martin longford he did u can tell by the way he paused and looked down i would bet all the money in the world he remembered and visioned it in his head..... its not so hard to realize.
Me and my wife just lost our cat a week ago.. the way the older Vietnam vet says there’s a body but nothing there .... was exactly the way I describe seeing our cat once we woke up and seen him in the living room... it changes you in a way nothing else can
My grandfather fought at the Spanish Civil War. One day I asked him if he had ever killed someone. He stared at me with infinite sadness in his eyes and he just said: 'I would prefer dying before fighting another war'. We didn't talk about it any more. I miss him.
When the old man said "They're not real people, they're just targets.." it sounded like it wasn't really part of what he told us, but more so something he just tells himself to be able to cope with having shot and killed someone.
CMFT93 in boot camp we shoot silhouette targets, and other people I have asked who had been deployed into war zones said that when they see the enemy, they look like the silhouette targets we trained on. So in a sense, yeah it dehumanizes the enemy to where you see a target, not a person with hopes and dreams.
Tomthechelseaboy Nguyen oh ye, I guessed that. never seen it portrayed liked that. the way he seems almost calm and looks like he is watching a disturbing movie while commenting on it.
i appreciate there not being any background music while they discuss something that has made such a huge impact on their lives, it kept the sentiment of respect.
Didn't expected to find a Brazilian here Esse vídeo é bem tocante mesmo, me faz pensar sobre muita coisa, alem desses fatos e marcas que ficam pra sempre na gente, todos os traumas tanto físicos e psicológicos veja sobre Shell shock deve ter sido duríssimo ter pego essa época
My older brother was in Vietnam. The last time we saw him, the real him, was when he left on that bus. He was never the same when he returned home. Nightmares, bouts of anger, depression, his life was a living hell. We lost him 2 yrs ago from cancer. Your finally at peace my brother. You deserve precious peace. Love you and miss you every day. ❤️
The way Lonnie describes the scene, convincing himself that it was definitely the enemy, reliving that faithful moment, stopping for a few seconds...it just makes me cry. The way he looks. Something in him died that day.
Yeahh, you can see that he really wants to believe it was the right thing to do, so he keeps telling ''us'' but its actually him telling himself that its okay and that they were just targets.. its sad, I see him just as a human being with so much to carry.
"They're not real people, they're just targets." Sad to witness this old man's mind having flashbacks and remembering the exact words his superior told him at the time.
A veteran came to my school and one of the younger kids asked him, "Did you kill someone?" And he said, "Yes and I wished the bullet missed." Then he started crying
Pøppy Is A Fall Øut Piløt At The Chemical Disco Ah we had a bomber navigator back in Elementary school and most kids asked him “How many people did you kill?”
Young kids ask really insensitive questions to veterans a Vietnam vet came to our school on Veteran's day and he was crying about a friend whose brains got blown out right next to him and some kid asked what gun was used. Fuckin morons
Do You See It they’re not morons they’re children. you’re between 4-10 in elementary school they don’t have a grasp on those kinds of concepts. They don’t know any better.
"What death looks like is nothing." Lonnie nailed it. I've got 3 deployments to Afghanistan as an infantryman. It's weird because we normally don't talk about this ever. Seeing these guys share this stuff is intense.
Lonnie is the guy telling us the man to man truth like he’s just chilling at home there is no cameras just you a 30 rack of miller and Lonnie explaining death ☠️
The younger one was only calm because he knew what he had enlisted for. That old gentleman with the glasses was most likely drafted, therefore he had no clue what he was going to see.
As someone who has actual experience in this I would say being a part of ending other people's lives through direct actions in war hits people differently and you can never fully be prepared for the psychological impact it will have on you regardless of if you signed up for it or were drafted. Some people are minimally effected by it while others will be troubled by it for the rest of their lives and every shade in-between those two points exist. I thought that I knew what to expect and thought I was fully prepared to emotionally resolve any feelings I would have however events did not play out as predicted. It also was not something that just sprang up out of nowhere as I had trained for years prior to even joining as I had chosen to pursue the special operations side of the house so I thought that I was a very mentally tough individual who could handle anything life threw at me. There are many ways to rationalize ones actions but you do not truly know how you will respond to something until you are experiencing it for the first time. There is no true 1 to 1 preparation for war.
“I blasted him.” Really was the triggering point for him and he needed to retract his PTSD by saying “they’re not real people, they’re just targets.” Almost like a little cue to come back to the current moment and not transfer his head space back to that moment. I pray for this man. I send him love and light, 🙏🏼💛
If you meet a combat veteran and don’t know them really well, don’t ask if they’ve killed someone. It’s deeply personal to them and classless of the questioner.
Well they must have signed paperwork to do this. But of course I wouldn't ask about killing to a vet. The fear and images must come flooding back. RIP to those who fought for their country and died on killing fields.
@@Ash-wi7vn My Papa, God rest him, fought in WW1, lost part of his hand and was left with permanent shrapnel in his leg when he took a grenade from another young man who had pulled the pin and froze in panic. He very nearly died in an African field hospital, his Purple Heart was stolen by someone on the ship home, and when he finally made it they stuck him on a train to travel the country to help sell war bonds as a hero. Fascinating stuff but he would never, ever tell a war story. He refused to replace his stolen medals, and wouldn't allow his preserved uniform to be displayed. He was a carpenter and the kindest, most gentle man I have ever known and I think that the trauma was so deep he couldn't allow it to surface. Even in his late 80s all he would say is "War is proof that the only hell is here on earth." I wish I could have known more about that chapter of his life but I understand why he couldn't speak about it.
@Death The Kid "Unforgiven", Directed and Produced by Clint Eastwood. He also stars in it alongside Gene Hackman and Richard Harris, one of perhaps the greatest films ever made imo. its an Anti-Western that shows you there really wasn't any glory in the old west and that killing isnt all its cracked up to be.
realtrickster _ I would assume not every Daesh scum feels the same way. Maybe some US soldiers killed his entire family or village and he is out for revenge. At that point he doesn't care who he works for to get his revenge even if in his previous lifetime he wouldn't hurt a fly
The old man with the glasses touched my heart. “They’re not people they’re just targets”. These are the humans our government brings home and asks to work in fast food restaurants etc.. imagine killing men and being trained to see humans as targets then coming home to be talked down to by some Burger King manager.
We all praise our military and say soldiers are fighting for our freedom. And we praise dumb kids for joining. The amount of innocent civilians killed is ridiculous and not worth it. Being an aggressor in a foreign land is not always defending our homeland. Ignorance is not an excuse. Soldiers ARE responsible for their actions. You should feel bad. War sucks. WAKE UP people!!!
@@stec1808 but in reality they were sent there just like the guy on the other side, both sides have soldiers that are sent when the guys at the top disagree, I guess it alright to feel pity,bc they were sent there just like the other person
Steve Slothenstein you know that all these soldoers where sent *there* and not to *your* country? I don‘t really want to argue about that, war is a lose lose situation for every soldier and their families involved
@@NKABoX yh i don't agree with war unless it's necessary to defend your country or way of life but if the time comes then no mercy or pity should be shown.
@@dmitrit.4862 When someone is forced to go to war, and refusing to would get them sent to federal prison, they are forced to do everything. When someone enlists and understands what they're signing up for, it's orders because you are willingly signing that you'll follow all orders for X amount of years. Compare Lonnie and the other Vietnam vet. One appears much older. I'd assume the younger one went towards the end of the war whether enlisted or drafted. And I'd bet all my money that Lonnie was pulled in one of the first lotteries, back when people barely knew about the hell going on over there.
@@OfftheWallTales Being drafted is definitely different compared to enlisting. And I understand that those who were thrown into a war see orders like "being forced" to do things and in some way, it actually it is that way. But orders are orders and someone has to do the job, no matter how ugly it gets. My grandpa, for example, fought in the Red Army in Russia and later even in Berlin. He was forced to fight because there was no other way. He was a machine gunner. He couldn't really talk about it, all I know is that he killed a lot of german soldiers back then. War is hell, there's no doubt about it, that's why I have the upmost respect for any veteran, even for the german ones my grandfather fought back in WW2.
+Joey Lats There are several interviews with over 8000 german and other axis war veterans, they sadly don't exist in english, because they interviewed everyone on the axis side, from the Waffen-SS soldier to the WWI veteran who was a General in WW2, to german women talking in detail about being raped by soviet soldiers, having their kids die etc. And also someone who was drafted at the age of 17 into the Waffen-SS (not to be confused with the Allgemeine SS who were also soldiers but very very political). That 17 year old like many was drafted, grew up as a teenager in the 3rd Reich and then fought at Normandy with the 12th SS-Division Hitlerjugend (which, eventhough they were almost all 17-18 years old) were so good against the Allies that most US and British vets i talked to told me or wrote in their books that they made fun of them and called them "crack babies". One american vet told me "We laughed about those kids, this changed immediately when we had to fight them because these kids didn't fear death and were far better than our 20 year olds." I hope someone takes the time to take all of these archived interviews reaching from 1980-2017 (and still adding more) to add english subtitles because they're very interesting but also often heartbreaking as these vets but also the women don't mind crying during the interviews or show other emotions. Having grown up with family who reached from Waffen-SS soldiers to Luftwaffe pilots i of course also spent a lot of time listening to them and also interviewing them. The Waffen-SS grandfather is still alive and healthy luckily and i still talk to him and ask questions when i help him in his garden. I hope non-german speakers can watch all of these interviews someday, interesting for anyone i think
Pickle Rick! y do all u americans say that freedom freedom freedom ur not the only free country and they didnt do it for my freedom take a step back an actually see what the reason where for each an every war americas been in an none of them have to do with freedom
To those who upvoted my post. Me and someone else with a big youtube channel on axis history are now working together to present you the 8000+ interviews i mentioned in my previous post with english subtitles. We just started working on translating them. I will update in this comment section when the first one has been uploaded
My grandfather is korean war veteran. When I was little kid, I asked him "Did you kill somebody at war?" He answered "Yeah...Yes I did. To survive.... and I survived." His pupils had lost focus while he answered. Additionally, my grandfather received a call from the Ministry of National Defense a week ago and was awarded the Hwarang Order of Military Merit. It is the 4th highest medal of military service. (2020.09.07)
I'm Greek and my grandfather is korean war veteran. He is 89 years old now, was 21 at the time he went to Korea. I'm 18 right now and I love hearing stories from that time. But I dont wanna ask him if he killed someone. If he killed someone I dont want to bring him that memory up.
손석현 My grandfather also served in Korea as well as WW2 and Vietnam. In Korea he was with the 24th infantry, the first group of soldiers to reach Korea and engage in combat. I always knew he had killed people because he never ever talked about war. He did an interview about his time in the army and when he was talking about Korea he got kind of quiet and only said “there was a lot of combat type stuff”
I have some mad respect for all of these people, but especially lonnie. Lonnie was clearly having a very hard time. It’s brave of all of these men to not only serve, but also tell, and relive their stories all over again.
