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This story is kind of a choker:




http://www.ijreview.com/2014/03/119975-took-wwii-widow-68-years-find-missing-husband-hero/

Wow. Just wow. Fething allergies, man.

Blue skies, Lieutenant.

You know, it's really refreshing to see that there are still people out there that care about the sacrifice that men like Lt. Harris has made for the betterment of this now disgusting world.

Why is the world more disgusting now than it was 70 years ago?

 purplefood wrote:
Why is the world more disgusting now than it was 70 years ago?

Because back then everyone hid it behind closed doors, and institutionalized racism was in full swing.

Well, im going to go into my room and do stuff that isnt realted to cry, If yu hear sobbing, that is just me laughing. Im not cry, nope not at all

They were a good looking couple. RIP.

RIP

I was very fortunate to have all my family members make it back so its easy to forget about those families who have missing members :(

I think these days people get too hung up about the whole "we saved you/we didn't need your help" crap.

I am personally glad the world united against Nazi Germany and in doing so ensured the lives of many were saved.

So a very warm British handshake to all service men who made the world a safer place!

Forgive my lack of insight but I don't really see how this man is a war hero. From the video all that happened was he nearly crashed into a village after being shot down, whether he consciously chose to avoid the village after being shot down is unknown.

Unless of course all combatants of the second world war are heroes, which I feel dilutes the meaning of the word a touch.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Unless of course all combatants of the second world war are heroes, which I feel dilutes the meaning of the word a touch.

Just those that die, I think.

Even restricting the definition to those that died isn't enough really. There were certainly heroes in the second world war, men and women who achieved incredible things through self-sacrifice or raw determination, but I don't feel this man really deserves that honour.

Ok, I filed this thread away as one to check out at home when I could watch the video, but with Corpsesarefun's comments I am curious what this story is about. Could someone provide a quick summary for the work blocked?

Women told huasband was MIA, thrown through hoops for 68 years. Turns out he a buried in normandy and she didnt know. He has a street named after him in a small village, for his efforts for stearing a plane(His) away from the town.

The story is about the widow of a pilot that was declared MIA during WWII, she repeatedly tried to find out what happened to him but various people just told her that nobody knew. Eventually the cousin of the pilot decided to get to the bottom of things for the widow's sake and discovered that he was KIA rather than MIA, his plane was shot down just outside of a small village in france where a street is now named after him. He is currently buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial where his widow sends him flowers ten times a year.

The widow says "I like to imagine he was conscious when the villagers found him" but nobody has any way of knowing that he was conscious or even alive after being hit, it's entirely possible that the plane just happened to land in the woods next to the village without the pilot deliberately flying it that way.

Thanks.

In a situation like this one I think it is easier to want to believe that this pilot "did the right thing" by steering away from the village in order to prevent civilian casualties. We shall never know, but given the chaos of warfare it is nice to imagine flickers of humanity triumphing during times of tragedy.

I feel for the widow. If he had been listed as MIA for so long, no doubt she retained hope of seeing him again one day. Imagining decades of waiting without ever really knowing the fate of your loved one is just heartbreaking.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

In a situation like this one I think it is easier to want to believe that this pilot "did the right thing" by steering away from the village in order to prevent civilian casualties.

Hitting buildings would also have done little for his chances of survival.

Personally I think that the term 'war hero' has lost nearly all meaning these days.

In any case I don't really believe that avoiding the village would make him a hero, just a decent human being.

 Palindrome wrote:

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

In a situation like this one I think it is easier to want to believe that this pilot "did the right thing" by steering away from the village in order to prevent civilian casualties.

Hitting buildings would also have done little for his chances of survival.

True. But survival and preventing collateral damage do not need to be mutually exclusive, either. Perhaps he had both in mind as he guided the plane down, or neither. Not knowing what really occurred doesn't change the outcome, and perhaps that uncertainty should lead to us giving the benefit of doubt to this man.

What does it matter if the guy did it on purpose or not? We'll never know. People like the idea that he did something noble in his last remaining seconds, just let them have it.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Even restricting the definition to those that died isn't enough really. There were certainly heroes in the second world war, men and women who achieved incredible things through self-sacrifice or raw determination, but I don't feel this man really deserves that honour.

