On 6/11/2019 11:03 PM, Nick Sabalausky (Abscissa) wrote:
My grandfather and *at least* one (to my immediate knowledge) of my great uncles
were WW2 veterans. For all I know, they could have been D-Day, or any other
involvement, but nobody in our family would ever know because they made a point
of never talking about it (hence my uncertainty about how many more there may
have been). One of them even declined a major award (purple star or metal of
honor, was never clear on which)...or maybe it was that he was sent one, but
never acknowledged it...either way, same sentiment.
They're both gone now for unrelated old-age reasons, but from what I've been
able to piece together, the idea was that their participation was something that
needed to be done, but should NEVER involve taking pride in - as that would be
an unethical validation of war and the unspeakable actions that it made
necessary. (That, and the whole "true heroes don't survive" thing.) Frankly, I
think that's a rather appropriate attitude to take toward such service.
I understand the sentiment (as much as someone who was never in combat can), and
respect your uncles for taking that path.