Whats ur point man ? Killing is the biggest sin u can commit man .... do u think god rates ur killing as good ? Everyone who kills has to think about the life he took because he took something that belongs to god and we have no right to do so .... man
@@prophetdenis8413 I mean thats just speculation because is killing really a sin? Killing is a part of this world and always has been since the beginning of everything!
@Eric Jungmann so u say ur teacher also stops u from giving the wrong aswers in a exam ? What i want to say is ... see life as a big test to show yourself worthy of paradise ... Edit: im not christian or muslim or anything i simply believe in the "big test" our creator made us for
He seems mad with self rigtheousness to me. I think he possibly isn't even aware of how much damage it did to him, judging on how hard he tries to overplay it.
A lot of the guys I know never talk about it, unless they are too drunk to realize they are being asked about it. There is not really anything to say about it, since it cannot be explained anyways. And the only people who want to know, have not gone through that. It is not entertaining to talk about it, and it feels like the one's who want to hear are never going to get it anyways. So what is the point? Then again, there are some of the dudes I know that are right out psychopaths, who love to brag about it. They are either seriously sick from the time they were born, or right out liars, who have not gone through it. It's not a game.
@@juri5692 that's what I thought. I'd like to see an interview with him 15 or 20 years from now. See what he's feelings are then. Who knows maybe the older guys felt just like he did back when they where his age.
Listen man, that guy with the glasses is battling heavy demons. I can tell he’s a hard man, but I also know why. When he said it was him against whoever, he was just fighting to live, I felt that one. Hope he finds peace.
I always think of this too. I think at the time it was so normal and wars goes for decades or even hundreds of years that they got used to it like slaughtering an animal.
@@loneencom2087 also a different mindset. A lot of these knights trained from birth and were doing it for God. A lot of this is mindset. A lot of Vietnam guys had PTSD cause there was a draft and weren't cut out for it while you see guys in modern wars who are literally mentally built for war.
A friend of mine back in the 80's was a Vietnam vet.... He was a pacifist... Long hair, liked James Taylor folk music, etc. One day he told me that he had killed people in Vietnam. I told him I couldn't envision that. He told me that all our fancy notions of peace go out the window when someone's shooting at you. You just shoot back.... Never forgot that conversation...
Man you can really see the difference in PTSD from young to old. You can tell the young man is STILL trying to process and portraying confidence through energy and assertiveness, where the older members are much calmer having had years to process.
@@RealCleanGoblin Yeah, after reflection I think you're right. That statement is far too general given the number in the video. I'm a teacher and I see trauma in kids, and I see how they change and shape as they age. Just observing a trend- no doctorate hanging on my wall.
@@RealCleanGoblin yeah that's obvious but you can clearly see the difference in tone between the older vets and the younger ones. The older ones have had years to process it all.
“But in war, neither side deserves to die, honestly” These are the people you want to protect you. This man is how I would find a little light in the ruins of war, that this guy is out there.
I disagree. I respect that man, but many of the Nazis deserved to die. In the World Wars there were people threatening the lives and freedom of people. Those who did that deserved to die. Those who killed the innocent, enslaved them, put them in camps, beat them, starved them.
@@arkhambricksskylar3808 I think you have to look at it from the perspective of a Vietnam war veteran. The conditions were much different than WWII, and the lines of who is right and who is wrong were blurry compared to WWII.
From what I can tell on all of these WhatCut videos, that's the point of the videos. To ask questions or go into topics that usually are too taboo to get into.
Javontae Eaddy we know it’s just so interesting for people who haven’t seen then I saw some one die in not a vet or anything and I didn’t do it i was walking home one night and I just saw two dudes arguing and one pulled out a uzi and dumped the whole clip into the man the other guy ran and walked up to the dead guy to see if he was alright clearly he wasn’t and his eyes I saw them and it was just so awful they were brown and they just looked so empty I’ll never forget that
I allow vets to talk about whatever it is they want to talk about. Usually vets like relating the fun times they had with their buddies. Some like talking about the machines and places they went. Sometimes though, they feel like opening up about the reality of it all. I follow their lead and if it seems like they may be getting too depressed or anxious I'll try to help bring it back to the fun times. But no, don't ask them if or how many they've killed. Most will honestly not know if they did or not. Even if bodies are found it can be impossible to know who it was that scored the hits.
Remembering something, even something terrible is not the same thing as a flashback. My father is a Vietnam combat Vet, and believe me, once you've seen a real flashback, especially if you were in the way, you realize the difference.
i remember taking a trip to DC with my dad. one of the biggest things that stood out to me was when we went to the vietnam memorial and i saw what was a veteran, wide-eyed not staring at anything in particular and seemingly lost in thought. i can't even begin to imagine the things he saw over there
What makes you say that? Because he is contemplating what has happened and what it implies and he doesn't have a clear answer? From my point of view he isn't 'sick'. He is trying to figure out a really big question. Not having an answer or, even better, not being conceited and thinking to know the answer is a sign of wisdom I'd say.
@@StuhlEntertainmentWhat I've learned about PTSD through my own, and friends counselling is that it's usually brought on by encountering someone malevolent. Even if that person is yourself. Looking back, you look at things you've done and think, "I can't believe I did that." It's like watching someone else do bad things, then realizing it's you, and at the time, those things didn't seem wrong at all.
2:48 - 2:54 We just witnessed a man have a war flashback. Six seconds of pure, frozen silence. "They're not real people, they're just targets." We saw a man believe he was back in the war; talking to himself.
@@N-GinAndTonicTM lol mental health is the biggest joke. 60 years ago suicide was way below half what it was in 2019. Since everyone have Bene talking about mental health over the last 20 years people have Been killing the selfs at a rate far higher then ever lol you people are making it worse not better by talking ab3it
And you think competition, "competition" in its most generic definition, is something humans created? I would absolutely embrace a reality in which people, when left to their own devices, played along well with everyone else. But, that's naivete. All of human interaction, from the interpersonal to the macroscopic, runs the spectrum of competition... what I want from you; what you want from me; what an ideology demands of me or others; how ideologies conflict; the fact that everything in this world is finite, and thus has a value defined by its desirability and ease of access. There are no heroes; there are no villains... there are just people doing what people do. Little ants milling around in the sun. And, at the end of the day, if you are not willing to sacrifice to protect the things you enjoy or care about, someone else will sacrifice to take that away from you.
I think what you should have taken from this video is that we're all human beings and we do what we have to do to stay alive, we all have loved ones who will miss us when we're gone. It's not about labelling one country as better than another. We are all human, treat everyone as such unless they stain that title with injustice. People all around the world have fought and died for the sake of power and imperialism, we should only fight when we have to, not out of the arrogance in thinking that your country is the 'greatest'.
They say war is hell for a reason. I'm surprised these guys opened up about their experiences. Typically not something veterans like to talk about. I hope they were able to make peace with their experiences.
in my experience, veterans love to talk about their time in the service. they love to reminisce. you just have to know what questions to ask and what NOT to ask. How you ask is important as well.
mcaval73 major respect for them talking about it. I'm a coward bc I can't bring myself to talk about what caused my P.T.S.D., SINCERELY, Tiffany Lancaster
My father was a medal recipient in WWII. He never talked. But he wrote poetry and some of those poems are very revealing. I think I'm his only child who read very many. He gave them to me though. I set one to music for him. It's been lost for nearly 40 years now. My son served too, and he has PTSD. He's opened up to me once. I now understand better. No person can have a buddy's brains blown all over them and not suffer PTSD. Nobody.
Great interview As a child, who grew up in a war, and saw death of the early age to changes you. In a war, nobody really wins, because both sides think they’re fighting for a righteous purpose. Because people are brainwashed from childhood first by parents, and then by various institutions
I'm sorry for what you've experienced war never solves anything do leaders really think that all of those lifes lost civilians soilders is worth it for a small piece of land?
Whenever I meet a veteran, I make it a point to NEVER ask the “kill anyone” question. I don’t care if they never even been deployed to combat in the whole of their careers. Not only does it bring up awful memories that they’ve worked so hard to move on from, it’s obscenely inconsiderate.
@@charlesdemers1197 I'm not trying to be rude lol. He is actually day dreaming you can see it in his glare... He's thinking about nothing at all and I do it it all the time.
***** But how does that help? I try to help people however I can, I try to be nice, but how does that change anything? For every one of those people who genuinely are good people, there are fifty more who couldn't care less about anything else as long as they're satisfied. We have so many ways we can help the world, each other, but it never works because we're all so selfish we refuse to give up what we have in order to make a change. A group is only as strong as its weakest member. Forgive my cynicism, but I can't help but think there is little hope left for us.
+KellseyAlexHipo You can't change others, and many can never be helped! All you can do is try your best while not being used! do small things around your community to help, help an elderly person or volunteer at a sou kitchen, things you control and know actually help, when you give to big groups you know they don't do what is promised so control what happens by doing for those in need by you!
MrCRAIGSHILL It's funny you say that actually, because I do try my best to help people when I can, but I recently started realizing I'm a little too naive for my own good. I'm turning 18 in April, and my mother has been scolding me more and more often for the things I unthinkingly do. For example, I'm apparently not supposed to walk around with money in my hand, because someone may try to take it. I do plan on volunteering (I recently donated blood for the first time at my school), but I feel like I've lost faith in humanity and just want life to end already. Today, I read three stories in the news, one of which included a man beating his wife and throwing her out naked into the streets for talking to another man, another man claiming his infant choked on a used condom when he'd actually put his private part... *sigh*, and a couple who attempted flushing their newborn baby down a toilet before dismembering it and throwing it away when it failed. I'll try to be good, I'll try to help, and I'm sure there are others who want to make a difference, but I see no hope for us.
just something for other people to know is that PTSD is not only for soldiers. civilians of that invaded country live it too. I am an Iraqi and I was diagnosed with PTSD as well. an example of that would be when I see a humvee or a chopper even if it was a civilian chopper I freak out and start panicking and get an instant flashback even though that was 19 years ago. I don't wish war on any country. politicians should get in an arena and fight their fight.
I was in the military. Never ever ask a soldier if he killed. It mostly sends them so far down memory lane and on a dark path of their mind... For courtesy: dont ask them, unless you are close friends or relatives.
@@cameronthemaneron784 I signed up for defending my country and people. As a lot of others, and a lot of others ended up killing people on the far side of the world. And "a lot" came back broken. Man is not supposed to kill man.
I went to a baseball game a couple years ago, it was a great game. I looked towards the people in the rows in front of me, and I saw Lonnie. I had seen this video countless times before, and I recognized him immediately. He was with his wife, or another woman his age, Smiling and having a great time. I couldn’t bring myself to ask him his actual identity to confirm if it was actually him or not, and I’m glad I didn’t. Lonnie, you’re a great man. Even if that wasn’t you, I’m glad I have an image of you having fun with someone you care about in my head.
