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Thanks for a great story. A lot of WW2 vets never wanted to talk about the things they witnessed and participated in in the "Great War." I am named after my father's oldest bachelor brother who enlisted in December '41. He was a tank driver all across N. Africa, Sicily, and later the Bulge and was wounded the last time crossing into Germany close to the end. He never talked about his experiences, but I knew he had a box of medals and other stuff including a P-38 and a Luger he sent home during the war. He gave me all his military mementos when I was about 13. I used to ride the bus to Arizona and spend time with him. I did know he qualified for 100% disability, but never claimed a dime and refused Veteran's hospital benefits after 1946.
I have always been a history buff, so I went researching his military records. He was hospitalized 4 times and after Sicily for 5 months. He received 3 Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and 2 unit citations. Yet he never shared any of these events with his Mother, siblings or the nephews who asked about his experiences. Just before he died, he was in the hay field cutting hay for me and it rained us out. We were sitting in the truck and he said that he never shared his experiences because they were too painful. It seems he lost all of his crew four times in the war. I had never seen him cry, but he did that day.

They were and are truly America's GREATEST GENERATION. May God Bless all those gone and those remaining.