4 ms·

Yes, thank you, I know who the Wehrmacht were. I paid attention in history class. More so I'm just surprised when I run across any veteran of WWII. FYI, no y

Yes, thank you, I know who the Wehrmacht were. I paid attention in history class. More so I'm just surprised when I run across any veteran of WWII. FYI, no you don't run across WWII vets "all the time." Most of them are in their eighties or nineties at this point, and there aren't too many people of that age, let alone specifically WWII vets. Mainly I was just surprised by a very random piece of information. You certainly don't hear about the German veterans of WWII in America all that much. I hope you're bright enough to figure out why.

burgerbrain 16y ago
Here, it is not at all uncommon to hear that somebodies grandfather is or was a vet. There were something like 15 million of them just from the US as I recall. For someone a decade or two older than myself (he says it was her father, not grandfather, so you can get a good guess at their ages...), encountering veterans would be only that much more common. "You certainly don't hear about the German veterans of WWII in America all that much." "My girlfriend is German and lives in Berlin." I am under the strong impression that her father lives in Germany.... EDIT: Furthermore: "The total number of soldiers who served in the Wehrmacht during its existence from 1935-1945 is believed to have approached 18.2 million." With numbers like that, this hardly seems like such a particularly odd occurrance.
- grammaton 16y ago
  Hearing that someone's grandfather was a vet is quite common, yes. And the number is 16 million. That said, most of them are dead now. So these days, for someone like myself - barely thirty - it is, in fact, quite uncommon to run across a living WWII veteran. I never have, and neither has anyone I know. I assume things are different for people in older generations. In other news, the sky is blue. And yes, I am well aware that the father mentioned lived in Germany. Not only did I pay attention in history class, I can also read. Is there some reason you're being condescending?
  - burgerbrain 16y ago
    "Not only did I pay attention in history class, I can also read." "Is there some reason you're being condescending?" Are you fucking serious?
    - grammaton 16y ago
      I was asking someone else a question about their story, and you respond by acting like I've grown a second head for being curious, and giving me a definition of a basic term related to the discussion. So, yes. Yes I am being serious.
      - burgerbrain 16y ago
        The worst part is I think you don't even get it.
- yequalsx 16y ago
  Well, one thing that is odd is that I'm under 40. I didn't mention this though. But I did grow up in the Canal Zone and have a colonial/imperial perspective on the issue of national arrogance.

burgerbrain 16y ago

Here, it is not at all uncommon to hear that somebodies grandfather is or was a vet. There were something like 15 million of them just from the US as I recall. For someone a decade or two older than myself (he says it was her father, not grandfather, so you can get a good guess at their ages...), encountering veterans would be only that much more common. "You certainly don't hear about the German veterans of WWII in America all that much." "My girlfriend is German and lives in Berlin." I am under the strong impression that her father lives in Germany.... EDIT: Furthermore: "The total number of soldiers who served in the Wehrmacht during its existence from 1935-1945 is believed to have approached 18.2 million." With numbers like that, this hardly seems like such a particularly odd occurrance.

grammaton 16y ago
Hearing that someone's grandfather was a vet is quite common, yes. And the number is 16 million. That said, most of them are dead now. So these days, for someone like myself - barely thirty - it is, in fact, quite uncommon to run across a living WWII veteran. I never have, and neither has anyone I know. I assume things are different for people in older generations. In other news, the sky is blue. And yes, I am well aware that the father mentioned lived in Germany. Not only did I pay attention in history class, I can also read. Is there some reason you're being condescending?
- burgerbrain 16y ago
  "Not only did I pay attention in history class, I can also read." "Is there some reason you're being condescending?" Are you fucking serious?
  - grammaton 16y ago
    I was asking someone else a question about their story, and you respond by acting like I've grown a second head for being curious, and giving me a definition of a basic term related to the discussion. So, yes. Yes I am being serious.
    - burgerbrain 16y ago
      The worst part is I think you don't even get it.
yequalsx 16y ago
Well, one thing that is odd is that I'm under 40. I didn't mention this though. But I did grow up in the Canal Zone and have a colonial/imperial perspective on the issue of national arrogance.