"It wasn't me and a Vietnamese, it was me and anybody that's got a g--- It was... I w---- Ah man, this is hard" That's so powerful. I feel so bad for that man, you can tell he's never forgiven himself for having to take another life.
@@Cienfuegos. fu-k off mate he doesn’t deserve that damn talk most of the soldiers in the Vietnam war where either drafted or joined because they did fully understand what they had signed up for so you don’t get too say that type of sh-t
It’s either that or a cynical remark on training. When he brought his hand up to his shoulder and said silhouette, it reminded me of the target that is the head and shoulders. My first thought was dark humor about training and real life applications.
It's easy to tell yourself "ya that guy didn't have feelings or a family or the potential to have a family in the future" but you know it's wrong. I quite frankly don't see the difference between killing your fellow man who believes differently than you and killing your child for their unique beliefs
@@Toniez0 I didn't understand ? But I think you mean killing in the name of religion because we, former Muslims, here are constantly threatened with death
This isn't going to stop them from joining but rather deeply reflect on the situation. Kudos to them if they decide to join, I'll give them even more respect.
When the old man looks down as if the bodies were there you realize that he is reliving the moment very vividly, there is no doubt that those things are so strong that they never leave your life, it must be very hard for many to learn to live with it, in his case you realize that even after so many years it is something that does not finish processing at all. My deep respect for them, not only must they fight and survive the war, but also another kind of war awaits them when they return home, perhaps even harder than the one they lived in service.
My grandpas brother hanged himself after the stuff he has seen in ww2. Poor guy was having nightmares and was so traumatized that he took his own life. He was only 16 at the time.
Nikita when your in war, and you and your friends are constantly in the threat of death, your going to kill to ensure their safety. They kill because if they don't, they'll have to see their friend die, their best friend maybe. War sucks
Okram G it’s called disassociation. For many soldiers it’s how their brain deals with their experiences. It’s like the older gentleman with glasses said, in the moment he shot a silhouette, just a target. Many veterans brains are able to sub consciously stop their thought process at it was a target. It’s the body naturally keeping them sane. But most of them cannot maintain disassociation their entire lives. In the video the Vietnam Vets were not disassociated like the younger men. For most veterans the older they get the harder it is for them to disassociate.
@@4uck7h3Stat3 too good of a reply, thank you. Just wanted to make a point of how death can be talked about on such a emotionless level. Your answer 100% explains that.
His innocence was taken at too much of a young age that he's mind couldn't process everything properly so at some point the brain just stops trying and it's at that point that he was just rendered numb to everything
That's not right. G. K. Chesterton was talking about ww1. Apart from perhaps the iraqi man, none of these people were fighting in defence of their country.
My dad was a Vietnam Marine and watching Lonnie talk left me in tears because it was like seeing glimpses of my dad when he was sick and began opening up about his war time. Lonnie, I hope wherever you are you've found peace within yourself.
Johnny .48 She was still copper rank and didn’t have all the attachments for her class. She also didn’t have commando pro and that did t help. Not to mention her score streaks were trash
If you listen to his story i think he friebdly fired on a teammate. Especially after he says i was trying to keep me alive... It wasnt me and vietnamese it was anyone with gun. Everything he said made me feel like he killed a friendly
@@timgoppelsroeder121 i think so too...... Didnt he say the person had the star or something? And he tried to say that he wanted to keep himself alive no matter who it was.... But it was the enemy. Its just it was a human too. He didnt want to think about that.
I would watch an entire interview with Lonnie, the way he talks he's just so genuine and direct and the way he paused he wasn't there in the studio anymore he was back in Vietnam I would just really like to hear more about his time and his life.
Man how bad have we failed these guys. That's what kills me. I dunno why I did it - but I searched for my grandfather's WWII bronze star order.. he was always very graphic with me about his experiences there and didn't hold a lot back - but never could remember why he got a bronze star - or at least led on that he didn't. So after some records searches - and some big time digging at his division website, I found the actual type written order. He basically ran forward on his own with a bazooka and tried to take out an enemy tank. he failed, but in doing so - learned about a German strong point near Lepheim, germany. He gathered his squad and led them back, through the tanks, destroying both and taking out the strong point. I haven't patched the specifics together - but that was the same day he got hit in the ass/hip and that was the end of the war for him. That was his April 27th, 1945. When I saw the ordrer, I was initially really proud, you know? That someone who shared my DNA had that much resolve, bravery and leadership to do that; but then I got really emotional and sad. Like uncontrollably sad. Because I know him as my grandfather and how happy he was - and how his friends were and how much joy he brought them... and how such a wonderful human had to be that terrified in a spot like that that he felt he needed to do that... and the men he led - the ones who didn't make it - that they got denied a grandfather like I Had. And how i'm sure the germans he killed- their families back over there didn't get that experience either. That really mangled me. I get why it happened. I get that he did what he had to do... and to a degree I feel proud of it. But it upset me. A great deal. I still haven't told him I found that and don't know if I ever will but holy smokes do I appreciate my family and the flukey bullshit fact that we exist for no other reason than dumb luck and one kid from a redneck down in the NE US who had the nuts to do one terrifying thing that got him shot - but saved a lot of people... And i'm quadruply frustrated we've failed these guys as bad as we have as humans. We owe them so much more than what we've given..
Trying. Thanks guys, appreciate the support. Shit's not black and white. We think of the experiences we had with such wonderful people who we share a gene pool. But I also think of the people who didn't get that. Regardless of what their family either had to experience or were foced to believe or not so much - that's hard to take. My grandfather's bullets led to some amazing people because they we bullets meant for others. But I do feel like I share his burden that there might be some other senational people on earth who we'll never even be able to consider - because of said bullets. What a wild burden. What a bunch of wonderful stories to tell.
Great story of your grandfather, I have a Silver Star from Vietnam and it seems that the mayority of people never realize that some people never get to have their grandfathers or for that matter their fathers and others survive through dumb luck, actually this "dumb luck" thing I call the Will of God, for he decides who survives and who does not and which family line will continue to grow and which will not. It shows that God controls everything including the blowing of a tree leaf across the road. I have no other explanation for this phenomenon, other than God.
Raul Gonzales Thanks a lot Raul. Thanks for your service, also. Whenever we get to be around walking history - especially when it's so close to us, we take it for granted. IMO, being a historian is getting your hands dirty with the history around you. Like I said, Pop was a garbage man. Golf bum with a capital 'B'. Practical joke master. What you uncover from those around you -that's the reality of history and i'm happy I got the chance. Thanks for the reply.
America also killed and still kills people all the time (drones). At WW2 many countrys killed people, f.e. russia There is no "good" side in murdering people
My eldest Grandfather fought in WW1 and was shot in the chest during the battle for Vimy Ridge. He was one soldier in the four Canadian divisions that pushed through the German forces. He survived, but all he'd ever speak about the war was sharing a small fire with a few guys from his unit and a couple of German soldiers one Christmas day. They could speak broken English so they shared stories with him and his guys about their families, growing up and so on. They were just regular people like he was, but the following day everyone was back on their sides fighting the war like always because that's what they were there to do. It wasn't personal for them. They didn't hate the men they were shooting at and killing, or at least not on a personal level. Each just fought for what they were trying to accomplish or protect for their country. That's how my Grandfather saw it. He wouldn't tell us anything else about the war before he was injured and sent back to a hospital in England. Probably for the best. WW1 was a bloody, gruesome war. Not that all aren't, I suppose.
Mon grand-père a fait la deuxième guerre mondiale avec le 22èm régiment du Québec et la seule chose qu'il nous ait jamais dit est : mon ami est mort dans mes bras et j'ais vue un enfant sourire. il nous disait qu'il ne fallait pas se vanté d'avoir fait la guerre mais remiercier le ciel d'avoir survécus
yes and after I said : the only things he tels us about this time is , my friend is dead in my arms and I saw a kid smile. he told us not to boast of having survived but thank god for surviving . I am sorry if the translation is not perfect but english as you see is not my main language
My great great uncle fought in World War 1 survived the war. But then in,World War 2, Hitler invaded Russia. The cold, the lack of blankets, no food, no water. He just died. Right there in a field. In Russia. My Dad's Uncle was a Tank driver in Vietnam, so was my Uncle. I want to carry on that. Its not glorious. Fuckers at school think that they're going to return to some big heroes welcome. They think it's like a video game. It's not. When your dead, your dead. Its not glorious. You are killing them so they don't kill you.
Santeri Saarinen sometimes the best way to get around the suffering is jokes, it’s the best some people can do, with the god aspect, you know, people just find it funny
@@soupperandstarlitsartdumba469 Yeah, I think humour is really one if not the best way to survive trough hard times. And that's great! But when you joke about someone's other's suffer, let's say sore trauma or disability, it isn't funny anymore. And as for God aspect, I think it's everyone's individual choice. I don't joke about God, but if someone does that's his business. My God doesn't get mad of that, but still I don't find it necessary.
That was deep. Silhouettes..... I'm kinda glad I watched this as I've always wondered but would never dare ask a veteran. None of the WW2 veterans I knew growing up wanted to discuss the war at all - and now they're gone.
I'm Iraqi, and my father was drafted in Iran-Iraq war but I never had the guts to ask what was the first time he killed someone. I have asked him before about how does it feel to kill a person, and he said that it feels very very very awful. Another time he told me how he lost his entire crew in a bombing and he was the only survivor in his crew, as well as his best friend who I was named after. I understand how difficult these questions are to those veterans, I know this first hand because of my father's PTSD, he never wanted us to feel that he is suffering from anything but he is, it took him time to be able to make a family, and he certainly hasn't recovered much because it's permanent damage and it's hard. My father to this day has hard time being close to me and my siblings, my siblings try to get away from him because he isn't social with us, but I try my best to communicate with him, and I know he appreciates it, we all do if we were veterans with PTSD.
I wanna tell you something. I'm from Iran. I wasn't born back then but the it's still used here as a propaganda. I'm sure you know Anyone killed on the battlefield is called a martyr and so naturally, as a kid i used to think that we were the good guys and the iraqi people are the bad ones. But i always had this thought that bothered me. What if they're forced to fight, what if they're good people like us and aren't their deceased soldiers considered martyrs as well? I remember asking a clergyman these question and as you can imagine, came up with a bullshit of an answer to just ditch me. I know that this wasn't relative to your subject, but when i read that you and your family were effected by the war, and also you being on the opposite site, just made me wanna talk to you. I'm really sorry your dad had to go through all that. I lost my grandfather in the war and my dad's family was very effected by the incident. So i can relate. Fuck war and fighting. Wish you the best my friend
@@arianfaramarzi152 Much love brother, I'm very sorry to hear about your grandfather. The people always suffer from war, neither sides are evil. Everyone who gets drafted to war only wants to come back to their families. The people to blame are the governments. Especially in my country, Sadam Hussein was a very evil man, killed countless people, he was a tyrant. Regardless of whatever happened in the past, I'm sure, no good person including my father would ever hate people from Iran, and I'm very sure your side doesn't hate us either. It's always great to seek what you need to know, I'm very happy that you commented. ♥️
This editing way is called "Cross-cutting", it is used to raise up the tension. Maybe they wanted to make it more similar to a movie than a documentary.
