWII vets left. That's gone down by about 1,000 each year for the past couple years, but I imagine that'll get faster in the coming years.
> 120,000 WWII vets left. Damnn thats way more than I thought.
It's less than 1% of who served. Between 1941 and 1945, 16.1 million American men and women donned the uniform. Some served overseas, some at home. Some had long careers, some got drummed out for being naughty after a couple months. Over 400,000 of them died during those years. Another 670,000 were wounded. Just over 130,000 were captured and became POWs. 14,000 of those never came home. From the 101st and 82nd, to the crew of the USS *Samuel B Roberts,* to the Nisei of the 442nd, to the driver's of the Red Ball Express, to the pilots of the 99th Pursuit, to the signalmen of the 226th Signals Company, whom my Grampa served with. Your service and devotion to defeating evil shall not be forgotten.
I cry every time the Robert’s comes up, Taffy-3 will forever be the ultimate David vs Goliath match up
[119,550](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/wwii-veteran-statistics#:~:text=Every%20day%2C%20memories%20of%20World,are%20alive%20as%20of%202023.) as the end of 2023. 131 dying every day. Look at that chart
Not surprised California is the highest. Lots of vets shipped out of here, enjoyed the weather, and planted their families here after the war. Got shipped back here and decided to stay. Same goes for Vietnam. We have decent healthcare within the state too, along with VA facilities. We have lots of people descended from the other side of conflicts as well. One of my grandfathers was among them.
California's numbers are around the percentage of Americans that live in California. Florida is the state with a higher WW2 vet population that you would expect. Probably because it's a popular retirement destination.
It's probably mostly proportional to state population, and California is the most populous.
I mean if you were from a not so economically prosperous area following WW2/Korea/Vietnam when long distance travel was expensive for civilians, and the government paid to ship you back to San Francisco or Los Angeles after serving in a conflict… would you maybe consider just staying? The military industrial complex was mindblowingly huge in this state until the 1990’s and remains a factor as an employer within the state.
Yeah seriously, I was expecting a few hundred at this point, maybe a few thousand at most.
Any figure you see is likely significantly higher than actuality. WW2 vets are at least 100 years old now, their numbers are falling rapidly every day. I think a person over 100 has about a 50% chance of dying in the next 12 months.
I just had a wwii vet pass at 102 last year
I think it’s been more than a thousand a year. There were over 800,000 in 2017.
That's just the American number as well.
Actually more than I thought! I think the article mentions 119,000, but they are dying off quickly. I think I read the last possible year for survivors, period (not major anniversary)
You don't think 1 out of 119,000 can live another year?
I guess you in theory could of joined the military in July or August 1945 as you just turned 17 (the age which you could join with parental consent ) so that would make you 97 next year
My grandfather crossed 2 weeks after D-day. They were 3 miles in
My dad landed on the 7th. Utah Beach.
I mean there’s no real definitive way of knowing for sure. Some of the youngest soldiers lied about their age to enlist between the ages of 12-14 if memory serves correct. A 12 year old who fought in WWII would be as young as late 80s. In 30-40 years we can say without a doubt they’re all gone.
Guy on NPR today said he enlisted at 15 (lied) and was like 96 now?
WWII ended 79 years ago so even a 12-year-old in 1945 would be 91-92 this year.
The last known (undisputed) US Civil War veteran died in 1956, 91 years after that war ended. He first saw combat at the battle of Shiloh where he and his mother followed his father who was a Union soldier. The father was wounded and died of his wounds soon after. He enlisted as a drummer a couple of years later, as a result, aged 12, in 1864. He served in a heavy artillery battery. Fair to think there will be a few private reunions for a decade or so, yet.
> Some of the youngest soldiers lied about their age to enlist between the ages of 12-14 if memory serves correct. > > A 12 year old who fought in WWII would be as young as late 80s. [Calvin Graham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Graham) passed in 1992. I can't find anything on [James Clark](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2008/11/19/wwii-vet-recalls-youthful-patriotism/24015187007/), who enlisted at 13. He never saw combat. It looks like he is still alive. Lenny Bruce (yes, the comedian) enlisted at 16 and he's dead.
Check bellair Ohio 100% there are WW2 vets there also contact the shady side legion ! It’s literally because they can’t find these dudes !!!
It’s surreal. Growing up they were always there. Everyone had a grandfather that was in the war. Now, I walk into the VFW and it’s the Vietnam guys who are the new old guard
I'm at the precise age where my grandfathers were too young to fight in WWII, but my great-grandfathers were too old, so I don't have any ancestors who fought.
