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Today is D Day....67 years ago today my Grandpa
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110%er [7913]
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Today is D Day....67 years ago today my Grandpa
Jun 6, 2011, 8:51 AM
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Charles Campbell was on a beach in France. I can't imagine what he saw that day. He wouldn't ever talk about it until I got older. He went onto fight in the Battle of the Bulge as well in that awful winter. Go watch Band of Brothers if you don't know the story.
My grandpa was my hero for life. He was offered a baseball scholarship to Clemson but his dad wouldn't sign the scholarship because he thought you didn't need to go to college to be successful. So Papa Campbell went to work for Duke Power....interrupted by a war....spent 40 years working for Duke and then retired. My dad passed away when I was a kid and Papa would be my dad growing up. Taught me how to drive, shoot a rifle, gave me my first set of golf clubs, and I moved in with him and took care of him his last few months on earth. A week before he died he pulled me aside and told me...."I'm about to die...is there anything else I can do for you...". Papa passed away strangely enough 17 years ago today....exactly 50 years to the day after Dday. How fortunate I was to have my Papa Campbell. My hero.
Papa you were a real American hero. I'm proud of you.
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CU Medallion [64620]
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Wow...just wow
Jun 6, 2011, 9:01 AM
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What a great story
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110%er [7913]
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thank you friend***
Jun 6, 2011, 9:06 AM
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CU Medallion [64620]
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My grandfather .....
Jun 6, 2011, 10:02 AM
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was was a WWII veteran (sole survivor on the bridge of his ship after sustaining direct hit by Kamikaze pilot
during the Battle of Guadalcanal). Interestingly, he did not really like to talk about those experiences either.
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110%er [7913]
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I bet if we all watched that stuff we wouldn't want to talk
Jun 6, 2011, 10:04 AM
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about it either. Awful awful stuff.
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CU Medallion [64620]
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I suspect you're right about that.***
Jun 6, 2011, 10:05 AM
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All-Pro [666]
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Re: Wow...just wow
Jun 6, 2011, 10:08 AM
[ in reply to Wow...just wow ] |
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That pretty well says it all.
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Standout [334]
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Re: Wow...just wow
Jun 6, 2011, 11:01 AM
[ in reply to Wow...just wow ] |
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My half brother finished Clemson in 1942 two years before I was born. He was commissioned as a second Lt. and came out of WWII a Captain. He was part of the first reinforcements after D-day and fought across Europe with the 8th Army. His commanding officer was General Bob Jones (one of Frank Howard's assistant coaches).My uncle on mother's side was a Major in the signal core in the pacific. My Father was a Battallion Seargant Major during WWI. Neither of them would ever talk much about the war. I had a great uncle who won the Congressional Metal of Honor taking out two German machine gun nests in WWI, & I was a Tank Commander in the late 60's/ early 70's after Clemson.
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110%er [7913]
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a family of true American hero's....thanks for sharing***
Jun 6, 2011, 11:22 AM
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Legend [19208]
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Awesome salute to one of the Greatest Generation!***
Jun 6, 2011, 9:04 AM
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110%er [7913]
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thank you so much***
Jun 6, 2011, 9:07 AM
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CU Medallion [67992]
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Re: Today is D Day....67 years ago today my Grandpa- wow
Jun 6, 2011, 9:18 AM
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and to think most of those young men were 18-21 years old. an amazing feat by those men. heroes all.
you , as you know, were blessed with a wonderful grandad.
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110%er [7913]
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really incredible what these very young men did isnt it?
Jun 6, 2011, 9:20 AM
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you're right...most were babies....parents are worried about sending their kids that age to college...
...how about to the worst war the world has ever seen? I can't imagine.
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CU Medallion [67992]
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really incredible what these very young men did isnt it? YES
Jun 6, 2011, 9:35 AM
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As I get more mature this really gets me because the guys I knew who fought were all mature adults when I knew them as kids. To think they were barely out of high school in most cases is amazing. even today as I know a few young people who do tours in Afganistan and Iraq I am in awe of the courage bravery and selflessness.