@@CitizenOfEarth69 well guess what, they know the price of war and going to battel, if it wasn't for men like him or my dad or me, my family wouldn't be alive and maybe your family wouldn't either
Lonnie was a pure soul who wanted to live a full life. He also wanted to achieve that path peacefully. Sometimes the bullshit gets in the way and your number is called and sometimes you pick that number.
The old man who said " I blasted him "
He definitely got flashbacks. Yea, you can see it from his reaction
Allen almost like he pictured it in his head or he visioned it in front of him
what the hell aye same profile pic
You can see things? Waw
martin longford he did u can tell by the way he paused and looked down i would bet all the money in the world he remembered and visioned it in his head..... its not so hard to realize.
martin longford haha why you mad!
Watching that old man hit me hard.
“There is a body there, but there is nothing at all there”
makes you question about the soul of a human and what happenes in that moment of death.
I was watching the video and read the comments and then I read your comment and the old man said exactly what you wrote that was good timing
DIMITRIOS K same
Ceren *”I killed that boy,” he said slowly, “I killed him”*
Me and my wife just lost our cat a week ago.. the way the older Vietnam vet says there’s a body but nothing there .... was exactly the way I describe seeing our cat once we woke up and seen him in the living room... it changes you in a way nothing else can
My grandfather fought at the Spanish Civil War. One day I asked him if he had ever killed someone. He stared at me with infinite sadness in his eyes and he just said: 'I would prefer dying before fighting another war'. We didn't talk about it any more. I miss him.
It wasn’t about whether they deserved to live, of course they do. They were just conditioned to die.
What side did he fight on?
I understand the sadness your Grandfather had. You can't escape it but you do learn to live with it.
When the old man said "They're not real people, they're just targets.." it sounded like it wasn't really part of what he told us, but more so something he just tells himself to be able to cope with having shot and killed someone.
CMFT93 thought the same thing.
Sounded like he was quoting someone else--the way his voice sort of changed at that moment.
Of course he knows they are real people. It's a metaphor. What he probably wants to say is that he acted like they were just targets. He had to shoot.
CMFT93 in boot camp we shoot silhouette targets, and other people I have asked who had been deployed into war zones said that when they see the enemy, they look like the silhouette targets we trained on. So in a sense, yeah it dehumanizes the enemy to where you see a target, not a person with hopes and dreams.
I mean soldiers are taught to dehumanize the enemy. Easier to kill
The guy which looks like he is literally seeing his memories is really interesting to listen too
Kieran He is seeing his memories.
Kieran I believe he is suffering from ptsd
Tomthechelseaboy Nguyen oh ye, I guessed that. never seen it portrayed liked that. the way he seems almost calm and looks like he is watching a disturbing movie while commenting on it.
Kieran Which one?
Kieran which one? lonnie?
i appreciate there not being any background music while they discuss something that has made such a huge impact on their lives, it kept the sentiment of respect.
Well said well said true as hell respect.. got my mine
Didn't expected to find a Brazilian here
Esse vídeo é bem tocante mesmo, me faz pensar sobre muita coisa, alem desses fatos e marcas que ficam pra sempre na gente, todos os traumas tanto físicos e psicológicos veja sobre Shell shock deve ter sido duríssimo ter pego essa época
paloma t k
They did, however, choose to put the video in black and white.
@@driftingthroughthisplace5898 Yeah extremely disrespectful, am I right?
My older brother was in Vietnam. The last time we saw him, the real him, was when he left on that bus.
He was never the same when he returned home.
Nightmares, bouts of anger, depression, his life was a living hell. We lost him 2 yrs ago from cancer.
Your finally at peace my brother.
You deserve precious peace. Love you and miss you every day. ❤️
If it makes you feel better he is in the good place. I promise
I'm really sorry about your brother... May he rest in peace.
May your brother rest in peace 🙏🏾
Rest in peace ❤
May your brother R.I.P 🙏
The old guy with glasses isn’t just retelling the story, he’s re-living it.
at the same time he is talking, he was feeling everything a that moment hoy can see on his eyes the expresión on the face
You mean Jeremy Corbyn
damn true man
I think he would be the best player in COD MW
It's really heartbreaking, he seemed ravaged by those memories
"I blasted'em...Silhouettes, not real people, just targets"
My god, that was deep man
2:54 I feel he has to tell that to himself or else he'll go crazy
@@PlzStepOnMe yep best free/stolen item of my life
@@PlzStepOnMe no siree
@@PlzStepOnMe what else could i be saying no to
Tlsymmere1469 2 hahaha omg 😂😂
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
― Plato
Not black widow
Wars are not meant to end, they are meant to be continuous.
-George Orwell
Facts
@@louis-on5vj yup while smokin a joint
Bob Marley : yeap
“They’re not real people, they’re just targets”
Damn
Ya in Vietnam they tell you to say that to yourself so you wont think about it
me in cod
aceflo You're pathetic.
@@twixter0 fuck off if you're comparing a damn video game with real life and human flesh people you're a sick bastard.
@@RexTheDinosaur1 you need to chill tf out stop being trigger
The way Lonnie describes the scene, convincing himself that it was definitely the enemy, reliving that faithful moment, stopping for a few seconds...it just makes me cry. The way he looks. Something in him died that day.
I wonder if he’s contemplating friendly fire or if he feels that they weren’t an enemy but more or less people defending what they believe ya know
@@FL00P Oh
Yeahh, you can see that he really wants to believe it was the right thing to do, so he keeps telling ''us'' but its actually him telling himself that its okay and that they were just targets.. its sad, I see him just as a human being with so much to carry.
"They're not real people, they're just targets." Sad to witness this old man's mind having flashbacks and remembering the exact words his superior told him at the time.
Yup
1:15 Dan looks like Count Dooku
Mozambique sucks very random
Zack 50fiftyfree I watch a very wide variety of stuff on UA-cam I am just very interested in war and history
Mozambique sucks yeah that’s cool it was just a random comment
A veteran came to my school and one of the younger kids asked him, "Did you kill someone?" And he said, "Yes and I wished the bullet missed." Then he started crying
Pøppy Is A Fall Øut Piløt At The Chemical Disco Ah we had a bomber navigator back in Elementary school and most kids asked him “How many people did you kill?”
That's sad.
@Dewy this isn't a game not teammate it's allies.
Young kids ask really insensitive questions to veterans a Vietnam vet came to our school on Veteran's day and he was crying about a friend whose brains got blown out right next to him and some kid asked what gun was used. Fuckin morons
Do You See It they’re not morons they’re children. you’re between 4-10 in elementary school they don’t have a grasp on those kinds of concepts. They don’t know any better.
When the old man said: “ I blasted ‘em Silhouettes, they’re not real people they’re just targets “ that gave my chills
But your thanos. You blasted way more silhouettes
This dude killed half the universe
I’m your 1000th like my guy😭😭
that's what they teach soldiers, mechanically operate without thinking... corruption at it hardest
He doesn't even mean it, hes still coping.
The silence before lonnie said “I blasted him…” and the face was just dead empty and it gave me goosebumps
I felt the same I really want to contribute make a change help the young veterans. wdyt?
I said damn Lonnie you gangster sorry 🙇🏽♂️😂
Cringe lord
“There’s a body there, but there’s nothing at all there”. That gave me chills
Steele man, huge fan
Yeah its cold.
That dude was deep the entire time
Thx stalin
La salam comrade
At 2:45 he looked like he was having a flashback and had to tell himself, not us, that the silhouettes were just targets.
PTSD
HiHowAreYou
I’m glad you have a degree in psychology
weird little shrimp Yeah, it seemed like he was dissociating
@3kDre he is right, these retards are trying too hard to sound smart
@@stralebruklin its not your problem you wont get anything from minding other peoples business
Silhouettes, they're not real people, they're just targets.
That absolutely broke me heart
Ya man. Dude was there in the storm . Powerful video
He was so broken when he said that. Like he was trying to convince himself and not the viewers or camera man
That's what training does, it's kill or be killed especially back in vietnam
You dont understand how war works?
Carlie Byrom oh for fucks sake you pussy
"What death looks like is nothing." Lonnie nailed it. I've got 3 deployments to Afghanistan as an infantryman. It's weird because we normally don't talk about this ever. Seeing these guys share this stuff is intense.
Lonnie is the guy telling us the man to man truth like he’s just chilling at home there is no cameras just you a 30 rack of miller and Lonnie explaining death ☠️
Thank you for your service
I cried. Tears rolled down. I can't say I can start to imagine what he went through, but my heart goes out to him.
I think that if vets talked to other vets, it could help with a lot of the PTSD.
@@somewhrntm i think it would comfort them a bit knowing they're not alone
The younger one was only calm because he knew what he had enlisted for. That old gentleman with the glasses was most likely drafted, therefore he had no clue what he was going to see.
And even the younger one seemed distressed. War's a hell of a thing.
@@umcaraqualquer3640 He seemed totally distressed and plus he hasn’t had the long years to digest it like the older gentleman
Lonnie fought in Nam which was way fucking worse than conflicts in the Middle East. 60 000 American lives were lost
As someone who has actual experience in this I would say being a part of ending other people's lives through direct actions in war hits people differently and you can never fully be prepared for the psychological impact it will have on you regardless of if you signed up for it or were drafted. Some people are minimally effected by it while others will be troubled by it for the rest of their lives and every shade in-between those two points exist. I thought that I knew what to expect and thought I was fully prepared to emotionally resolve any feelings I would have however events did not play out as predicted. It also was not something that just sprang up out of nowhere as I had trained for years prior to even joining as I had chosen to pursue the special operations side of the house so I thought that I was a very mentally tough individual who could handle anything life threw at me.
There are many ways to rationalize ones actions but you do not truly know how you will respond to something until you are experiencing it for the first time. There is no true 1 to 1 preparation for war.
Jude, how do you know that he "most likely was drafted'?
5:50 to the jump of 5:57 was not expected
Yaboi Beeler 😂😂
Different ways to cope
I didn’t notice that transition😂
That was so funny 😂💀
😂😂
“I blasted him.” Really was the triggering point for him and he needed to retract his PTSD by saying “they’re not real people, they’re just targets.” Almost like a little cue to come back to the current moment and not transfer his head space back to that moment. I pray for this man. I send him love and light, 🙏🏼💛
Another youtube psychiatrist.....
OBIPPO another person who can’t see the obvious, such a shame.
What happens when weaklings go to war, those should stay home
@@thepolites3876 he was a Vietnam Vet, many men were drafted for that War, so I'm sure he may not have ever been prepared for what he had to do
Jesus...
If you meet a combat veteran and don’t know them really well, don’t ask if they’ve killed someone. It’s deeply personal to them and classless of the questioner.
