Coolest veteran you met?

JulesLee

Active member
The coolest Veteran i ever met was Capt. "Rosie" Nolan.. He was in the 101st airborne in WW2 and he served in Korea as an officer.

Man his so cool! lol! I heard his story 2 times! He talks to kids in highschool and etc. :pray:
lol my friend wants to join the Army and asked him questions but he had some outdated answers..

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added picture~
 
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We had a store man in our unit, he was not a big man who went under the name of Joe Millward. He had won the MM at Arnhem, the section that he was with had come under fire from a group of German Tanks and they were out of Anti Tank ammunition and they sitting out in front of their trenches shelling them to bits. When his pal was killed next to him he grabbed a sten gun and charged the tanks while also under fire from machine gun fire and rifle fire from supporting German troops. He reached the the first tank and climbed up on it and he then poked the barrel of the sten gun trough a observation slit and let lose a full magazine. the bullets ricocheting around inside the tank killed the crew, he then charged the second tank and did the same thing and again to the third. Having knocked out all the tanks he raced back to his lines and arrived unharmed. It was suggested he should have got the VC, but to get this his actions need to have been witnessed by an officer and as they were all dead the word of of the Senior NCO and the men carried no weight, so it was MM.
 
One of my history teachers was a Green Beret in vietnam, also a fire breathing conservative. He keeps his opnions out of class though. :)
 
I've met an interesting vet once. He enlisted at 18 years of age in the German Army in Sept of 1939, fought until Berlin in April 1945 and surrendered to American Forces. In 1947 he moved to the USA and enlisted in the US Army. He fought in Korea and later Vietnam.

He had many stories, from fighting French forces and Russian forces in WWII to fighting communist Chinese Troops in Korea and the VC in Vietnam.

I met him while I was working as a store secuirty at a local mall during my junior year of high school. He was a Secuirty Guard of a another store and during lunch. We'd talk and I would hear his stories. The man has seen combat in very part of the world expect in Western Hemisphere.

He's a true soldier. Not a patriot but just a natural warrior. Infact, if he was my age today. He would more than likely be working for Blackwater Secuirty as a Merc in Iraq right now.
 
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I've been to a couple of my father's reunions for the company he served with in Vietnam. You meet some pretty amazing guys there.

The "coolest" award goes to my Grandfather, though. He lied about his age to enlist in the Army, but just missed WWII. After a few years he went through OCS (one of the very few to do so without a college diploma, and the last I believe). I don't have his entire service record in front of me, but he spent thirty years in the service and came out a colonel.

He did a stint in the infantry in Korea before coming back to the states and earning this patch:
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Not too long after that it was off to Vietnam with the 307th. He also spent a couple years TAD in Colombia helping build their infrastructure a bit.
 
I was lucky in that when I joined in 1962, a lot of WWII and Korean vets were still serving. My first Top was a survivor of the Bataan death march. I worked for a former POW from the VietNam war. He was a Navy pilot and was shot down in about 1963 or 64 and was in the Hanoi Hilton during the bombing campaign of Hanoi. He said when the bombers were finished, the guards would come and hang the guys up with their wrists tied behind their backs. If you were lucky, when your shoulders popped out of their sockets, you would pass out.

His name is Bob Naughton and he was the Commander of the Grand Prairie Naval Reserve base. He took retirement and came to work at the company I worked for at the time. It never really dawned on me that he was a Commander (if that's what Navy Colonels are) until he had to wear his uniform in to work one day. He was fighting for 70% disability because of his shoulders and was to appear before a medical board somewhere. He was such an easy going guy and friendly that you would never think he had gone through so much.

I worked for him about two years and got a few stories out of him. What surprised me is he wasn't vindictive toward his captors and said "well, that's one of the dangers of living overseas." I think he was shot down in a F4 during a bridge bombing mission.

