The Tangled Branch Discussion Forums

Indar's poem about her father's wartime experiences brought this back to the surface.  Written a year or so ago when I found myself remembering one of Dad's rare insights into his war in The Royal Navy.  Normally he glossed over the memories, but sometimes he lifted the curtain briefly on a particular image.

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Choices

Men in the water
smothered by burning oil
as their ship sinks 
and the U-boats seek fresh prey.

Praying, as the convoy scatters,
some nameless gunner will ask permission
to put the poor sods out of their misery,
and some captain has the balls to say yes.

Gyppo

Wrenching Gyppo,
Circumstances might change but these realities do not.

My uncle drove a tank up through Italy under Patton.  He only told one story that I remember.

In a nutshell:  tank hit, fire, my uncle climbs up and out, reaches back down in to pull the gunner out b/c he's wounded.  Tank explodes, throws Fred about 20 feet. When he stands up, all he has is the guy's arm.  

 

They had a difficult time talking about it but we should.