Well they must have signed paperwork to do this. But of course I wouldn't ask about killing to a vet. The fear and images must come flooding back. RIP to those who fought for their country and died on killing fields.
That’s the point of this video, they knew what they were signing up for. Its not like they were just interviewing random veterans.
I’m not talking about the people in this video but giving advice to people who might meet veterans out in the world.
I’ve never asked my papaw and I know he is messed up from it I’ve talked abt nam with him but never about death
@@Ash-wi7vn My Papa, God rest him, fought in WW1, lost part of his hand and was left with permanent shrapnel in his leg when he took a grenade from another young man who had pulled the pin and froze in panic. He very nearly died in an African field hospital, his Purple Heart was stolen by someone on the ship home, and when he finally made it they stuck him on a train to travel the country to help sell war bonds as a hero. Fascinating stuff but he would never, ever tell a war story. He refused to replace his stolen medals, and wouldn't allow his preserved uniform to be displayed. He was a carpenter and the kindest, most gentle man I have ever known and I think that the trauma was so deep he couldn't allow it to surface. Even in his late 80s all he would say is "War is proof that the only hell is here on earth." I wish I could have known more about that chapter of his life but I understand why he couldn't speak about it.
You can see the Nam vet completely relive the moment again.
the way he freezes when remembering, thats PTSD but yeah cool story too hear.
Fredrick Holman Nam was the worst War
Nah, WW1 and WW2 were worse.
Costin Pitulice Eh They all was bad tbh
Battling in WW2 would’ve been much scarier and intense especially D-day and knowing the army you’re facing is equal in power to you
“It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away everything he's got and everything he's ever gonna have.”
Great movie
Deserve has got nothing to do with it
Amazing quote from an amazing movie.
“They’re not real people, they’re just targets”
@Death The Kid "Unforgiven", Directed and Produced by Clint Eastwood. He also stars in it alongside Gene Hackman and Richard Harris, one of perhaps the greatest films ever made imo. its an Anti-Western that shows you there really wasn't any glory in the old west and that killing isnt all its cracked up to be.
I recently read a bumper sticker that sums it up best: "I support the troops, not the ones who send them."
You support their actions because they are the ones who send the troops.
Percy Blakeney that's like supporting ISIS soldiers but not their leaders.
D R but not every soldier has the mentality of an ISIS pig.
realtrickster _ I would assume not every Daesh scum feels the same way. Maybe some US soldiers killed his entire family or village and he is out for revenge. At that point he doesn't care who he works for to get his revenge even if in his previous lifetime he wouldn't hurt a fly
D R
Not at all
The old man with the glasses touched my heart. “They’re not people they’re just targets”. These are the humans our government brings home and asks to work in fast food restaurants etc.. imagine killing men and being trained to see humans as targets then coming home to be talked down to by some Burger King manager.
Very few go into fast food. Majority of us have good paying jobs. Learn before you comment.
@@mikemitchell6455 Yea many of u also end up on the fucking streets
@@plzitzjustmahcheezits909 true. But the army has a lot of support programs for us. I have respect for that. It shows they care.
We all praise our military and say soldiers are fighting for our freedom. And we praise dumb kids for joining. The amount of innocent civilians killed is ridiculous and not worth it. Being an aggressor in a foreign land is not always defending our homeland. Ignorance is not an excuse. Soldiers ARE responsible for their actions. You should feel bad. War sucks. WAKE UP people!!!
@@Omegazstar 🙄🙄🙄 ugh for people like you is why men are such petals today
Poor old man, he would be a totally different person if that didn’t happen
.
Oh well
potato shut the fuck up. It’s kill or be killed.
@@ImSoDapp3r heh
potato Keep your ignorant comments to yourself. They didn’t have a choice then, they got drafted and sent to war
"i didn't feel any personal guilt, but I felt sorry for him"...
Never feel pity for the enemy Who is trying to kill you and your way of life
@@stec1808 but in reality they were sent there just like the guy on the other side, both sides have soldiers that are sent when the guys at the top disagree, I guess it alright to feel pity,bc they were sent there just like the other person
@@bruhmf8 if you are sent to kill me and defeat my country, expect no mercy or pity.
Steve Slothenstein you know that all these soldoers where sent *there* and not to *your* country?
I don‘t really want to argue about that, war is a lose lose situation for every soldier and their families involved
@@NKABoX yh i don't agree with war unless it's necessary to defend your country or way of life but if the time comes then no mercy or pity should be shown.
Lonnie is not okay. Poor guy is seriously contemplating his past actions. Be safe Lonnie, you did what you thought you were supposed to do.
Not supposed to
Forced to
@@Dctctx It's called orders.
@@dmitrit.4862 that’s what I said
@@dmitrit.4862 When someone is forced to go to war, and refusing to would get them sent to federal prison, they are forced to do everything. When someone enlists and understands what they're signing up for, it's orders because you are willingly signing that you'll follow all orders for X amount of years.
Compare Lonnie and the other Vietnam vet. One appears much older. I'd assume the younger one went towards the end of the war whether enlisted or drafted. And I'd bet all my money that Lonnie was pulled in one of the first lotteries, back when people barely knew about the hell going on over there.
@@OfftheWallTales Being drafted is definitely different compared to enlisting. And I understand that those who were thrown into a war see orders like "being forced" to do things and in some way, it actually it is that way. But orders are orders and someone has to do the job, no matter how ugly it gets. My grandpa, for example, fought in the Red Army in Russia and later even in Berlin. He was forced to fight because there was no other way. He was a machine gunner. He couldn't really talk about it, all I know is that he killed a lot of german soldiers back then. War is hell, there's no doubt about it, that's why I have the upmost respect for any veteran, even for the german ones my grandfather fought back in WW2.
That look at 2:50 is HARROWING. I can’t even imagine how it felt in the moments and how it felt to relive that
“ Have you ever killed anyone? If so, what happened?”
“Which time?”
I...
Valeriya have you killed someone before
You can tell Lonnie was affected by the war. I respect all of these guys so much
Joey Lats Everybody is..
+Joey Lats
There are several interviews with over 8000 german and other axis war veterans, they sadly don't exist in english, because they interviewed everyone on the axis side, from the Waffen-SS soldier to the WWI veteran who was a General in WW2, to german women talking in detail about being raped by soviet soldiers, having their kids die etc.
And also someone who was drafted at the age of 17 into the Waffen-SS (not to be confused with the Allgemeine SS who were also soldiers but very very political). That 17 year old like many was drafted, grew up as a teenager in the 3rd Reich and then fought at Normandy with the 12th SS-Division Hitlerjugend (which, eventhough they were almost all 17-18 years old) were so good against the Allies that most US and British vets i talked to told me or wrote in their books that they made fun of them and called them "crack babies". One american vet told me "We laughed about those kids, this changed immediately when we had to fight them because these kids didn't fear death and were far better than our 20 year olds."
I hope someone takes the time to take all of these archived interviews reaching from 1980-2017 (and still adding more) to add english subtitles because they're very interesting but also often heartbreaking as these vets but also the women don't mind crying during the interviews or show other emotions.
Having grown up with family who reached from Waffen-SS soldiers to Luftwaffe pilots i of course also spent a lot of time listening to them and also interviewing them. The Waffen-SS grandfather is still alive and healthy luckily and i still talk to him and ask questions when i help him in his garden.
I hope non-german speakers can watch all of these interviews someday, interesting for anyone i think
Pickle Rick! y do all u americans say that freedom freedom freedom ur not the only free country and they didnt do it for my freedom take a step back an actually see what the reason where for each an every war americas been in an none of them have to do with freedom
To those who upvoted my post. Me and someone else with a big youtube channel on axis history are now working together to present you the 8000+ interviews i mentioned in my previous post with english subtitles. We just started working on translating them. I will update in this comment section when the first one has been uploaded
No Name Jane
Why don't you go play Nintendo kid. This is a video for grownups.
My grandfather is korean war veteran.
When I was little kid, I asked him
"Did you kill somebody at war?"
He answered
"Yeah...Yes I did. To survive.... and I survived."
His pupils had lost focus while he answered.
Additionally, my grandfather received a call from the Ministry of National Defense a week ago and was awarded the Hwarang Order of Military Merit. It is the 4th highest medal of military service. (2020.09.07)
damn
He relived the moment when you asked him.
I'm Greek and my grandfather is korean war veteran. He is 89 years old now, was 21 at the time he went to Korea. I'm 18 right now and I love hearing stories from that time. But I dont wanna ask him if he killed someone. If he killed someone I dont want to bring him that memory up.
That's called the thousand-yard stare.
손석현 My grandfather also served in Korea as well as WW2 and Vietnam. In Korea he was with the 24th infantry, the first group of soldiers to reach Korea and engage in combat. I always knew he had killed people because he never ever talked about war. He did an interview about his time in the army and when he was talking about Korea he got kind of quiet and only said “there was a lot of combat type stuff”
I have some mad respect for all of these people, but especially lonnie. Lonnie was clearly having a very hard time. It’s brave of all of these men to not only serve, but also tell, and relive their stories all over again.
The old guy, hes still not over the fact that he killed someone...
And I'm not too. I experienced war too and I blame myself for even joining the military.
Whats ur point man ? Killing is the biggest sin u can commit man .... do u think god rates ur killing as good ? Everyone who kills has to think about the life he took because he took something that belongs to god and we have no right to do so .... man
@@prophetdenis8413 I mean thats just speculation because is killing really a sin? Killing is a part of this world and always has been since the beginning of everything!
@Eric Jungmann so u say ur teacher also stops u from giving the wrong aswers in a exam ?
What i want to say is ... see life as a big test to show yourself worthy of paradise ...
Edit: im not christian or muslim or anything i simply believe in the "big test" our creator made us for
@Eric Jungmann k snowflake i mean like twisting other peoples words in their mouths is fun for some humans..
“war is young men dying and old men talking” - FDR
Cristian Sánchez Old men talking about things that could affect millions of people.
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
-Plato
It’s an older proverb and not owned by FDR but nonetheless an honorable figure to use for the quote 👍🏻
I thought it was a quote from Odysseus in Troy
Cristian Sánchez this is a quote that would pop up on Call of Duty when you die In campaign
Damn, all of them have PTSD... even the younger one. Dude just hides it hell of a lot better.
He seems mad with self rigtheousness to me. I think he possibly isn't even aware of how much damage it did to him, judging on how hard he tries to overplay it.
A lot of the guys I know never talk about it, unless they are too drunk to realize they are being asked about it. There is not really anything to say about it, since it cannot be explained anyways. And the only people who want to know, have not gone through that. It is not entertaining to talk about it, and it feels like the one's who want to hear are never going to get it anyways. So what is the point? Then again, there are some of the dudes I know that are right out psychopaths, who love to brag about it. They are either seriously sick from the time they were born, or right out liars, who have not gone through it. It's not a game.
