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Off-Topic / Where would you have served if the year was 1944?
« on: 24-01-2013, 03:01:55 »
(Or any year from 1939-1945)
I've been meaning to start this thread for a while. Essentially I'm just interested to see where people would have served if you had lived during the war. You can answer any way you like just please be specific as to whether you are speaking about where you would have liked to serve, where you logically would have, or otherwise. It can be any theater, battle, job in the service, rank, etc. I'm assuming most people will answer relative to their nationality, but you're of course welcome to say you would have loved to command a Tiger tank even if you're from Russia. This is meant to be completely open ended, fantasy or realistic speculation!
Some questions to get people thinking:
Take a moment and think, what if we really were in the midst of WWII? You wouldn't be relaxing browsing the internet right now. There are people dying across the globe, and chances are you know people who are serving overseas and may have even been killed. What would you do if war had just broken out? Where branch of service would you have joined? Would you wait to be drafted/pressed into service? Would you hope to remain in the civilian ranks and support the home front? What if you country was occupied by an enemy army? Would you join in resistance actions?
I'll answer given my own particular scenario:
I just recently graduated college with an engineering degree and have always loved the Navy. If today was December 7, 1941 I would absolutely be joining the U.S. Navy in the upcoming weeks (I'm American). I'd apply for Officer Candidate School and would ideally serve as a Line Officer on board a submarine or destoryer in the Pacific. I'm personally very good at leading small groups and excel in a technical, high pressure environment, which I think would make me an effective officer on either of those combat vessels. As junior officer on board a submarine life would have sucked, but I'd imagine I'd experience an extreme sense of pride with every Japanese transport I sent to the bottom... One less shipload of guns, ammunition, fuel, or supplies which could be used to kill my countrymen fighting on land. I think I'd be uneasy about attacking troop ships. Of course there's no way to determine what the cargo of the target is, but being crammed deep within the hull of a rapidly sinking ship would be an awful way for so many people to die, enemy or not. Not very much unlike the very high probability that I could die in the same fashion...
Anyways, let's hear 'em FH community! I know that nearly all of you have thought about this at one point or another... Where would YOU have served in WWII?
I've been meaning to start this thread for a while. Essentially I'm just interested to see where people would have served if you had lived during the war. You can answer any way you like just please be specific as to whether you are speaking about where you would have liked to serve, where you logically would have, or otherwise. It can be any theater, battle, job in the service, rank, etc. I'm assuming most people will answer relative to their nationality, but you're of course welcome to say you would have loved to command a Tiger tank even if you're from Russia. This is meant to be completely open ended, fantasy or realistic speculation!
Some questions to get people thinking:
Take a moment and think, what if we really were in the midst of WWII? You wouldn't be relaxing browsing the internet right now. There are people dying across the globe, and chances are you know people who are serving overseas and may have even been killed. What would you do if war had just broken out? Where branch of service would you have joined? Would you wait to be drafted/pressed into service? Would you hope to remain in the civilian ranks and support the home front? What if you country was occupied by an enemy army? Would you join in resistance actions?
I'll answer given my own particular scenario:
I just recently graduated college with an engineering degree and have always loved the Navy. If today was December 7, 1941 I would absolutely be joining the U.S. Navy in the upcoming weeks (I'm American). I'd apply for Officer Candidate School and would ideally serve as a Line Officer on board a submarine or destoryer in the Pacific. I'm personally very good at leading small groups and excel in a technical, high pressure environment, which I think would make me an effective officer on either of those combat vessels. As junior officer on board a submarine life would have sucked, but I'd imagine I'd experience an extreme sense of pride with every Japanese transport I sent to the bottom... One less shipload of guns, ammunition, fuel, or supplies which could be used to kill my countrymen fighting on land. I think I'd be uneasy about attacking troop ships. Of course there's no way to determine what the cargo of the target is, but being crammed deep within the hull of a rapidly sinking ship would be an awful way for so many people to die, enemy or not. Not very much unlike the very high probability that I could die in the same fashion...
Anyways, let's hear 'em FH community! I know that nearly all of you have thought about this at one point or another... Where would YOU have served in WWII?
Honestly a real neat manually wound watch, which I enjoy wearing while hanging around the house.
I use it for drinking mostly. Excellent visibility in the dark and I totally don't mind if it gets lost or destroyed!)
(Although going to Iceland for a couple days as well on a side trip 
Catch you on the flip side!