SwiftVets.com

[ADJ2]

It has been several days since I last posted on the board.
After watching the news today of the opening of the WWII Memorial,
I was reminded how great the men who went to war to keep our country free were.

The nation needs to look at the reason we have gone to war in the past and the reason we are at war today.

Their are those in this world that would destroy the American way of life.
They will use any means possible to achieve this end.

Only the strong resolve of the American fighting men and women have kept this from happening.

When wars have been fought we have needed strong leaders to stand in front and lead us to victory. George Bush is this type of leader.

After 9-11 President Bush stood with my brother and sister firefighters in New York and pledged to them he would not let the world forget their sacrifice and that we would exact revenge for this despicable act.

He has kept his word to this firefighter and thousands like me. He deserves my support and he will get it at the poles.

I urge every Vet from all wars and every firefighter to stand with this elite group of warriors and keep John Kerry out of the White House.

ADJ2

[stop kerry]

I hope all Americans will pause and remember the great sacrifices that the WWII vets endured and the 400,000+ who were killed and many more wounded. I believe that many now during the war on terrorism do not feel united like the US was in WWII because of the shared sacrifice all Americans had to endure. I still remember the white lard we had with a red powder mixed in to make it yellow to simulate butter. There was NO BUTTER stateside for civilans and no RUBBER tires could be bought and GAS rationing. People bartered for gas coupons or carpooled. There was little unemployment because almost everyone was in the war effort. We should be proud of ALL veterans of ALL generations because we would not be here without many veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice during their call to duty. Here is an article how some veterans feel about the
memorial.

BY ARNOLD ABRAMS
STAFF WRITER

May 29, 2004


Joseph Randazzo is filled with pride and anticipation.

But, as he prepared to witness the official dedication of the World War II memorial Saturday in Washington, his emotions were tinged with sorrow because of fellow soldiers who won't be there.

"I intend to honor those who didn't come home," said Randazzo, 77, of Lindenhurst, who traveled with veterans and their wives from the Town of Babylon to the nation's capital. "And those who died after the war, too. It's about time this memorial went up."

Almost 60 years after the end of World War II, Randazzo and hundreds of other local veterans made the 250-mile journey to receive a national tribute with their counterparts from other states at the National World War II Monument's dedication.

At the nearly $200 million project, which occupies 7.4 acres on the National Mall, the former soldiers will see President George W. Bush, the ceremony's keynote speaker, standing before the 56 pillars that signify the states and territories of the U.S. in 1945.

The memorial, built mostly with private contributions, has a contemplative atmosphere that includes a sunken stone plaza and reflecting pool flanked by curving colonnades of commemorative pillars.

Planning for the project, which honors 16 million Americans who served or worked on the home front and 400,000 who died in the conflict, began in 1987. What followed was a lengthy battle involving debates, public hearings and numerous legal conflicts about choice of site, quality of design and use of space.

Like the Mall, America has undergone great changes since World War II. Issues like women in the work force, civil rights, gay marriage, integrated troops, the Catholic Church scandal, and, most recently, the Iraqi War have transformed the nation's identity.

The turning point for the memorial's completion came three years ago, when Bush signed legislation nullifying a court challenge and a federal commission's plan for still more public hearings to follow the 20 already held.

The toll taken by the extended passage of time dilutes their satisfaction in the memorial, say veterans on Long Island and across the nation. They are keenly aware, for example, that fewer than a quarter of those who served are still alive.

"Many of the guys are resentful that it took so long," said Al Krietsch, 80, who is with a 56-member contingent from the Nassau-Suffolk chapter of American Ex-Prisoners of War. "We've seen memorials constructed for the Vietnam and Korean Wars, and, while they certainly were deserved, we feel ours should have come first."

Krietsch, who was a paratrooper with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, was dropped with several thousand other troops into the enemy-occupied French countryside hours before the Allies' historic invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

"We were too tired and too busy to be scared," recalled the East Northport resident, who landed outside the town of Sainte Mere-Eglise. Pilot inexperience, bad weather and the fog of war left him, like most paratroopers on that mission, far from the planned destination and separated in small groups from their unit. He was taken several days later north of Normandy.

"We hadn't slept in days, we had very little food and we were being hunted by the Germans," he said. "I don't know how I made it out alive."

When Russian troops reached his prison camp in late April 1945, the joy of freedom meant more to Krietsch than his liberators' ideology.

"Nobody really knows how wonderful freedom is," he said. "But that is what I'll celebrate in Washington."

As will Murray Adler, a fellow ex-POW.

A waist gunner on a B-17, Adler, 80, was blown from the sky after his plane bombed the city of Leipzeig on Feb. 20, 1944. He recalls bailing out of his flaming craft and looking up to see his squadron headed back to its base in England.

He spent the next 14 months in a prison camp, interned until hostilities in Europe ended.

A Bay Shore resident with five grown sons, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Adler, a retired airline mechanic, said his joy at seeing the memorial will be mixed with sadness rooted in the memories of many friends who were killed.

"They're the heroes, and they truly deserve to be there," he said. "I'm just a survivor."

That is how Robert Bucaria feels, too. "It's a matter of luck, plain and simple," said Bucaria, 82, who spent weeks living in foxholes and fighting in the bitter Belgium cold against German soldiers mounting a major counteroffensive in late 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. The enemy action left 77,000 Americans dead or injured.

Bucaria, who served in the 3rd Army, commanded by Gen. George S. Patton, endured a far more serious physical problem late last year, when he underwent heart surgery.

"I'm still recovering from that," said the former Federal Aviation Administration supervisor, who retired in 1994. "But I won't let my condition stop me from attending ... "

Randazzo, who is with the Babylon town contingent, also emerged intact from the Battle of the Bulge. But the machinegunner was shot in the leg several months later during a firefight at Dortmund, a port city in northwest Germany, and was hospitalized for a year.

The retired businessman still suffers from that wound. He walks with a limp, needs an ankle brace and feels constant pain in wet, cold weather.

But this is spring, Washington is warm and he did not plan on walking a great distance. Even if conditions were bad, Randazzo said, he would go.

"I don't know exactly what I'll feel when there," he insisted, "but I wouldn't miss it for anything."
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc. | Article licensing and reprint options




Enter a Category

View List



















Site Search



Quick Picks
Photos of the Day
Calendar Movies
Cartoon Comics
Columns Stocks
Schools Scores

Today's Newsday
T-Rock's Take
Photos: High school playoffs
Poll: Jose Reyes
Poll: Your favorite beach
Can 'Smarty' win Triple Crown?






News Sports Business Entertainment Multimedia Marketplace NY Newsday.com

Long Island | New York City | Nation | World | Health/Science | State | Obituaries | Columnists
Student Briefing | Schools | Crime & Courts | Election 2004 | L.I. Life | Our Towns | Corrections


By visiting this site you agree to the terms of the Newsday.com User Agreement. Read our Privacy Policy.
Copyright © Newsday, Inc. Produced by Newsday Electronic Publishing.
About Us | E-mail directory | How to Advertise