@@juri5692 that's what I thought. I'd like to see an interview with him 15 or 20 years from now. See what he's feelings are then. Who knows maybe the older guys felt just like he did back when they where his age.
He doesnt hide it at all. Hes VERY high strung
@@juniorbrussel13 i honestly think modt people who ask just want to help,talking about something always helps.Its a weight off your back
Listen man, that guy with the glasses is battling heavy demons. I can tell he’s a hard man, but I also know why. When he said it was him against whoever, he was just fighting to live, I felt that one. Hope he finds peace.
I always imagined how many soldiers had PTSD in medival times when you had to kill everyone with a sword ...
I always think of this too.
I think at the time it was so normal and wars goes for decades or even hundreds of years that they got used to it like slaughtering an animal.
PTSD is also linked to the lack of community and help at home. So the medevil knights probably had a strong community
124madcow that sounds about right. It was also celebrated back then.
@@Beats4needs yeah whether you were killed or killed someone it is seen as an honorable thing for what ever reason they have.
@@loneencom2087 also a different mindset. A lot of these knights trained from birth and were doing it for God. A lot of this is mindset. A lot of Vietnam guys had PTSD cause there was a draft and weren't cut out for it while you see guys in modern wars who are literally mentally built for war.
A friend of mine back in the 80's was a Vietnam vet.... He was a pacifist... Long hair, liked James Taylor folk music, etc. One day he told me that he had killed people in Vietnam. I told him I couldn't envision that. He told me that all our fancy notions of peace go out the window when someone's shooting at you. You just shoot back.... Never forgot that conversation...
JaleelJohanson62
These men killed for nothing as wars wil never cease utili men like these refuse to fight
Exactly it becomes a fight for survival no matter the cost.
JaleelJohanson62 stop making stories up lol
Hernandez 13 lmao
Jimmy Torres he got a wild imagination dude gota stop lying to himself😂
Dude they all having flashbacks
Bruh they we're scared of the tree
THEYRE IN THE TREES
Vietnamese sounds: javahajwgdjbgbegbdgbsgbsgbegbdg fhthfafbf
All for our entertainment
no shit
The old man with the glasses broke my heart. I wish I could take some of that pain from him so he can live peacefully. He’s earned it
Man you can really see the difference in PTSD from young to old. You can tell the young man is STILL trying to process and portraying confidence through energy and assertiveness, where the older members are much calmer having had years to process.
I Think every Vet handles their trauma differently, so settle down there Mr. Psychologist.
@@RealCleanGoblin Yeah, after reflection I think you're right. That statement is far too general given the number in the video. I'm a teacher and I see trauma in kids, and I see how they change and shape as they age. Just observing a trend- no doctorate hanging on my wall.
@@RealCleanGoblin yeah that's obvious but you can clearly see the difference in tone between the older vets and the younger ones. The older ones have had years to process it all.
@@manwithnoname8229 thats how elders are bud. So stfu
Uzi says “I think every vet handles their trauma differently” then says ‘that how elders are bud so sftu” errrrrmm uzi? You lose
“But in war, neither side deserves to die, honestly”
These are the people you want to protect you. This man is how I would find a little light in the ruins of war, that this guy is out there.
I disagree. I respect that man, but many of the Nazis deserved to die. In the World Wars there were people threatening the lives and freedom of people. Those who did that deserved to die. Those who killed the innocent, enslaved them, put them in camps, beat them, starved them.
I don't want anyone to have to protect me like that.
ARKHAM BRICKS That is true
@@arkhambricksskylar3808 I think you have to look at it from the perspective of a Vietnam war veteran. The conditions were much different than WWII, and the lines of who is right and who is wrong were blurry compared to WWII.
@@arkhambricksskylar3808 so true ,but some Nazis were enrolled , and had to do it , they may not have wanted to , they had no choice
"In peace sons bury their fathers, but in war..fathers bury their sons"
Hacksaw Ridge
As a greek I think that Plutarchos said that,am I right?
Will Andaya because there is no need for old people to fight a war. They are physically weak
Dionak Gamer no shit. He is not saying that. He is saying a quote
Isnt that soviet russia
2:45 that's powerful look how he pauses recalling it all back. His eyes tell the entire story
Those are the eyes of someone who went through too much
That's a real Vietnam flashback
Faking it
yeah dont u think we should support them? for what they've done for us
1,000 yard stare in his eyes.
I’ve never heard someone actually talk about this before, I was taught that asking was not right.
From what I can tell on all of these WhatCut videos, that's the point of the videos. To ask questions or go into topics that usually are too taboo to get into.
You are correct. If you ever meet a veteran, NEVER ask them if they killed anybody. Its disrespectful. I get asked that all the time, I hate it.
Javontae Eaddy we know it’s just so interesting for people who haven’t seen then I saw some one die in not a vet or anything and I didn’t do it i was walking home one night and I just saw two dudes arguing and one pulled out a uzi and dumped the whole clip into the man the other guy ran and walked up to the dead guy to see if he was alright clearly he wasn’t and his eyes I saw them and it was just so awful they were brown and they just looked so empty I’ll never forget that
It's not something you should never ask, unless they bring it up. And even then be very respectful and just listen.
I allow vets to talk about whatever it is they want to talk about. Usually vets like relating the fun times they had with their buddies. Some like talking about the machines and places they went. Sometimes though, they feel like opening up about the reality of it all. I follow their lead and if it seems like they may be getting too depressed or anxious I'll try to help bring it back to the fun times. But no, don't ask them if or how many they've killed. Most will honestly not know if they did or not. Even if bodies are found it can be impossible to know who it was that scored the hits.
Holy shit wow. You can see the pain in having to talk about this. Major respect to these gentlemen
J Cole 🙏
Respect for all the pain they’ve caused?
J Cole Major Respect
No respect for murderers, American culture of War is disgusting
Respect? For what?
2:50 that flashback he had....that was just emotional
Dominic Lehmann shit high key had me in tears
Vietnam flash backs
Yep
He’s seen things man... he’s seen things...
Remembering something, even something terrible is not the same thing as a flashback. My father is a Vietnam combat Vet, and believe me, once you've seen a real flashback, especially if you were in the way, you realize the difference.
i remember taking a trip to DC with my dad. one of the biggest things that stood out to me was when we went to the vietnam memorial and i saw what was a veteran, wide-eyed not staring at anything in particular and seemingly lost in thought. i can't even begin to imagine the things he saw over there
That is heart breaking
Yup, the thousand yard stare.
The really old guy has some clear PTSD
What makes you say that? Because he is contemplating what has happened and what it implies and he doesn't have a clear answer? From my point of view he isn't 'sick'. He is trying to figure out a really big question. Not having an answer or, even better, not being conceited and thinking to know the answer is a sign of wisdom I'd say.
@@StuhlEntertainmentWhat I've learned about PTSD through my own, and friends counselling is that it's usually brought on by encountering someone malevolent. Even if that person is yourself. Looking back, you look at things you've done and think, "I can't believe I did that." It's like watching someone else do bad things, then realizing it's you, and at the time, those things didn't seem wrong at all.
StuhlEntertainment having ptsd doesn’t make you sick
Gigi Smith ok
StuhlEntertainment you sure?? @6:05
2:48 - 2:54
We just witnessed a man have a war flashback. Six seconds of pure, frozen silence.
"They're not real people, they're just targets." We saw a man believe he was back in the war; talking to himself.
I dont know why but when I hear that I remenber of people memes about Vietnam war flashbacks and I realise that not really funny
Lol here we go another Internet mental health specialist
@@jordanleigh6481
Lol here we go another Internet tough guy
@@N-GinAndTonicTM lol mental health is the biggest joke. 60 years ago suicide was way below half what it was in 2019. Since everyone have Bene talking about mental health over the last 20 years people have Been killing the selfs at a rate far higher then ever lol you people are making it worse not better by talking ab3it
@@jordanleigh6481
I'm on the autistic spectrum, I know exactly what mental health is about.
"There's a body there, but there's nothing at all there."
-Lonnie
"Thinking of peace whilst spilling blood is something only humans can do"- Madara Uchiha
Fax
Are seriously comparing human suffering and complex situations with an anime that can't even be coherent ?
@@benjaminverdier3122 stfu
@@potatopoison1130 imagine writing a comment about how violent humanity is and answering mine with rudeness
@@benjaminverdier3122 you're right but my comment was an observation on war
Everyone’s saying that people’s shouldn’t make jokes in the comments but I haven’t seen one yet
In Russia, you no make joke. Joke makes you, therefore your mom and pop are jokes.
then it's working, zeke
For real
z3k3 im replying to one rn
You haven’t scrolled deep enough.
" I don't give a fuck who he was I was trying to keep me alive" that's real shit
Human nature Kill or Get kill
And you think competition, "competition" in its most generic definition, is something humans created? I would absolutely embrace a reality in which people, when left to their own devices, played along well with everyone else. But, that's naivete. All of human interaction, from the interpersonal to the macroscopic, runs the spectrum of competition... what I want from you; what you want from me; what an ideology demands of me or others; how ideologies conflict; the fact that everything in this world is finite, and thus has a value defined by its desirability and ease of access.
There are no heroes; there are no villains... there are just people doing what people do. Little ants milling around in the sun. And, at the end of the day, if you are not willing to sacrifice to protect the things you enjoy or care about, someone else will sacrifice to take that away from you.
kill or be killed*
At the end of the day, one country has to be the greatest. Period. Why the fuck shouldn't it be ours?
I think what you should have taken from this video is that we're all human beings and we do what we have to do to stay alive, we all have loved ones who will miss us when we're gone. It's not about labelling one country as better than another. We are all human, treat everyone as such unless they stain that title with injustice. People all around the world have fought and died for the sake of power and imperialism, we should only fight when we have to, not out of the arrogance in thinking that your country is the 'greatest'.
They say war is hell for a reason. I'm surprised these guys opened up about their experiences. Typically not something veterans like to talk about. I hope they were able to make peace with their experiences.
War is not hell. These people in the video deserve no sympathy THEY are the hell.
in my experience, veterans love to talk about their time in the service. they love to reminisce. you just have to know what questions to ask and what NOT to ask. How you ask is important as well.
mcaval73 stfu
mcaval73 major respect for them talking about it. I'm a coward bc I can't bring myself to talk about what caused my P.T.S.D., SINCERELY, Tiffany Lancaster
My father was a medal recipient in WWII. He never talked. But he wrote poetry and some of those poems are very revealing. I think I'm his only child who read very many. He gave them to me though. I set one to music for him. It's been lost for nearly 40 years now. My son served too, and he has PTSD. He's opened up to me once. I now understand better. No person can have a buddy's brains blown all over them and not suffer PTSD. Nobody.
Great interview
As a child, who grew up in a war, and saw death of the early age to changes you.
In a war, nobody really wins, because both sides think they’re fighting for a righteous purpose.
