They say history is written by the winners. I look at our world today, not much has changed since World War one which was now 100 years ago. Sure mankind has advanced in technology, but we are still at war spilling unnecessary blood. Crazy to think my late Grandmother was born in 1913 in Sicily, so she lived through this war in Europe.Although very young, it amazes me to think that "No Man's Land" and "Trench Warfare" was a time period that she existed.
I wonder what the world would have been like if these world wars never took place. Between the two greatest world wars 80 million died, 20 million in the first world war, and 60 million in the second world war. If I watch a movie lately it has been "Band of Brothers" or "The Pacific" I see such a waste of life. I am careful what movies I take for truth, but it is good to get some insight. Alot of these military company's are young men anywhere from 16-25. It is disheartening to me to think young blood was spilled like that, and for what? When Army paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines in Normandy they were scattered all across the French countryside a lot of their equipment was lost and a lot of this mission became unorganized at that point. The beaches of Normandy was a disaster, men leaving the transports 60 at a time just getting mowed down by machine gun bunkers.
As we all know the Nazi party from the 1920's to 1945 in Europe was extremely advanced for their time. They had information and technology that wasn't heard of in that age yet. My late grandfather was a "Master Sergeant" in the Army during World War 2. He left Oran Algeria in North Africa boarding a ship called the "MHT Rohna". It was a British royalty ship used in the 1920's to bring goods from India to Britain in those years ,and was also used by his Majesty for vacation in earlier years. It was later used as a troop transport to bring soldiers to the "Burma,China,India theater of war. The men boarded meanwhile 13 miles off the coast it is said men looking out the portholes see about 30-50 Nazi warplanes approaching this convoy of ships headed for Burma,China,India theater. The Rohna had no anti aircraft weapons however the other ships in the convoy did. The Nazi planes were being shot down at a distance as they approached this convoy of about 13 ships I recall. The boys were clapping whistling and cheering every time a plane went down. One man recalls "saying it was quite a show to watch". Shortly the firing had ceased, meanwhile a Larger plane known as a "Luftwaffe" dropped a small "toy aircraft" looking object from his plane. This small toy aircraft begins flying toward the Rohna all a sudden "Kaboom".
The boys on the ship said the blast from this bomb killed many men instantly, wood splintered and stabbed right through men on impact killing them. Others were knocked out due to how hard the blast was. I recall an older man stating in 2011 " you could grab a two by four and hit me, and it was not as hard as that blast". Meanwhile the men are traumatized by what had just happened ,and thinking what did the Nazi's use as a weapon against our ship? The whole in the side was said to be big enough for a mac truck. So within 90 minutes the ship went down. The lifeboats were destroyed on impact of the bomb. A lot of men are trapped in the boat and never come out, some men are burning alive in the water from the oil leaking from the engine room. Other men are swimming away from the ship to avoid being sucked under. This took place November 25, 1943 so the Mediterranean was extremely cold. So all these men in the water and as the ship went down it is said it was chaos and not even the officers knew what to do. When the ship went down the Nazi's had returned in their warplanes and had their machine guns chirping. Men were getting mowed down in the water trying to get away swimming for their lives. When the siege was over and the Nazi's left the USS Pioneer rescued the survivors. Casualties added up to more than 1,100 mostly US troops. The survivors were brought onto the USS Pioneer given hot food and showers. Later there was a briefing where the men were told never to speak of this incident it is classified. Not among themselves, in letters, nothing at all. If they did they would be brought before a Court Marshall. This is sad because families never knew what happened to loved ones till it was declassified in 1983, the year my late grandfather died. A tragedy of losing more than 1,000 men should be recognized. The remaining survivors of the Rohna were then sent to Burma,China, and India to continue their mission of stopping the Japanese advance into India and the Middle East.I recall my dad saying Fredrick was stationed in Karachi Pakistan for some time as well. It was later revealed that the Nazi's used a Henschel HS 293 Glider Bomb. Which is better know today as a cruise missile. It was a remote controlled missile that was launched by an operator in the nose of the plane with a joy stick similar to Atari or Nintendo. No one in 1943 had ever seen something like that so to know the enemy had this technology was scary. The sinking of the MHT Rohna was the first time ever a cruise missile was used in warfare, and it was second greatest tragedy at sea next to Pearl Harbor.
I am speaking of only one incident during World War 2. What about all the other things my late grandfather and other military personnel saw or experienced? Seeing friends die, the look on another mans face when you stab him in the chest with a bayonet. The feeling that I cannot forget the looks on their faces. Only to think they had families and loved ones as well as I. Or they were only fighting for the freedom of their nation. My uncles say he never spoke about the war. I believe this is because of what he saw, and not because of his orders to keep it s secret. My late grandfather Fredrick even came home with a Nazi Luger. Better known as a German P-08 pistol. This was popular amongst soldiers in war to kill a Nazi and take their Luger home. To my knowledge he did not fight in Europe so who knows how he got this pistol. I recently spoke with my Dad's youngest brother Michael about some of this. He said when he was about 8 (52 he is now) he remembers the Luger in Fredrick's top droor wrapped in a t shirt. My dad said his mother Emma, my second late grandmother said "Fredrick felt safe when he slept with his gun". My dads brother Michael also said Fredricks war buddies came over one night to play cards,as they did often a lot of them New Yorkers. Thirty plus years after the war they talked about the Rohna sinking. My late grandfather Fredrick, I was told wanted no parts of the discussion. He sat there with his war buddies and kept quiet acting as if he remembered nothing. All a sudden "Uncle Min Diana" oh, Freddy come on you rememba (in a strong New Yorker accent) when da ship was gone down, come on? My late grandfather got up and left for his room for the night. Everyone then heard crying and weeping from down the hall.
A classic case of "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" this disheartens me that my late grandfather saw these things he could not forget. I later found out in some instance during the war he lost his entire Platoon he was in at the time. How does one get over this horror? Friends dying all around you bombs going off, Bullets in the air? He must along with the other men came close, and truly thought they were going to die. You see My late grandfather was a farm boy. He had never anticipated experiencing, and seeing the malicious side of men, and I assume himself as well. I write about this because it occupies my mind some. However I also see the world headed for a third global conflict. There are small wars happening all over the Middle East and Ukraine as I speak. The moment there is an advance that goes to far countries will begin to go on the defense. Russia will be on the front line along with China and Iran. This would be a terrible time for any conflict to break out considering how the last world war ended. In this day in age there are weapons much stronger than the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Interesting these catastrophes are not committed by women and not even by children, but by men. What is it that has gone truly wrong with the masculine soul? Think of any violence around the world it is mainly committed by men. At the same time it is good men we depend on in times of need. War is always avoidable with better solutions always at hand.War itself will always be the misfortune for many men.
No comments:
Post a Comment