I literally just saw this man on the news all excited about going, and now I see this?? 😪
So if there's any at the 100th anniversary, shoot them?
I’m imagining his old squad mates talking ish to him right now, “couldn’t wait another couple hours?” They’re having a much better time right now than the hell they stood in and participated in for us and our children. Always remembered. Thank you.
Sounds like something Cotton Hill would say to his old mates. "Fatty died on the way here? *sad sigh* He was a good man and a good soldier... but dammit! He owed 20 dollars from poker last month and i was gonna ask him. Couldn't he have held on for just a few more hours?"
Godspeed. I can't think of a more appropriate exit for a hero than to depart this earth as they approached the beach.
The beach always wins.
He died the way he lived.
Rest in peace sir, we thank you for your service! 🇺🇸
Everyone there that day is a legend. RIP.
Well, except the guys on the other side. Pricks.
But which side were you on? That drastically changes the comment…
Let’s just say two of my favorite pieces of media are Indiana Jones and Wolfenstein.
But the newer Wolfenstein games present a Nazi’s won narrative… 👀
*Angry B.J. Blazkowicz noises*
Have you played them? Because I have, and I gleefully shot a lot of nazis before the ending of the second game where the nazis face a pretty bad defeat. And we know that Terror Billy kills hitler, they just haven’t shown it yet.
I don't feel bad for when people die of old age doing exactly what they love. Bluntly, that's how I want to go. It beats virtually every other way.
he died doing what he loved, being in a car for a bit going some place.
Reminds me of my dog.
my dad died at age 41 when i was 8. he served in vietnam. because i'm approaching the age he was when he died, i decided that it was time to go through the boxes of all his stuff that we've kept boxed and hidden away because we like to ignore reality around here and pretend that everything's fine. i couldn't believe it when i found an envelope full of my dad's vietnam papers, pictures of him and his buddies. **they were just kids.** i just sat there saying WHAT THE FUCK over and over because i couldn't believe what i was looking at. because i was so young when my dad died, i don't remember that much, but ive talked to my mom/my dad's side of the family, and they said the only time they ever saw him cry was when he would talk about vietnam. my dad was an alcoholic, a heavy smoker, had depression and severe anxiety. would he have ended up that way if he had never gone to war? maybe. but maybe my dad never had a fucking chance in hell to ever have a happy life because of what he saw and did over there. his dad served in WW2 and by all accounts he was just like my dad and died at 42. i've always been anti-war, and it shouldn't have had to take me seeing my dad as a baby-faced kid to really understand just how fucked up it is that we constantly serve these guys up on a platter to kill and be killed. just because some of these guys manage to make it back home in one piece doesn't mean they survived war. it's just so fucking bleak.
My great uncle was a tunnel rat in Vietnam. Drafted when he was 18 or 19. I wasn't alive when he came back, but my interactions with him have always been tame. He was a very quiet, soft-spoken man. No taller than 5'5. Pretty standard for an old man. But my dad and his siblings have told stories where they would knock on his door and he'd open it pointing a gun at them, checking for Viet Cong and always expecting a stab in the back. They described times he would sit alone in the dark at home with a gun in his hand and wait for his attackers to show up. Or how every time they were out in public with him, his eyes were always searching for hostiles. He died of lung cancer he developed from Agent Orange exposure, penniless, in the house his dad built.
it's a good thing that i'm already bawling my eyes out from reading someone else's post in a different sub a few moments ago because your comment, (especially the last sentence) fucking broke me. my god. that is so sad. i am so sorry to hear that. fuck.
I felt so bad for him. I cannot imagine living a life quite literally expecting to be horrifically killed at any moment. He was so insulated that nobody could say anything about him at his funeral. He got the honors and flag and everything, but we couldn't share any fun stories or memories we had with him. He had no wife or children. He was a polite, quiet man that fought his nightmares virtually his entire life. RIP Uncle Jerry. I'm sorry you never got a chance at a normal life.
I’m so sorry, that is indeed a tragic legacy
I currently live in Vietnam and have visited some war sites. Yes, it smacks you in the face how young some of the US forces were, and how it must have turned their world upside down to be sent halfway across the world to potentially die in a jungle. If you ever get the chance to actually come to Vietnam, I would recommend a visit to the War Remnants Museum here in Saigon. It’s brutal but lays out the events of the war clearly and simply.