If the video is any indicator, the people in the village definitely look at him as a hero. They have a road named after him and according to what was said, they have a three times a year ceremony in part to commemorate him. The mayor's voice started cracking when she gets to his name.
I don't know the full story from this video of why they think so highly of him. My guess is that they were largely greatful to everybody that came into France from other countries to liberate it from the Nazis, and he was in a position to reap that villages full and unadultarated gratitude.

I think the video was deliberately shot to play up his hero status in that town to be honest, he was just one of the names part way through the ceremony after all.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
I think the video was deliberately shot to play up his hero status in that town to be honest, he was just one of the names part way through the ceremony after all.

Ultimately then, it's a feel good fluff piece. What's the harm in letting people feel good off of it?

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
I think the video was deliberately shot to play up his hero status in that town to be honest, he was just one of the names part way through the ceremony after all.

You seem convinced this guy wasn't a hero, but I have to parrot what Medium of Death's comment and ask, what does it matter really?

This isn't a case where some doofus is trying to claim war hero status in order to get free drinks in a bar or milk people out of money. A town is honoring this soldier for an act which they deem important. Let the poor guy and his widow have the recognition that is surely little solace for the missed lifetime they would have had together if he hadn't died during the war.

Honestly I'd do more research than a 10 minute video that isn't even aiming to be a documentary before passing judgement on "if he's a hero or not".


There might be far far more to this tale than we think.

There are a lot of roads in Normandy named after fallen servicemen; so that isn't a unique thing.

I'm glad she was finally able to find this out though; regardless.

A 2 second google of the pilot's name got me this. A written article that gives much more information.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:


You seem convinced this guy wasn't a hero, but I have to parrot what Medium of Death's comment and ask, what does it matter really?

This isn't a case where some doofus is trying to claim war hero status in order to get free drinks in a bar or milk people out of money. A town is honoring this soldier for an act which they deem important. Let the poor guy and his widow have the recognition that is surely little solace for the missed lifetime they would have had together if he hadn't died during the war.

It bothers me that the word hero is thrown around so much that it loses all meaning, it seems to devalue the achievements of those that genuinely are war heroes.

Define a "genuine" war hero.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:


You seem convinced this guy wasn't a hero, but I have to parrot what Medium of Death's comment and ask, what does it matter really?

This isn't a case where some doofus is trying to claim war hero status in order to get free drinks in a bar or milk people out of money. A town is honoring this soldier for an act which they deem important. Let the poor guy and his widow have the recognition that is surely little solace for the missed lifetime they would have had together if he hadn't died during the war.

It bothers me that the word hero is thrown around so much that it loses all meaning, it seems to devalue the achievements of those that genuinely are war heroes.

To me, anyone with the balls to do their duty while facing the possibility of being killed or permanently maimed at any second is a hero.

By that definition, almost every combatant in any war is a hero. In which case the word you're looking for is "soldier" rather than "hero".

Tibbsy wrote:
There are a lot of roads in Normandy named after fallen servicemen; so that isn't a unique thing.

I'm glad she was finally able to find this out though; regardless.

A 2 second google of the pilot's name got me this. A written article that gives much more information.

This sums up my feelings really, it's nice that the widow had some closure but there is very little special about this man. I see little reason for there to be a piece about him rather than any other individual on either side that was shot down in that region.

Tibbsy wrote:
There are a lot of roads in Normandy named after fallen servicemen; so that isn't a unique thing.

I'm glad she was finally able to find this out though; regardless.

A 2 second google of the pilot's name got me this. A written article that gives much more information.

That was pretty heavy stuff there. Thanks for the link.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
By that definition, almost every combatant in any war is a hero. In which case the word you're looking for is "soldier" rather than "hero".

Tibbsy wrote:
There are a lot of roads in Normandy named after fallen servicemen; so that isn't a unique thing.

I'm glad she was finally able to find this out though; regardless.

A 2 second google of the pilot's name got me this. A written article that gives much more information.

This sums up my feelings really, it's nice that the widow had some closure but there is very little special about this man. I see little reason for there to be a piece about him rather than any other individual on either side that was shot down in that region.

It's just an illustration of how people see things differently.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
By that definition, almost every combatant in any war is a hero. In which case the word you're looking for is "soldier" rather than "hero".
.

We could use the logic that anyone who goes to war can be considered a hero.