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CU Guru [1354]
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Those boys came back as men
Jun 6, 2011, 9:47 AM
[ in reply to really incredible what these very young men did isnt it? ] |
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and made this country the greatest power in the world. I lost all of my great uncles, all vets of WWII, within the last 10 years. My grandfather, a farmer, and the only one who didn't go, was laid to rest on my last day in the Air Force 7 years ago.
If only we had carried on what they started.
God have mercy on their souls.
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110%er [5456]
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Got the goosebumps reading that one...thanks for sharing.***
Jun 6, 2011, 9:19 AM
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MVP [528]
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Solid!***
Jun 6, 2011, 9:20 AM
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110%er [9674]
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Wow. What a great man and a great patriot.
Jun 6, 2011, 9:25 AM
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And a great grandson who appreciated him.
It wasn't until seeing "Saving Private Ryan" that I really stopped to think about what people like your granddad did for the rest of us - and what they faced doing it.
Incredible.
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Junkie [538]
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We never know a group of men as strong as those who
Jun 6, 2011, 9:25 AM
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Fought and died in WWII.
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Orange Blooded [3121]
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Sounds like he was an outstanding man...
Jun 6, 2011, 9:27 AM
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Brought a tear to my eye this morning.
I am sure he is missed.
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CU Medallion [51559]
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Your granddad is my hero.***
Jun 6, 2011, 9:27 AM
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MVP [503]
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Re: Today is D Day....67 years ago today my Grandpa
Jun 6, 2011, 9:29 AM
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My Daddy and his brother were both students and cadets at Clemson College and were both sent to Europe to fight in World War II. Twenty-two and twenty years old respectively. My Daddy was wounded and I have his purple heart. Thankfully both came home.
He passed away in 1988 and his brother in 2004. Never talked much at all about the war. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Husband graduated from Clemson and was then sent to Korea during the Vietnam war. Was not here for our daughter's birth and didn't see her until she was five 1/2 months old.
Please don't ever take the freedoms that we enjoy in this great country of ours for granted. So many have fought for them and died for them.
I never fail to say 'thank you for your service' when I see a soldier.
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110%er [7913]
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you have a family of hero's..thank you for your service***
Jun 6, 2011, 9:33 AM
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Orange Blooded [3178]
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wow ... ya .... that really hit hard
Jun 6, 2011, 9:40 AM
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....got a frog in my throat, LOL
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Orange Blooded [4027]
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Thank you for that wonderful story....
Jun 6, 2011, 9:41 AM
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reminds me a lot of my grandpa. They do not make men like that anymore....we are all blessed to have met great men like that~
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1st Rounder [640]
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What an awesome tribute to your Grandfather!!!!!***
Jun 6, 2011, 9:44 AM
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Heisman Winner [105574]
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That is quite possibly the greatest post I've ever
Jun 6, 2011, 10:04 AM
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seen on tnet. Thanks for sharing
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Orange Blooded [4444]
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Your Grandpa is the type of man that made this country great
Jun 6, 2011, 10:15 AM
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It's sad to think we're losing this great generation.
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Orange Blooded [3442]
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Re: Today is D Day....67 years ago today my Grandpa
Jun 6, 2011, 10:23 AM
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Excellent tribute to one of America's finest. Especially on D-Day, I remember my oldest cousin from G'ville, now deceased, who jumped with the 82nd Airborne. Unfortunately, the drop zone was missed and he and several others in the 508th Parachute Regiment landed in the middle of a German unit. After a couple of days fighting against the odds, he was captured and spent nine months as a POW in Dresden. As someone said, its amazing what a huge group of 17, 18 and 19 year olds did in WWII and all the other conflicts before and since.
