Besides my grandpa the coolest veteran I met was when I was working my own business in Indiana. One of the people I did work for about twice a month was a Korean war veteran. He got in at the tail end of WWII and was on MacArthur's honour guard in Tokyo. He tells a very different story of Mac than did my grandpa but I digress as I've mentioned all that before. Anyways he was a "lazy shiftless bastard" by his own account and when some guy came around looking for volunteers for a new outfit he volunteered thinking it would be easier than standing outside Mac's office all day popping to attention every five minutes with all the brass floating about.

Ends up he joined some new Army Raider unit, precurser to special forces. HA! He ended up loving it as he wasn't bored anymore. He went on to earn a couple scars, a few medals and always had two cups of coffee worth of stories each visit. He had a presence about him that even as he sat smiling so congenial you felt like you should be standing at parade rest while he spoke.

It was his stories that helped prompt my foray into China.

I know what you mean PJ.

One ANZAC day (A national remembrance day for all veterans here in Australia) A Corporal friend of mine was the last one out of a group of mates at a pub, this old soldier covered in medals came and sat down near him and they began talking. The guy had been to Korea and Vietnam, he also had a strange accent for an Australian soldier that my mate noticed. Towards the end of the night my mate asked him which medal means the most to him, the guy put his hand down his shirt a little and pulled out a red and black ribbon with an iron cross on it!

My grandfather who was an Iranian Army Sgt and also served with American troops during the WW II in South of Iran and later became the driver of Colonel Shwarzkopf (Father of Gen. Schwarzkopf of the desert storm) in Tehran in 1940s

He had lots of stories about how nice Americans were during their time in Iran

Other than him, I have met couple of Vietnam vets whom I respect alot

I had also met with a Canadian WW II vet while I was doing some sort of voluntary job at a seniors center in Canada and he had funny stories about how terrible British tanks were during the African campaign

I guess that will have to be:
Sergeant Len. E. Waters, 3rd Divisions Lincshire regiment; 4804527 (MM)

I met him when I drove to Normandy for the 60th memorial of D-day. From Rouen untill Cherbourg all hotels and motels were jammed with vets, family and enthousiasts like me. I was redirected to this one hotel were there was still place and had a beer in the lounge. All of a sudden there were 3 paratrooper vets with their wifes and we started to talk. Len (as I was allowed to call him) jumped to liberate to first French village. He talked deep into the night drinking a couple of beers. I had brought my books and maps and he pointed everything out, telling story after story. Then he told me that he didn't want to go to the actual ceremony in Ranville because of the emotions.
Since all the roads would be blocked by gendarmes (Bush, Lizzy, Chirac, Blair.. the lot would be in Caen) there was no way I could get near the cemetary. Then Len gave me his Vet-pass and told me to stick behind the vet bus. The bus and I were let through untill Ranville and I spent the remainder of the day with these Vets. I have nothing but the utmost respect for these men.
The second vet was William Ball from Wales. I had to privilege of meeting him at the 55th commemoration of Arnhem. After the moving ceremony at the cemetary he just stayed seated for a long time. When I asked if everything was okay or whether I could help, he said he was fine. He just wanted some time with his brother. And the it struck me that he was sitting next to the grave of Pft. Henry Ball, killed 55 years before...

I never knew my grandfather, but from what I heard he was unable to talk about the horrors he had seen. As a kid he fought in WW I and as an adult he fought in WW II. He lost both his uncles in the Great War and nearly lost his own on more then one occasion. He died a broken man and is buried in his birth village in Schleswig Holstein. His medals were passed down to my cousin who still serves in the German army for the past 20 years.

My Grandfather,and Great Uncle are without a doubt the greatest Veterans
I have ever known!

My Grandfather was a tough man,I know he along with his Wife raised me
from the time I was about 7.
My Great uncle was a great man also he was more laid back and we watched
sports a bunch!

Gramp was at Omaha Beach second wave D-Day. Then at different locations
including Battle of the Bulge,The Seigfreid Line, St Lo where he was a Tank Driver
with the 11th Armored Division. Tank Destroyer Battalion(Seek Strike Destroy)

My Great Uncle was a Medic with a Unit called the ''Railsplitters" I know he
was almost captured once. I have a Awesome picture from ''Stars&Stripes"
which he saved and some guys are rounding a corner with supplies.One of
the men pictured is him. Don't know much else about what he did he talked
of some fun times also.