Because people are brainwashed from childhood first by parents, and then by various institutions
I'm sorry for what you've experienced war never solves anything do leaders really think that all of those lifes lost civilians soilders is worth it for a small piece of land?
Whenever I meet a veteran, I make it a point to NEVER ask the “kill anyone” question. I don’t care if they never even been deployed to combat in the whole of their careers. Not only does it bring up awful memories that they’ve worked so hard to move on from, it’s obscenely inconsiderate.
Yes and it looks like they didn’t know they were going to be asked that question... not cool
I agree, this whole video seems rude.
only a few can understand them
You’re a hero
my father killed 16 people in the bosnian war and afghanistan and we never discuss it with him. it’s the most respectful thing to do
2:55 his eyes are looking forward but seem so distant.
no That’s the Thousand Yard Stare
He's day dreaming
trillog 6ix why you rude tho
@@charlesdemers1197 I'm not trying to be rude lol. He is actually day dreaming you can see it in his glare... He's thinking about nothing at all and I do it it all the time.
trillog 6ix Okay
big video and big issues, youtube needs more of this
+WatchCut Video gif-finder.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Ross-Kisses-The-Thank-You-Sign-On-Friends.gif
+Obiarshi What can we do, exactly? We don't choose to start wars. And those who push for it do so with the belief that others will fight it for them.
*****
But how does that help? I try to help people however I can, I try to be nice, but how does that change anything? For every one of those people who genuinely are good people, there are fifty more who couldn't care less about anything else as long as they're satisfied. We have so many ways we can help the world, each other, but it never works because we're all so selfish we refuse to give up what we have in order to make a change.
A group is only as strong as its weakest member. Forgive my cynicism, but I can't help but think there is little hope left for us.
+KellseyAlexHipo You can't change others, and many can never be helped! All you can do is try your best while not being used! do small things around your community to help, help an elderly person or volunteer at a sou kitchen, things you control and know actually help, when you give to big groups you know they don't do what is promised so control what happens by doing for those in need by you!
MrCRAIGSHILL
It's funny you say that actually, because I do try my best to help people when I can, but I recently started realizing I'm a little too naive for my own good. I'm turning 18 in April, and my mother has been scolding me more and more often for the things I unthinkingly do. For example, I'm apparently not supposed to walk around with money in my hand, because someone may try to take it. I do plan on volunteering (I recently donated blood for the first time at my school), but I feel like I've lost faith in humanity and just want life to end already. Today, I read three stories in the news, one of which included a man beating his wife and throwing her out naked into the streets for talking to another man, another man claiming his infant choked on a used condom when he'd actually put his private part... *sigh*, and a couple who attempted flushing their newborn baby down a toilet before dismembering it and throwing it away when it failed. I'll try to be good, I'll try to help, and I'm sure there are others who want to make a difference, but I see no hope for us.
just something for other people to know is that PTSD is not only for soldiers. civilians of that invaded country live it too. I am an Iraqi and I was diagnosed with PTSD as well. an example of that would be when I see a humvee or a chopper even if it was a civilian chopper I freak out and start panicking and get an instant flashback even though that was 19 years ago. I don't wish war on any country. politicians should get in an arena and fight their fight.
I wanna ask politicians if they love war so much why don't you send your own child to war?
why did youtube recommended me this when everyone is talking about wwlll
The answer is in your question itself
Lada Zendlová you know why 👀
You answered yourself 🤷♂️
Lada Zendlová they preparing us
Same
I was in the military.
Never ever ask a soldier if he killed.
It mostly sends them so far down memory lane and on a dark path of their mind...
For courtesy: dont ask them, unless you are close friends or relatives.
i feel like they’d have to sign up for this type of thing tho yano
@@cameronthemaneron784 I signed up for defending my country and people.
As a lot of others, and a lot of others ended up killing people on the far side of the world.
And "a lot" came back broken.
Man is not supposed to kill man.
Toni L i meant the interview dawg
Toni L they signed up to talk about their experience
they ask this to share... and i believe ppl here is ready to tell the story
When the old man said “oh man this is hard” my heart broke.
He is a murder...for money...idiot
Couse you dumb as hell...idiot
@@thatpalmettoguy5696 do you know what war is???
@@thatpalmettoguy5696 in basketball ore what???
@@thatpalmettoguy5696 ww1 and 2 is a different thing...but when you on purpose gets a soldier..dont come and buhuu,i have problems to sleep
I went to a baseball game a couple years ago, it was a great game. I looked towards the people in the rows in front of me, and I saw Lonnie. I had seen this video countless times before, and I recognized him immediately. He was with his wife, or another woman his age, Smiling and having a great time. I couldn’t bring myself to ask him his actual identity to confirm if it was actually him or not, and I’m glad I didn’t. Lonnie, you’re a great man. Even if that wasn’t you, I’m glad I have an image of you having fun with someone you care about in my head.
The young sniper seemed to be the only one not regretting anything
it will haunt him in his latter years.
I heard that when you’re alone and just lost in your thoughts, it will haunt you
Because its his job and he knows it
@IDGAF TWisY he’s obligated to murder people?
@@ramiere1412 yes he's a sniper, snipers kill people if u go in a war and don't expect to kill people your not on this planet
"It wasn't me and a Vietnamese, it was me and anybody that's got a g--- It was... I w---- Ah man, this is hard" That's so powerful. I feel so bad for that man, you can tell he's never forgiven himself for having to take another life.
It's hard to process it, and to justify it
He shouldn’t forgive himself. PTSD is karma
@@Cienfuegos. 🤨
@@Cienfuegos. fu-k off mate he doesn’t deserve that damn talk most of the soldiers in the Vietnam war where either drafted or joined because they did fully understand what they had signed up for so you don’t get too say that type of sh-t
@@Cienfuegos. you get drafted and experience what he has experienced than say that again. Fuck off.
Lonnie, the Vietnam Vet with glasses, sounds like he’s still trying to convince himself that silhouettes aren’t people
Carson's avatar ! From the moments of his Minecraft race when he got baited into that obvious trap ! ahahaha
@@Feezwa not the right time my guy not the right time
@@Feezwa what the actual fuck bro
@@Feezwa what the fuck man
It’s either that or a cynical remark on training. When he brought his hand up to his shoulder and said silhouette, it reminded me of the target that is the head and shoulders. My first thought was dark humor about training and real life applications.
“I didn’t give a fuck who he was, I was trying to keep me alive” this man Is A True Marine
I laughed Soo hard
It's easy to tell yourself "ya that guy didn't have feelings or a family or the potential to have a family in the future" but you know it's wrong. I quite frankly don't see the difference between killing your fellow man who believes differently than you and killing your child for their unique beliefs
@@Toniez0 I didn't understand ? But I think you mean killing in the name of religion because we, former Muslims, here are constantly threatened with death
No. He was an innocent victim drafted into a war and forced to defend himself.
I don’t think they specified what branch he was in. I assumed Army because it just said Infantry. Usually they would say that he was a Marine.
Would have preferred if the stories weren't chopped up.
They have the full interviews on their channel
Boo hoo. What an inconvenience
It was pretty easy to keep track. Not a big deal.
Yeah ikr. I do t know what's going on
Nah you're just slow
"It went from a big something, to the smallest nothing.... It goes from dreams and aspirations, to nothing"
I read that just in time with the video
Same
That sentence has so much meaning behind it I had to pause the video. Truly sums up what death is to me.
When
DāwN so did i holy shit
This video should be seen by every high school student.
This isn't going to stop them from joining but rather deeply reflect on the situation. Kudos to them if they decide to join, I'll give them even more respect.
Why? I'm still joining the Marines. I'm 19 and I'll be up there to protect my friends and family.
Titan. God-country-family, never give up.
Titan I don't understand why people want to kill for their politics
deniz daniel Its not for politics. It's for our friends and our families. Most veterans will say they did it for the man next to them.
When the old man looks down as if the bodies were there you realize that he is reliving the moment very vividly, there is no doubt that those things are so strong that they never leave your life, it must be very hard for many to learn to live with it, in his case you realize that even after so many years it is something that does not finish processing at all. My deep respect for them, not only must they fight and survive the war, but also another kind of war awaits them when they return home, perhaps even harder than the one they lived in service.
Im sure he also throwed a rock at the body just like he did in the video, just to see if he iwas really dead. he was.
My grandpas brother hanged himself after the stuff he has seen in ww2. Poor guy was having nightmares and was so traumatized that he took his own life. He was only 16 at the time.
He probably did some inhumane shit... sorry what happened to your gramps....
@@sonnydlight602 probably idk for sure but that was terrible time to be alive for sure. He fought in Yugoslavia against nazi Germany...
@@frankomrkic8917 Počivao u miru...
The Falklands war claimed more British lives via suicide than it did combat.
@@frankomrkic8917 Yugoslavia during WW2? He must have had seen HELL there.
Their mindset is interesting.
+VougeIdea agreed.
+VougeIdea Most of them suffer from what they've seen and done and many go to therapists
+soso117 That is true, It's sad that many will never stop suffering BUT the glamorisation of war needs to stop
+VougeIdea you go girrrlllll
Nikita when your in war, and you and your friends are constantly in the threat of death, your going to kill to ensure their safety. They kill because if they don't, they'll have to see their friend die, their best friend maybe. War sucks
The young dude sounds so casual about it like he saw it on call of duty
Okram G it’s called disassociation. For many soldiers it’s how their brain deals with their experiences. It’s like the older gentleman with glasses said, in the moment he shot a silhouette, just a target. Many veterans brains are able to sub consciously stop their thought process at it was a target. It’s the body naturally keeping them sane. But most of them cannot maintain disassociation their entire lives. In the video the Vietnam Vets were not disassociated like the younger men. For most veterans the older they get the harder it is for them to disassociate.
@@4uck7h3Stat3 too good of a reply, thank you. Just wanted to make a point of how death can be talked about on such a emotionless level. Your answer 100% explains that.
His innocence was taken at too much of a young age that he's mind couldn't process everything properly so at some point the brain just stops trying and it's at that point that he was just rendered numb to everything
@@nkosinathikhumalo3399 the interesting thing would be seeing how his interactions in a social environment would differ
Nathan Khumalo or he just didn’t care
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him"
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
That's not right. G. K. Chesterton was talking about ww1. Apart from perhaps the iraqi man, none of these people were fighting in defence of their country.
@@meredith5879 not even the iraqi war
@@mogu8026 you're right, my mistake.
@@meredith5879 heard of 9/11
@@rithvikmuthyalapati9754 bush did that
Why did UA-cam take 2 years to put this in my recommendations over 1000MPH FIDGET spinner videos.
Well Que They go that fast?!? I've gotta see this......
Well Que same here wtf. this is honest and scarry and all in all an extreemly good vid
AMEN!!!
with that speed the fidget spinner can kill someone or maybe a war will soon use them as weapons hahahhahahahahhahahhahaa
Well Que I swear to God! I only found this today.
