I understand, I spent six nights with my Dad listening to him come to peace, before I did Hospice on him.@Creedmoor yeah I got a few wild stories out of him he was very proud of his service but did not like talking about it much. So I gathered what I could without pushing just let him share what he was willing to.
I don’t think he is telling lies, he just didn’t reveal a ton and I don’t have him to ask anymore was just curious hearing from Others.1964 attended the USMC/USN Escape and Evasion School near Bridgeport, California. Elevation about 6500'. Unforgettable experience. A 10 day program culminating with a tactical navigation and patrolling exercise which turned into a capture, interrogation and POW camp experience. While I cannot imagine the horrors experienced by real POWs, this 48 hours remains clear and vivid in my memory. You could quit at any time but did not get a course completion which was a significant black mark. Graduation rates were about 30%. I suspect what your Dad went through was similar. When he tells you tales that you just find a bit hard to believe, he is probably telling you "how it was."
One of my uncles was captured during Operation Market Garden (A Bridge Too Far) by the Germans. He was in a POW camp the rest of the war. He had a pretty bad time of it. Dad said he was not really right after he came back.1964 attended the USMC/USN Escape and Evasion School near Bridgeport, California. Elevation about 6500'. Unforgettable experience. A 10 day program culminating with a tactical navigation and patrolling exercise which turned into a capture, interrogation and POW camp experience. While I cannot imagine the horrors experienced by real POWs, this 48 hours remains clear and vivid in my memory. You could quit at any time but did not get a course completion which was a significant black mark. Graduation rates were about 30%. I suspect what your Dad went through was similar. When he tells you tales that you just find a bit hard to believe, he is probably telling you "how it was."
I admire men like your dad, I served but not anywhere close to what he and others did and still do. I don't have the mental toughness to go through what they did voluntarily and I'm grateful they and others still do. We are blessed as a country to have men like those mentioned willing to do what they do on our behalf. This post was also directed at the OP and others like him.My father was a Mcpo Navy Diver UDT Frogman from the 50's to early 70's. He never went to SERE or go after earning a Trident.
Your Dad earned his paycheck.
Thank you for your Service.I admire men like your dad, I served but not anywhere close to what he and others did and still do. I don't have the mental toughness to go through what they did voluntarily and I'm grateful they and others still do. We are blessed as a country to have men like those mentioned willing to do what they do on our behalf. This post was also directed at the OP and others like him.
DittoThank you for your Service.