Boris Kupershmidt, who sends me tons of stuff every day, links to the perfect antidote for those West Bank Blues.
Here's a tale of real heroism.
Whenever I read stuff like this from WWII, I'm reminded of when I saw Saving Private Ryan the first time. Saw it on the big screen with the girl I was dating then, and we were both moved beyond words.
So we crossed the street to an Appleby's or some other family chain restaurant, where we could sit and pretend to eat dinner while we got quietly drunk.
A couple tables away, I recognized the woman who'd been sitting next to me in the theater. I took notice of her because she kept covering her face during the worst bits of movie carnage. Watching her after, gaily eating her meal, I just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and tell her, "If our grandfathers could do that, the very least we can do is watch it."
I was just in total unbeleiving awe of how blithe a person can be, of how unaware we can stay of our surroundings if we only cover our faces. I really should have told her off when I had the chance.
On a day like today, I don't think I'd hold back again. We'll be eating dinner at home tonight.
I saw that movie in a theater, after it had been out for a while, while I was at Fort Bragg (82 ABN). There were maybe 5 of us in the seats, all with the not-air force-army! haircut.
There are two 82nd paratroopers in that movie. They're the dead bodies in front of the radar site, where the medic gets killed during a (badly conducted) assault. Actually, a pretty accurate representation of what happened to the average paratrooper in Europe (2-300% casualties!!!)
Anyway, the silence as the five of us left that theater will always remain with me.
I've never been very good at math, so can someone explain to me how a unit has 2-3 times as many men killed as are in the unit.
Alley Writer,
Imagine you are in a squad (10 men). After X months, four of your people are dead. The rear area sends forward four replacements. Another X months go by, and three people are dead. Rear area sends forward three replacements. Over the course of the next several months, another four people are killed, to be, again, replaced. Then, in a really horrible day, nine of your squad-mates are killed. After the battle, they send up nine replacements.
At this point, your squad of ten men has had twenty people pass through it, all killed. So, it's suffered 200% casualties (20 dead, 10 men in its nominal organization).
