Rokko Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 Wow, how could an award to an entertainment unit which it got for being entertaining in 5 campaigns so easily be confused for an individual award for outstanding valor on the battlefield? Anyways, its a good reminder about not taking all war stories at face value and that it is adequate to question some of the more, lets say "outlandish" ones. Just recently I read about that German artist, who was a radio operator in a Stuka and claimed that he crashed and was subsequently saved by Crimean Tartars who kept him for several days, which somehow should explain he used fat and felt in his pieces so much (which they supposedly used to heal him). Turns out, the crash happened, but he was actually picked up by a German patrol soon after. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedorf81 Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 Wow, how could an award to an entertainment unit which it got for being entertaining in 5 campaigns so easily be confused for an individual award for outstanding valor on the battlefield? Anyways, its a good reminder about not taking all war stories at face value and that it is adequate to question some of the more, lets say "outlandish" ones. Just recently I read about that German artist, who was a radio operator in a Stuka and claimed that he crashed and was subsequently saved by Crimean Tartars who kept him for several days, which somehow should explain he used fat and felt in his pieces so much (which they supposedly used to heal him). Turns out, the crash happened, but he was actually picked up by a German patrol soon after. It still happens.. A few years ago I met a man at work who told everybody that he had been a sniper in Iraq. When I said that the Dutch hadn't been fighting there, he instantly replied that he had been in a very secret special ops unit. Ok, I thought, that is, be it very unlikely, a possibility. But as soon as I asked him about what weapons he had been using, he started mumbling. After a few extra questions it turned out he had never been in any military organization whatsoever! He'd made up the entire story.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 It still happens.. A few years ago I met a man at work who told everybody that he had been a sniper in Iraq. When I said that the Dutch hadn't been fighting there, he instantly replied that he had been in a very secret special ops unit. Ok, I thought, that is, be it very unlikely, a possibility. But as soon as I asked him about what weapons he had been using, he started mumbling. After a few extra questions it turned out he had never been in any military organization whatsoever! He'd made up the entire story.. One of my sister's later finds was a guy claiming to be an ex-Seal. She and her friends all went over the top about it. After watching how he ripped off my dad for repair work I figured his Seal experience was about as true as his carpentry experience. He was also unsurprisingly vague about all sorts of details. I finally told him to pay him for any more work I'd need to have his contractor license, suddenly he was only licensed in Delaware, NJ and Maryland. Gee unfortunately my Dad lived in PA. Sorry then dude, I can't have you do any more work. He vanished very soon thereafter. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy992 Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 But as soon as I asked him about what weapons he had been using, he started mumbling. After a few extra questions it turned out he had never been in any military organization whatsoever! He'd made up the entire story.. Yes, here's a quote from the National Archives researcher in an email that he sent me: Something to notice about the "Durning types" is that they never provide names or units....they talk in generalities so as not to be pinned down by someone who actually does research.... It seems that over time, Durning got more brazen with his claims including this one that could be so easily verified as untrue. When he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he said this: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/08/01/charles-durning-earns-star-on-hollywood-walk-fame/ Born in Highland Falls, New York, Durning said he was 17 when he went to war, along with his three brothers. "They dropped down the age (to enlist) to 18. I signed my mother's name and she was not happy about that," he said. He was born February 28, 1923, so that meant he would have enlisted in 1940, nearly 2 years before Pearl Harbor. In fact, he was drafted in 1943 at age 19. This is verified by his service record and an item I found in the archives of an upstate New York newspaper listing some recent draftees. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy992 Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 Anyone know Broadsword56? He started this thread, this may be of interest to him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempestzzzz Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 "Then what happen..." Was the flag taken in battle-or in a card game. Or worse; bought with a carton of Lucky Strike Greens on the troopship back home. :confused: Old as the hills. (Good read by the way) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nidan1 Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 As the years go by the stories get better and better. One thing is most certainly true, men have fought and died in wars through the years for various causes and for different nations. The dead have no stories to tell, the living, at times will tell stories, some true......some partly true......and some just lies. It is just the nature of things. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy992 Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 As the years go by the stories get better and better. Durning would have claimed the Medal of Honor if he lived a few more years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Anyways, its a good reminder about not taking all war stories at face value... And is also the reason why I am not such an avid reader of first person accounts as some people are. Unless working from contemporary diaries or other documents (and even those aren't always totally reliable), memories can fade or get jumbled. Tales get embroidered to make for more sensational telling, or even cut from whole cloth. Not to say such recollections are of no value at all, but swallowing them at face value is not prudent. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rokko Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 I am also reminded of that lecture by Christopher Browning regarding the memories of Holocaust survivor memories. The introduction is in French, but it goes on in English after that. I found that lecture very interesting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nidan1 Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Durning would have claimed the Medal of Honor if he lived a few more years. Maybe not, its pretty hard to fake receiving the MOH. Its just a sad thing, to live a lie all those years and to garner the respect of many people in the US and the world under false pretenses is unforgiveable. We crave heroes, but the fact is all the real heroes are the ones who never came home. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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