Look at the number of WWII casualties.

http://www.aboutww2.info/casualties.html

Russia – defense - hike

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89 300E
79 240D
72 Westy
63 Bug sunroof
85 Jeep CJ7
86 Chevy 6.2l diesel PU

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
Marcus Aurelius

Those numbers are wrong, these are correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

Give or take a few million people?

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Yep, military and civilians. I'd hate to have been the guy to drop the bomb, or any guy who had to kill innocent civilians. We're lucky to have been spared the fate of other not so fortunate countries. I bet if Hitler were our neighbor he would've started here instead. I've a friend whose grandmother's house was right on the route of the Bataan death march. Imagine what that does to your real estate value.

Humbling.

As an aside, the battle of Coral Sea is one of the classic examples in the study of codebreaking and game theory.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Last bayonet charge, wow. I sure hope he was right.

Here's my favorite site for casualty lists by war and century and so forth. Well documented.

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm

Sorry, 'only authenticated bayonette charge in the Guadalcanal campaign.' He did get a Navy Cross.

What I mean by being hopeful is that it truly was the 'last' and not, 'the most recent.' Marines at Guadalcanal fought one hell of a battle.

WELLS, ERSKINE W.
Captain, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve)
Company I, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division
Date of Action: November 2 & 3, 1942
Citation:
The Navy Cross is presented to Erskine W. Wells, Captain, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism while in command of Company I, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division, in combat against enemy Japanese forces west of the Matanikau River, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on November 2 and 3, 1942. On the afternoon of November 2, Captain Wells, ordered to attain the battalion objective which lay within his zone of action, maneuvered the troops under his command with such brilliant strategy and great personal courage that, despite stubborn enemy resistance, the Japanese were routed with heavy loss to their forces. On the following day, Captain Wells, although he realized his command was greatly outnumbered, daringly resumed the attack, inflicting devastating losses on the enemy. Cheering and encouraging his worn men in the midst of heat and severe enemy mortar and machine-gun fire during the latter phases of the assault, he personally led them in hand-to-hand combat, driving the Japanese from their position and completely annihilating them. His extreme valor and outstanding leadership were a constant inspiration to his officers and men and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
SPOT AWARD, Serial 721 (SofN Signed August 5, 1943)
Born: at Jackson, Mississippi
Home Town: Jackson, Mississippi

He was a bad mofo, in the truest sense. I wish he could have stayed alive long enough to meet and wax nostalgic with Tracy.

yep marines are the crazy ones.. they'll kill a man with a nerf football, safety scissors, and a marble (marine corp 101 C4 basics) but yea marines are hardcore

Edit: If you never get another response from me, attribute it to the your “jew canoe” comment. Racist

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

This is my favorite WWII survivor (outside of my Dad...were it not for him...).

This guy is the only sailor for whom a Navy building is named. And he's still alive. Wrote a book, "Thunder Below."

Bot



Rear Admiral Eugene Bennett Fluckey (born 1913), was a submarine commander of the United States Navy who was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II.

Fluckey was born in Washington, DC in 1913 and is an Eagle Scout. He is one of only four known Eagle Scouts who also received the Medal of Honor. The others are Aquilla J. Dyess, Robert Edward Femoyer, and Mitchell Paige. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1935.

Fluckey's initial assignments were aboard the battleship Nevada (BB-36) and the destroyer McCormick (DD-223). Following those assignments, he entered the submarine service in 1938 and served on S-42 and later completed five war patrols on Bonita (SS-165). On 27 April 1943, Commander Fluckey assumed command of Barb (SS-220).

As Commanding Officer of Barb, he established himself as one of the greatest submarine skippers, credited with the most tonnage sunk by a U.S. Skipper during World War II; seventeen ships including a carrier, cruiser, and frigate. In one of the stranger incidents in the war, Fluckey once sent a landing party ashore to set demolition charges on a coastal railway line. The result was the destruction of a sixteen car train. This was the sole landing by U.S. military forces on the Japanese Home Islands during the World War II hostilities.

Fluckey received four Navy Cross Medals for extraordinary heroism during the eighth, ninth, tenth, and twelfth war patrols of Barb. During his famous eleventh patrol, he continued to revolutionize submarine warfare, innovating the night convoy attack from astern by joining the flank escort line. Two convoys at anchor 26 miles inside the 20 fathom (37 m) curve on the China coast, totaling more than thirty ships, were attacked. With two frigates pursuing, Barb set a world speed record for a submarine of 23.5 knots (44 km/h) using 150% overload. For his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, Fluckey received the Medal of Honor. Barb received the Presidential Unit Citation for the eighth–eleventh patrols and the Navy Unit Commendation for the twelfth patrol.

Fluckey later served as Commander, Submarine Flotilla SEVEN (now Submarine Group 7) from 14 October 1955 to 14 January 1956. He was selected for flag rank in 1960 and reported as Commander, Amphibious Group 4. He served as Commander, Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) from June 1964 to June 1966. He also had successful tours as the Head of the Electrical Engineering Department at the U.S. Naval Academy and as the U.S. Naval Attache in Lisbon, Portugal.

Of what is he most proud? "Though the tally shows more shells, bombs, and depth charges fired at BARB, no one received the Purple Heart and Barb came back alive, eager, and ready to fight again." His book, Thunder Below! (1992), depicts the exploits of his beloved Barb.

Rear Admiral Fluckey retired in 1972 and now lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

Rear Admiral Fluckey is currently the most decorated living American.

Medal of Honor Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Barb during her 11th war patrol along the east coast of China from 19 December 1944 to 15 February 1945. After sinking a large enemy ammunition ship and damaging additional tonnage during a running 2-hour night battle on 8 January, Comdr. Fluckey, in an exceptional feat of brilliant deduction and bold tracking on 25 January, located a concentration of more than 30 enemy ships in the lower reaches of Nankuan Chiang (Mamkwan Harbor). Fully aware that a safe retirement would necessitate an hour's run at full speed through the uncharted, mined, and rock-obstructed waters, he bravely ordered, "Battle station—torpedoes!" In a daring penetration of the heavy enemy screen, and riding in 5 fathoms [9 m] of water, he launched the Barb's last forward torpedoes at 3,000 yard [2.7 km] range. Quickly bringing the ship's stern tubes to bear, he turned loose 4 more torpedoes into the enemy, obtaining 8 direct hits on 6 of the main targets to explode a large ammunition ship and cause inestimable damage by the resultant flying shells and other pyrotechnics. Clearing the treacherous area at high speed, he brought the Barb through to safety and 4 days later sank a large Japanese freighter to complete a record of heroic combat achievement, reflecting the highest credit upon Comdr. Fluckey, his gallant officers and men, and the U.S. Naval Service.

In 1993 I went to the Russian far east and met an old man who had been a general at the time of the Battle of Stalingrad. I didn't hear his age but I would have guessed he was 80 or younger.

I thought this spoke volumes about the number of miltary-aged men who were killed first by Stalin's purges and then during the war with Hitler.

I wonder how old the youngest general in U.S. history was, not counting the time of the Revolution?

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmacarthur.htm