On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:00:53 -0800, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

I missed the Staff meeting, but the Memos showed that Gunner Asch
wrote on Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:46:34 -0700
in rec.crafts.metalworking :
Im a voracious student of life, and military and geopolitical history.
Ive talked to many russians , most whom were military in both the
Great War, and many all the way through Afghanistan. One of my
buddies...a master machinist living in Burbank, was Spetnaz..and in
Afghanistan. Many of my friends are ex-military..from many armies
across the planet. Some served in more than one...shrug.

They talk, I listen, I seperate the bull**** from the facts, and ask
intelligent questions.

There is something about those who have seen the elephant, or
Elefant, or what ever ... that they get along better with each other
than with those who haven't. The German term was Komraden, like
comrade, but with over tones of "Hey, we all went through boot camp
with a DI who could peel paint chew and had a first sergeant who could
eat nails and **** tacks ... "
I got great respect for those who have been there, done that,
would rather have not done either ... regardless of which side they
were on.
Had a landlord once. Got shot on D-Day in Normandy, Bullet right
through the forearm - missed the bones. Enough to get him sent home,
back to the Augsburg area. Milliard mark wound.


tschus
pyotr


I met an intersting charector many many years ago..a German fellow
that owned a string of brothels, cafes and hotels..in Vietnam.

After WW2..a huge number of Wermacht and SS troops (mostly SS) wound
up in the Legion de Estrange..the French Foreign Legion and were sent
to French Indo China (Vietnam) to fight against the Viet Minh. After
some injuries he retired and stayed in country to build up wealth.
Ive always wondered what happened to Hans...hope he got out before the
Communists took over..though he certainly paid them enough to leave
his places alone...shrug

My grandmother owned the ancestrial home, up in Houghton Michigan..a
freaking HUGE old 3 story Victorian style home. They had 9 kids, so
built a house to fit them all, in the 20s.

Right across the street from Michigan Tech.

Post WW2, Tech had need of professors, German instructors and so
forth, so brought in a bunch from Germany. By this time, most of the
kids were grown, so Grandma converted much of the upstairs to
apartments and rented them out to the Germans, that side of our family
being German ourselves.

I suspect..Operation Paperclip was involved.....

Many the nights as a wee lad in the 50s and early 60s, I sat talking
to these guys, some of whom had dueling scars etc etc as they sat
drinking schnapps and singing old German battle songs in the huge old
basement. A couple had built a sallie de Arms down there, where they
tutored fencing and sabre as well...got my first blade scar down there
when I didnt parry a slash fast enough. I think I was 10.

Some interesting people in the world, if you take the time to talk to
them.

Gunner


Gunner