Here's the official data on him.
NAUGHTON, ROBERT JOHN
Name: Robert John Naughton
Rank/Branch: O3/United States Navy
Unit: VA 113
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Cedar Rapids IA
Date of Loss: 18 May 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 213500 North 1054200 East
Category: Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A4C
Missions: 194
Other Personnel in Incident: none

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews.
REMARKS: 730304 RELEASED BY DRV

ROBERT J. NAUGHTON
Lieutenant Commander- United States Navy
Shot Down: May 18, 1967
Released: March 4, 1973

I am a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and am married to Peggy McCarty
Naughton. Peggy was a Regional and State Coordinator for the National League
of Families and served as State President of the Iowans Care for POW/MIA
organization. I am proud of the efforts she put forth publicly in behalf of
the POW/MIA's while raising our three sons, Kevin, age 10, Timothy, age 9,
and Michael, age 8. She also earned her Master of Science Degree during my
absence.

I was graduated from Loras College, Dubuque, lowa in 1960 with a B.A. degree
in Mathematics. While attending Loras I was a member of the varsity
basketball team.

At the time I was shot down over North Vietnam, I was attached to Attack
Squadron 113, flying an A4C from the carrier USS Enterprise. I was captured
on May 18, 1967 a few miles north of Than Hoa, North Vietnam.

The most profound effect of my early days of capture consisted of a
realization that for the first time in my life I was completely on my own.
All the training I had received was now behind me, and, possibly for a long
time, no one would be coming to my aid. When we found ourselves in trouble
in America, we could count on being given the benefit of the doubt or on a
little kindness. Now, in prison, it was entirely up to me to perform and I
could not expect any breaks.

The lesson of humility was very difficult for me to accept. It was not easy
for a man to admit that he was not as tough as he imagined. But, once
accepted, this truth opened a door of knowledge to self introspection that
few people have known outside of a prisoner of war situation. I feel the
nearly six years spent in personal introspection was my greatest gain. I was
able to establish a hierarchy of values, to determine what is important in
life, to gain an insight as to what motivates me, and to achieve an
appreciation for life itself, the value of time, the worth of education, and
the beauty of being loved and to love. Some of these values were given to me
by my fellow prisoners, either by example or through thought provoking
discussions.

When we POW's say faith sustained us, I am speaking of three types of
confidence: first, the assurance that the United States of America valued
our lives and would make every effort to retrieve us; secondly, the trust we
had in ourselves as a unit; and finally, the inspiration we realized from
the man next to us. This inspiration came in the form of a kind word when
one's spirits were low, an example of strength of character, or perhaps, as
a model of uncomplaining suffering.

For me, prayer took on a new dimension. I came to realize God could not
answer my selfish requests without upsetting the normal course of events in
the world. But He never failed me when I sought courage and strength to face
the inevitable.

We POW's and the people of the United States have endured many hardships
during the war in Vietnam. My hope now is that we POW's are not the only
ones who accomplished some serious thinking. If Americans can apply the
lessons learned to intelligently determine which direction our country will
move, and then, enthusiastically embrace the responsibility all citizens
have to support those leaders with whom they agree, I am confident our gains
will far exceed any losses.

December 1996
Robert Naughton retired from the United States Navy as a Captain. He and his
wife Peggy reside in Texas.
 
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My Dad was Army SF in Vietnam and though he died when I was just a kid, I still look up to him and try to fill the large footprints he left not only for me personally, but professionally as well.

I've been in a room where I was the tallest, biggest guy and still felt as small as a child when talking to WWII Paratroopers and Rangers.
 
I met one of Medal of Honor who fought on Iwo Jima. It is cool to met the man who earned Medal of Honor.
 
PJ24 said:
I've been in a room where I was the tallest, biggest guy and still felt as small as a child when talking to WWII Paratroopers and Rangers.

I know exactly what you mean. When I first joined the American Legion, there were some of the older guys left or we would have a guest speaker. We young punks would listen with our mouths open when a stooped little old guy was telling of four years of battles in the Pacific or Europe. They were ten feet tall to me.:salute2:
 
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.
 
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.
 
Grandfather,and Great Uncle

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.
 
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I don't remember his name ... but ...

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.
 
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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.
 
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