War is a horrible thing. Especially since war can be avoided if humans could just get our act together. Some incredible movies have been produced documenting the spoils and times of battle, particularly for WWII. But no piece of art can compare to hearing tales from survivors themselves. The men and women of WWII have a lot to tell us, if they feel capable of sharing.
Redditor u/liamnotleum wanted to hear some real life stories about our heroes of the past by asking.... Who had grandparents fight in WW2 and what stories did they share?In the theatre....
jungle book snake GIFGiphyGrandfather was in an amphibious division in the Pacific Theatre. He left us with little snippets of his time.
A camp was pitch black because they didn't want to be visible from above. A guy in his cabin went to the outhouse and sat down to do his business when he heard something. He pulled his lighter out and lit it. A python was dangling down staring him in the face.
He and another man were walking on a beach and the other guy just got shot through the head from a sniper. That sniper's decision led to my existence.
General MacArthur showed up and gave him a promotion along with a few others. They took a video of MacArthur shaking the hands of a line of soldiers and used it for a pro-American propaganda film to be played before movies in the US. My grandma saw it and freaked tf out and the theatre owners gave her a copy of the photo.
Passing the butt....
My grandpa was in the army. He never spoke about his service but he was shot in the ankle and captured. He spent years in a VA hospital once he returned to the states. I heard second hand stories about the pow camp. Specifically how the guards would smoke cigarettes and then intentionally flick the butts just out of reach of the prisoners inside the fence.
He and his buddies devised a tool to reach out through the fence and grab the butts when the guard turned their back. They'd then pass the butt between them to get a tiny puff. He was a very kind very quiet very intelligent man who had a very bad drinking problem.
Sober Up
My grandfather was a train medic (not front line but where they took immediate survivors). The Germans were known so sabotage train bridges and it was standard protocol to stop and inspect them before crossing. Well, his conductor was drunk and not only didn't stop but was speeding into the bridge when it exploded. My aunt has the pictures but let's just say the rubble he was found under (wooden trains don't just derail - they shatter, especially off a bridge) was crazy! He described it to me and I wanted to cry, he lost many friends.
Nightmares....
My grandfather was in the resistance in Holland. He never spoke about the war to his wife, children or grandchildren. If asked to relate stories he'd reply, "I will not be responsible for the nightmares of another", would turn his hearing aid off, and nap in his chair.
Confessions....
war dark GIF by absurdnoiseGiphyI think Grandpa saw some craziness because he never talked about it, and we later found out that he was lying when he said he never saw action.
B-17
Both my grandfathers served in the US Army Air Force. One was a waist gunner on a B-17. He caught some shrapnel from a German AA gun one mission and almost bled out on the return trip. While he was in the hospital his plane was shot down.
The other was an MP who would tell us about busting heads in bars.
Battle of the Bulge....
I think my grandad landed 2 or 3 days after D-day and he never talked to me about it until a few months before his death. He recalled arriving on the beach and having to cross over the bodies of the fallen soldiers. It deeply affected him.
Having him share just a few stories with me before he died this year felt like such an honor, as he never shared much with anyone about this time.
Edit: for those curious, my grandad was a sergeant in the 554th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. He also participated in the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded a bronze star for his service.
The Big Mess
My grandad was in WW2 in a tank destroyer unit, he NEVER talked about it but when I got back from a trip to Paris in high school he asked if it "was still all blowed up over there?" And said the last time he was there it was a "big old mess."
That's funny your grandad asked if it's still a mess. My grandpa used to give my dad crap because my dad got sent to Germany in 69. When my grandpa was there everything was bombed to hell. He would say my pops had it made because the base had roofs by the time my dad got there.
In Canada....