That is my answer.

I don't remember his name ... but ... there was an E-5 Sgt I met when I was stationed in Korea ... he looked like he was over a hundred years old and had been ridden hard and put away wet. You know the type.

He always was soft spoken, never had a bad word for anyone or any thing. He used to use up many ruled pads of paper doing Advanced Calculus and higher mathematical problems involving nuclear energy as a hobby. You could never get him to watch any war movie no matter the war or the era depicted. This used to cause me to wonder just what his problem was ... I often saw signs that he had some terrible nightmare riding him.

One clear summer night, he and I had imbibed a rather large quantity of John Jamison's Irish Whiskey Sours and were feeling no pain ... while occupying the same cement-lined water trench just outside our hooch (after deciding it was as good a place as any to take a break), he and I got into a discussion about combat and combat related issues.

At this time he had been on active duty for over 37 years and was NOT looking forward to retirement. He told me that when he did retire, he was going to return to Korea because he didn't believe he would be able to return to a civilian life in the United States. It seems that he could not retain rank for very long ... his personal nightmares caused him to go on to extended bouts of drinking and when he was at his worst he had a tendency to get into fights and then ended up getting busted AGAIN. At one time, he had reached the rank of E9 (highest enlisted rank), only to get into a fight with some officer - he busted the officers jaw and the Army busted him to E4. I basically said I didn't believe him - the Army would have kicked him out of the service for busting an officer's jaw. He "informed" me that it would never happen ... he was a Medal of Honor recipient. It seems he was one of the soldiers that was captured at Corregidor and was forced to go on a little stroll - they called it the Bataan Death March. He didn't explain what he had done to earn the medal however and I didn't ask.

To say that I didn't really believe him would be putting it very mildly. When I said something to that effect ... he asked me "Why do you think the 'Old Man' salutes me instead of the other way around? I was speechless - it have never entered my mind ... after all, what does a 17 year old know about anything. That's right, I had just turned 17 and was in Korea ... away from home for the very first time.

I shall always remember this kind gentleman who had the patience to take a lonely 17 year old under his wings and teach him what it meant to be a real American. After all of these years, I have quite forgotten what his name was (if I ever knew), all I could remember was calling him Sarge.

Before you say how sad ... I heard that he had taken his retirement and did exactly what he said he was going to do. He moved to Korea, married a Korean woman and opened a tea-house ... a 'real' Korean tea-house ... not a Military hangout. I don't know if he is still alive ... I would like to think he was.

Those here who know me, know that my answer is my dad. His story is already told here if you do a search under "My leatherneck dad" as the thread title.

I have to friends who are both prior service cadets. One was 101st Airborne in Iraq during Iraqi Freedom, and my other buddy was with an airborne engineering battalion first in Afgahnistan and then in Iraq. These guys are pretty hard core, highly motivated troopers.

My grandfather is number one.
2nd coolest... that'd go to Captain Kearney. What champion. Two tours of Vietnam... once as a platoon sergeant and 2nd as a platoon commander, and the most fascinating person to talk to.

I have a couple

My family hired a handyman his name who was the right weist gunner on a B-17 Group based in England. He had particapted in some of the nastier raids into Germany such as Schwienfurt. I member him telling us about the German Flak and the fact the the ME-109s would pass so close he could actually see the German pilots face.

My Great Uncle (french side of the family) was a aerial photographer/gunner on a French Potez recon aircraft. He recounts being intercepted by 2 BF-109s during the 'Phoney War' while he was on a mission over the border, but fortunatly the German fighters merely extended a greeting. They assumed a escort position for alittle ways then wagged their wings (said goodbye) and flew off. Oddly enough a year later his unit was on board the transport St.Didier fleeing France for Syria when it was torpedoed and sunk by the RAF. There were then strafed in the water by a RAF Blenhiem. He was interned by the Turks for a year, before returning to France where he was in the resistence (as a photographer), narrowing escaping a Gastapo raid in 1944.

My French gransfather was in the French Infantry was made a POW after the fall of France. He made a escape by claiming he contracted TB. The camp was run by Austrians who hated the Germans who were more than happy to look the other way and send him home.