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Orange Blooded [2802]
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Thank you for sharing that story.***
Jun 6, 2011, 10:25 AM
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CU Guru [1081]
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What a blessing! Thanks for sharing!***
Jun 6, 2011, 10:31 AM
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CU Medallion [53922]
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Awesome. They were a different breed. My father in law went
Jun 6, 2011, 10:37 AM
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in 3 weeks after D-Day. He was 18 years old and about a buck 35 in weight. ( How many of y'all have sons at Clemson who are 20, and you still think of them as boys.Yep, me too!)He said the day they landed a bomb hit 30 yards in front of their position, then a second 30 yards behind their position, at which time his commanding sergeant yelled," run for cover". My father in law said the beach was considered "secure". He took shrapnel from a bomb that killed his buddy a few feet away, and later the same day got shot through his left arm by a 30 cal. machine gun. HE NEVER HAS ACCEPTED any pay from the U.S. Government for the lifelong injury.
They were and are truly "The Greatest Genration".
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110%er [7913]
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Great American hero!!***
Jun 6, 2011, 10:38 AM
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MVP [503]
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CU Medallion [67992]
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Re: Amazing story. My godfather was also a POW for over two
Jun 6, 2011, 10:58 AM
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Please don't take this wrong because I don't doubt your comments at all.
I doubt anyone was who went through that war and fought wasn't completely changed by that experience. My dad was a gunner in bombers and he came home relatively well but it always impacted him even though he would never say much about it. He died very suddenly before he was 50. No way to say if there was a relationship there. I've heard many folks talk about how changed their loved ones were who came back regardless of their health afterward.
As I've gotten older and learned more of what they had to go through I don't see how anyone would not be forever altered by whatever they saw or experienced.
Again not at all quibbling about your statement. I remember the horrible things Col Scardon and those POW's went through. I'm sure even the best POW situation then was intolerable to anyone by todays standards.
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Savant [454]
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Really puts things into perspective. Thank you.
Jun 6, 2011, 11:19 AM
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nm
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Commissioner [991]
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Great tribute
Jun 6, 2011, 11:49 AM
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I did not have family member fight in WWII but I have heard the story of my Great Grandfather from WWI. He received the Silver Star for single handily rushing a German machine gun nest and neutralizing it and its defenders. My Grandmother showed me the official report and account on it several years back, very inspiring to read. I cannot imagine the bravery it takes to do that and what all the men did at Normandy and throughout the war (then, now and in between). I know it is not something they like to talk about, because they lived it, but it makes me proud to think of the sacrifice they gave on a daily basis.
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Trainer [28]
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Re: Today is D Day....67 years ago today my Grandpa
Jun 6, 2011, 11:50 AM
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sounds like a life well lived, thanks for sharing
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All-Conference [428]
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Awsome Tribute ... Thanks for sharing.***
Jun 6, 2011, 11:53 AM
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110%er [6692]
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That is a wonderful story and your grandfather was obviously
Jun 6, 2011, 11:58 AM
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a great man. You should be very proud of all that he gave, and I am very thankful for it.
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Heisman Winner [108390]
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so shine great deeds in a weary world...
Jun 6, 2011, 12:01 PM
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thank you for sharing.
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All-American [584]
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Wow...thanks for sharing!
Jun 6, 2011, 12:30 PM
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I'm writing an article for my companies quarterly newsletter. It is basically a book review of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (highly recommend!), but touches on the fact that the WWII vets are rapidly leaving this earth. NBC reported a few weeks ago that over 800 WWII vets die each day. I've seen other reports that have the number higher. One day soon the last one will pass away.
If you haven't already, talk to your parents/grandparents of that generation. Listen to their story. My grandparents generation was sandwiched between the World Wars, but both my wife's grandfathers fought in WWII. One also was in the Battle of the Bulge and earned a Purple Heart. The other, a B26 pilot, was shot down and captured by the Germans. He was a POW for 2.5 years, most of that time spent at Stalag Luft III, the site of "The Great Escape". He was a memeber of the Escape Committee, primarily helping forge papers for escapees.
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Recruit [93]
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Re: Today is D Day....67 years ago today my Grandpa
Jun 6, 2011, 12:32 PM
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He just became my hero as well................thank you for such an inspiring story about yet another from the Greatest Generation..........they didn't call them that without reason. God Bless his soul.
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