Grandfather trained in Canada with British officers before flying to Britain. Went to Italy, was almost killed when his jeep drove off a cliff to avoid capture by Nazis. Was taken back to Britain to heal, looked up the family of an officer he knew. Officer's sister became my grandmother. 🇨🇦🇨🇦
Upon Return...
war hbo GIF by Game of ThronesGiphyNone at all. My grandpa went to Europe as a teenager and it must have been messed up because he never talked about his experience all the way up to his death. He came back with three medals and nobody in the family knows what he did to get them.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Redditor notViperX was curious to hear all the things people believed every modern teenager needs to know, leading them to ask:
"Adults of Reddit, what is something every Teenager needs to know?"
No Means No!
"It's ok to say no to anyone."
"Don't let anyone in your life guilt trip you into doing something you don't want to do or are uncomfortable with."- Purpleraven01
What Constitutes Being "Cool" Is Debatable...
"It's exactly as lame to not do something you want to do because it's too mainstream or popular as it is to do something only because it's cool and the cool kids are doing it."- itsacalamity
Pay Attention in Gym And Spanish Class!
"Learn a second language."
"It's good for your brain, and it's a lot easier when you're young."
"Get active and fit; make it a habit."
"This is one of the most important ways to stave off cognitive decline as you get older."
"Plus, it's great for managing mental health during the transition to adulthood."- HappyHappyKidney
will ferrell anchorman GIFGiphyPut Those Pennies In The Bank!
"Start trying to save money now."
"You will definitely thank yourself later on."- Lastnight97
Sometimes Being Wrong Is The Only Way To Learn You're Right
"Failing is okay."- 2Graves1Ashe
People Are Always Willing To Help!
"When you make a mistake, own up to it."
"People are more willing to help you when you admit you did a dumb thing."
"This goes for school, work, and personal life."
"Forget to make a payment on a loan?"
"Call and talk to the finance company."
"Mess something up on a school project?"
"Tell your teacher and ask for a bit of leeway, Etc."
"People will be more likely to help you if you communicate."
"Start your retirement fund as early as possible."
"Doesn’t matter if you can only afford $5 a week, it’s still $5 more than you would have had otherwise."
"It WILL add up and you’ll thank yourself later."- GreenOnionCrusader
help me 80s GIFGiphyFollow Your Dream, But Have A Safety Net
"Get a marketable skill, unskilled labor sucks."
"You need something that’s going to pay you, it doesn’t have to be your life’s passion, contrary to what my peers were saying at that age, but you do need to be able to tolerate it."-sweetperdition
"If you don't have a passion, learn new skills."
"You might find your passion or something you're good at."- checkmatelocked
Better Safe Than Sorry
"Cashiers don't care if you buy condoms."- induceddaftfan
Safe Sex Love GIF by DUREXGiphyLooking back at things we wish we knew or had done differently will never end up doing us any good.
But giving this advice to young people could save them a world full of trouble.
Rather than mope about the past, we can help improve the future.
"Doctors of Reddit, what's the biggest case of 'faking it' you've ever seen?"
That's One Large Pain Threshold...
"Taking trauma call during surgery residency, had a prisoner come in after a fight and claimed he couldn’t move or feel his legs."
"All the CT scans and MRIs were normal, but we would shield his legs so he couldn’t see them and poke them with needles and other sharp objects, with enough force to cause pain- he never flinched or moved his legs at all."
"He was diagnosed with SCIWORA, spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality."
"He stayed in the hospital for a week, no improvement."
"Always had one guard with him."
"One night they were down in the lobby watching some television but the guard needed to use the restroom."
"The patient said, 'where could I possibly go?'"
"I’m paralyzed!'"
"Guard left him alone for two minutes."
"Patient last seen sprinting down the road, naked butt cheeks flapping in the breeze."
"Made it to a city four hours away by car before he was caught again."
"I have never seen anyone fake it so well."
"Truly playing the long con!"- Wine_and_sunshine
season 8 episode 23 GIFGiphyYou'll Have To Do Better Than That...
"Dermatologist here."
"Patient was convinced she had a melanoma and needed a biopsy and would need to be on workers comp."
"I told her it looked like ink from a marker."
"She demanded a biopsy."
"I wiped the area off with an alcohol swab and showed her the ink and that there was no spot on her skin anymore."
"She stormed out threatening to sue."