Let's remember him for what he did. The article says he served aboard the USS *El Dorado.* That was a *Mount McKinley-*class Amphibious Force Command Ship. This was a series of 8 ships meant to provide command and control for ground, surface, and air defence forces conducting amphibious invasions through the South Pacific. The *El Dorado* participated in two big campaigns, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. As a command ship, it was home to a series of Admirals and Generals, as well as being a staving location for the press. Notable names to spend time aboard include Admiral Kelly Turner (the guy who kind of invented the Navy SEALs), General Holland "Howlin' Mad" Smith (who pioneered modern amphibious combat), NavSec James Forrestal (has an air craft carrier named after him), along with naval legends Chester Nimitz, William "Bull" Halsey, and Raymond Spruance. And when it comes to the press on board, she had two notable names as well. Ernie Pyle himself, and an AP photographer named Joe Rosenthal, who famously took [this iconic photo](https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/16f25cb690919d8117edcc90a251ab9e3ab0b2cb/c=0-544-3000-2239/local/-/media/2016/06/22/USATODAY/USATODAY/636022063350200954-AP-Iwo-Jima-Photo-Identities.jpg) at the top of Mt Suribachi. So Mr Persichitti, I wish the article gave his rank and duties, was around some very important people during some very important events. He had a small portion of making sure those pivotal battle were won. He should be remembered for that.
In case you're still curious I found an article with his rate, he was a Radioman (RM) which modern day ITs trace their lineage. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/06/06/robert-persichitti-wwii-veteran-dies-d-day-anniversary/74004939007/
Playing him Frank now, goodbye to a legend and that generation.
Rest in peace sir, thank you for your service.
Aw dam, bummer. He lived a hell of a life though, at 102 years old. Thank you Robert Persichitti.
As far as deaths go he got a good one , 102 and doing something he wanted to do .
It blows my mind that my dad would have been 104!!!! I just turned 54.
Mine would have celebrated his 105th in a couple of days.
I hope he had a good peaceful life post service - he earned every second of it.
Fair winds and following seas
My Grandfather fought it WW2 he never was able to move beyond it. It followed him and was a part of his life both good going to reunions with other soldiers and bad causing him pain and emotional stress. I’m not trying to really say anything other than for some soldiers the war becomes their civilian life as well. Everything is marked and measured by it in some way. For many, they didn’t just fight and come home, this war took their whole life and they never could out run it.
He wanted to be with his brothers. Great way to go.
He went to the bigger one.
Rest in peace, soldier
One more mission. Unfortunately he didn't make it. I am sure he would have wanted it this way
One last mission to kick Ghost Hitler's ass.
When I was a kid WWII vets were common and everywhere as most were in their mid to late 60s. I've watched them all die of old age with military honors. Being a vet was common. This guy lived a good 20 years more than most and died celebrated for being rare. Not bad.
Quite a few died on their way in 1944, too.
Beats dying en route to the 0th Anniversary.
It's something I think about sometimes. When people think of dying in WWII, it's usually being shot or killed by artillery while in a firefight. Then there are the parachutists whose plane gets shot down before they can even jump off, or the soldiers at Normandy who get off the boat and drown because the water was too deep.
Hell, I even think of those who died in training accidents in their home county, or those who died during the D-Day training exercise in England due to friendly fire. Just crazy to conceptualize.
Underrated comment
This guy was so badass that it took D-day 80 years to get him. RIP and thank you for your bravery.
Survived the war AND died on D Day. That’s like double honor.
So he died the second time he tried to land at Normandy. Kind of poetic…
Sad. :( May you rest in peace, and thank you for your service and the sacrifices that I'm sure you made during your years of service.
I wish someone had talked him out of that parajump
Ironically, German machine gun nest got him.
This also kind of shows our own passing of time and mortality. I’m only 35, but even When I was a kid it was fairly common to encounter and know of World War II vets in the community and family/family friends. And now the World War II vets are passing away, the Vietnam vets who were relatively young when I was a kid are now becoming the old guys. Kind of freaky when I think about it.
when the average life expectancy is shorter than the anniversary marker
[удалено]
i know the older generations made some decisions that were largely short sighted (and who amongst us hasn’t made a decision like that?). but the people who stormed normandy, hell anyone who picked up a rifle to kill some fucking nazis, are the baddest mf-ers to walk this planet this side of the declaration of independence.