"I'm just glad I cured her melanoma."- Richter915
No Complaints Here...
"Had a patient come in for a fall who now couldn’t move their legs at all."
"Did a bunch of tests, didn’t find anything."
"The patient was not at all phased by suddenly being paralyzed which was the first red flag."
"Didn’t really believe anything was wrong but the patient was still not moving their legs."
"My options are to admit for a huge work up or get them to walk."
"So I update them saying everything is fine, tests are negative, you can go home."
"Patient gets up, gets dressed and walks out without a word."- meropenem24
There's Clearly One Issue She Wasn't Faking...
"Not a doctor but worked in health care for nearly 20yrs."
"While taking a break from the ICU, due to it being emotionally draining, I worked in home health for a bit."
"I had a patient who clearly had Munchausen syndrome."
"On a daily basis she would call her insurance to see what things would be covered if she was diagnosed with this or that."
"She called her Doctor's office an average of 5x during my shift with her, she would report all kinds of non real symptoms."
"She pestered the doctors into doing exploitive laparoscopic surgery, of course nothing was found."
"One day I walked in and she was rubbing her incisions with rotten cabbage trying to get it infected."
"She wasn't seeking pain meds, except to sell, really she was just as happy with antibiotics or stool softeners, anything, as long as they wrote her a prescription and she got to go to the pharmacy where she did a whole song and dance for them too, claiming allergies and reactions."
"She always increased the exaggeration of her story too."
"One time she fluttered her eyes, after making sure I was looking, and said she lost consciousness in that half a second."
"She called the doctor and claimed she lost consciousness for 5mins, she called the insurance and claimed it was 10min, she called the pharmacy and claimed it was 30min, then she called 911 and told them she woke up on the floor after losing consciousness for 4hrs."
"The worst thing about her was she was a mom."
"Her son was 28 at the time and by all the stories of his childhood illnesses and all her saying how he is severely disabled I knew she basically f**ked up his childhood with Munchausen by proxy."
"She portrayed him as being severely disabled and that's why he would never find a wife."
"I met him, he was healthy and of average intelligence."
"He wasn't looking for a wife, he was gay, but she refused to accept that."
"Working with her was so miserable that I took a couple years off from any and all healthcare after that."- invisible_for_this
GiphyShe Only Thought She Was Faking It.
"Young, 18-20, Woman went running into small rural hospital ER pretending to have abdominal pain."
"Police officer had tagged her going 40+km over the limit which was ‘stunt driving’ as per the new law in Ontario, impound and licsence suspension automatic."
"Cop followed her into ER and apparently said he’d be waiting for her when she left."
"Locum staff such as myself were housed at a small B&B about 15 mins away, and the ER had pre-printed order sets to be done before we arrived."
"When I arrived she flat out admitted that she just came in because she freaked out and didn’t stop."
"I told her we’d give her 45 mins to call her parents/family before I booted her."
"Except, bHCG came back positive, and subsequent ultrasound came back showing extremely early ectopic."
"Officer figures out something is up when he hears air ambulance call come in over radio."
"She was completely asymptomatic and just worked out that she dodged both charges and a life-threatening issue by accident."
"It was definitely a WTF moment."
"A little more info, small rural hospitals in Northern Ontario often service areas from more than an hours drive away and still only have a catchment area of 2000-3000 people."
"When on-call it was just that, we would do our days in the community clinic, then maybe hospital rounds, then go home and be on call; we wouldn’t be at the hospital, there wasn’t an on-call room where you would stay for example."
"There were lots of times that you’d go a full night without being woken up, or maybe just a call from the acute care inpatient wing."
"Locums were short term contracts for places that didn’t have full time medical staff for whatever reason."
"It’s hard to attract clinicians if you don’t even have broadband internet in the community."
"They generally pay very well."- Graigori
It's hard to blame someone for faking illness to get out of something that they really don't want to do.
But when you actually try to get doctors involved in your deception, you might want to question if it's really worth it.
After all, let's not forget the story of "the boy who cried wolf"...