“a warrior fights not because he hates what’s in front of him, but because he loves what’s behind him”
I'm not making a joke but I think I saw this quote once after dying in cod modern warfare 2
Not, just because he is idiot.
aw f off
@@Nuka-_- Same
“a warrior fights not because he hates what’s in front of him, but because he gets free college”
“They’re not real people they’re just targets” you can hear the pain in his voice trying to cope with the fact he killed someone.
Sounded rehearsed
@@FogandRain227 it's probably what their superiors told them so theyd be more prone to kill, probably the exact words too
He probably was trying to convince himself? He seemed pretty disturbed, like he relived the moment.
My dad was a Vietnam Marine and watching Lonnie talk left me in tears because it was like seeing glimpses of my dad when he was sick and began opening up about his war time.
Lonnie, I hope wherever you are you've found peace within yourself.
I remember my mom talking about her first kill
“It was him or me, and here I am still”
What was your moms KD though
Johnny
.48
She was still copper rank and didn’t have all the attachments for her class. She also didn’t have commando pro and that did t help. Not to mention her score streaks were trash
A Mildly Upset Loli ok but she was always a natural born killer of bots regardless of what she’s unlocked
Johnny
Thanks bro, she beat the campaign on veteran
amy wesley
Thanks man, she’s bad ass
7:20
I could listen to this man speak for hours on end.
I liked the Vietnam vet in a hoodie with glasses
You can tell at 5:57 the guy is trying to rationalize what he did. Poor dude.
If you listen to his story i think he friebdly fired on a teammate. Especially after he says i was trying to keep me alive... It wasnt me and vietnamese it was anyone with gun. Everything he said made me feel like he killed a friendly
i think your reading into stuff that isnt there
@calebblitz
@@timgoppelsroeder121 i think so too...... Didnt he say the person had the star or something? And he tried to say that he wanted to keep himself alive no matter who it was.... But it was the enemy. Its just it was a human too. He didnt want to think about that.
@@tmmh dumb ass
I would watch an entire interview with Lonnie, the way he talks he's just so genuine and direct and the way he paused he wasn't there in the studio anymore he was back in Vietnam I would just really like to hear more about his time and his life.
No joke at 2:50 he seriously had a Vietnam flashback
if one of the producers touched then he could of hurt them why he was having a episode
thousand yard stare
digital1911 ii
.........I blasted him........
Anocks that's what I thought
Man how bad have we failed these guys. That's what kills me. I dunno why I did it - but I searched for my grandfather's WWII bronze star order.. he was always very graphic with me about his experiences there and didn't hold a lot back - but never could remember why he got a bronze star - or at least led on that he didn't. So after some records searches - and some big time digging at his division website, I found the actual type written order.
He basically ran forward on his own with a bazooka and tried to take out an enemy tank. he failed, but in doing so - learned about a German strong point near Lepheim, germany. He gathered his squad and led them back, through the tanks, destroying both and taking out the strong point. I haven't patched the specifics together - but that was the same day he got hit in the ass/hip and that was the end of the war for him. That was his April 27th, 1945.
When I saw the ordrer, I was initially really proud, you know? That someone who shared my DNA had that much resolve, bravery and leadership to do that; but then I got really emotional and sad. Like uncontrollably sad. Because I know him as my grandfather and how happy he was - and how his friends were and how much joy he brought them... and how such a wonderful human had to be that terrified in a spot like that that he felt he needed to do that... and the men he led - the ones who didn't make it - that they got denied a grandfather like I Had. And how i'm sure the germans he killed- their families back over there didn't get that experience either. That really mangled me. I get why it happened. I get that he did what he had to do... and to a degree I feel proud of it. But it upset me. A great deal.
I still haven't told him I found that and don't know if I ever will but holy smokes do I appreciate my family and the flukey bullshit fact that we exist for no other reason than dumb luck and one kid from a redneck down in the NE US who had the nuts to do one terrifying thing that got him shot - but saved a lot of people...
And i'm quadruply frustrated we've failed these guys as bad as we have as humans. We owe them so much more than what we've given..
Hunter Golden that's amazing mate!
Trying. Thanks guys, appreciate the support. Shit's not black and white. We think of the experiences we had with such wonderful people who we share a gene pool. But I also think of the people who didn't get that. Regardless of what their family either had to experience or were foced to believe or not so much - that's hard to take. My grandfather's bullets led to some amazing people because they we bullets meant for others. But I do feel like I share his burden that there might be some other senational people on earth who we'll never even be able to consider - because of said bullets. What a wild burden. What a bunch of wonderful stories to tell.
Hunter Golden I am so happy to be alive, but I have never really had much of a life since I got back to the world
Great story of your grandfather, I have a Silver Star from Vietnam and it seems that the mayority of people never realize that some people never get to have their grandfathers or for that matter their fathers and others survive through dumb luck, actually this "dumb luck" thing I call the Will of God, for he decides who survives and who does not and which family line will continue to grow and which will not. It shows that God controls everything including the blowing of a tree leaf across the road. I have no other explanation for this phenomenon, other than God.
Raul Gonzales Thanks a lot Raul. Thanks for your service, also. Whenever we get to be around walking history - especially when it's so close to us, we take it for granted. IMO, being a historian is getting your hands dirty with the history around you.
Like I said, Pop was a garbage man. Golf bum with a capital 'B'. Practical joke master. What you uncover from those around you -that's the reality of history and i'm happy I got the chance.
Thanks for the reply.
*7:13**-**7:37** that is the mentality I wish every individual could have. Words to live by*
This is EXACTLY how it is. Neither side ir right or wrong!
sparklyclarke killing is more justifiable than most people agree IMO
ISIS deserves to die
America also killed and still kills people all the time (drones).
At WW2 many countrys killed people, f.e. russia
There is no "good" side in murdering people
"hand to hand combat"
the guy with the glasses just relived that time. he felt the moment again when he retold the story. hope hes okay alive and well🖐💪
My eldest Grandfather fought in WW1 and was shot in the chest during the battle for Vimy Ridge. He was one soldier in the four Canadian divisions that pushed through the German forces. He survived, but all he'd ever speak about the war was sharing a small fire with a few guys from his unit and a couple of German soldiers one Christmas day. They could speak broken English so they shared stories with him and his guys about their families, growing up and so on. They were just regular people like he was, but the following day everyone was back on their sides fighting the war like always because that's what they were there to do. It wasn't personal for them. They didn't hate the men they were shooting at and killing, or at least not on a personal level. Each just fought for what they were trying to accomplish or protect for their country. That's how my Grandfather saw it. He wouldn't tell us anything else about the war before he was injured and sent back to a hospital in England. Probably for the best. WW1 was a bloody, gruesome war. Not that all aren't, I suppose.
Mon grand-père a fait la deuxième guerre mondiale avec le 22èm régiment du Québec et la seule chose qu'il nous ait jamais dit est : mon ami est mort dans mes bras et j'ais vue un enfant sourire. il nous disait qu'il ne fallait pas se vanté d'avoir fait la guerre mais remiercier le ciel d'avoir survécus
yes and after I said : the only things he tels us about this time is , my friend is dead in my arms and I saw a kid smile. he told us not to boast of having survived but thank god for surviving . I am sorry if the translation is not perfect but english as you see is not my main language
lest we forget.. 😔
Fascism, Inc. probably in his 60s
My great great uncle fought in World War 1 survived the war. But then in,World War 2, Hitler invaded Russia. The cold, the lack of blankets, no food, no water. He just died. Right there in a field. In Russia. My Dad's Uncle was a Tank driver in Vietnam, so was my Uncle. I want to carry on that. Its not glorious. Fuckers at school think that they're going to return to some big heroes welcome. They think it's like a video game. It's not. When your dead, your dead. Its not glorious. You are killing them so they don't kill you.
I love how everyone in this comment section has a degree in philosophy and psychology.
They're acting like 80% of redditors
Double A Food Reveiw 😂
@@BlaiyND lmao
Reddit gonna Reddit
Bruh😂
Sad how many joking comments there are, i thought this was amazing to hear.
Randy Lahey no, 5 years
i mean people will always make fun of everything, doesnt matter what their talking about, even if the world ends tmrw, they will laugh about it
@@victortijerina8509 I think there's few things people should not joke about: God and suffering.
Santeri Saarinen sometimes the best way to get around the suffering is jokes, it’s the best some people can do, with the god aspect, you know, people just find it funny
@@soupperandstarlitsartdumba469 Yeah, I think humour is really one if not the best way to survive trough hard times. And that's great! But when you joke about someone's other's suffer, let's say sore trauma or disability, it isn't funny anymore. And as for God aspect, I think it's everyone's individual choice. I don't joke about God, but if someone does that's his business. My God doesn't get mad of that, but still I don't find it necessary.
That was deep. Silhouettes..... I'm kinda glad I watched this as I've always wondered but would never dare ask a veteran. None of the WW2 veterans I knew growing up wanted to discuss the war at all - and now they're gone.
I'm Iraqi, and my father was drafted in Iran-Iraq war but I never had the guts to ask what was the first time he killed someone. I have asked him before about how does it feel to kill a person, and he said that it feels very very very awful. Another time he told me how he lost his entire crew in a bombing and he was the only survivor in his crew, as well as his best friend who I was named after.
I understand how difficult these questions are to those veterans, I know this first hand because of my father's PTSD, he never wanted us to feel that he is suffering from anything but he is, it took him time to be able to make a family, and he certainly hasn't recovered much because it's permanent damage and it's hard. My father to this day has hard time being close to me and my siblings, my siblings try to get away from him because he isn't social with us, but I try my best to communicate with him, and I know he appreciates it, we all do if we were veterans with PTSD.
@Pizza • 12 years ago indeed
God bless you. Never give up on helping your father.
I wanna tell you something. I'm from Iran. I wasn't born back then but the it's still used here as a propaganda. I'm sure you know Anyone killed on the battlefield is called a martyr and so naturally, as a kid i used to think that we were the good guys and the iraqi people are the bad ones. But i always had this thought that bothered me. What if they're forced to fight, what if they're good people like us and aren't their deceased soldiers considered martyrs as well? I remember asking a clergyman these question and as you can imagine, came up with a bullshit of an answer to just ditch me.
I know that this wasn't relative to your subject, but when i read that you and your family were effected by the war, and also you being on the opposite site, just made me wanna talk to you. I'm really sorry your dad had to go through all that. I lost my grandfather in the war and my dad's family was very effected by the incident. So i can relate.
Fuck war and fighting.
Wish you the best my friend
@@arianfaramarzi152 Much love brother, I'm very sorry to hear about your grandfather.
The people always suffer from war, neither sides are evil. Everyone who gets drafted to war only wants to come back to their families. The people to blame are the governments. Especially in my country, Sadam Hussein was a very evil man, killed countless people, he was a tyrant. Regardless of whatever happened in the past, I'm sure, no good person including my father would ever hate people from Iran, and I'm very sure your side doesn't hate us either.
It's always great to seek what you need to know, I'm very happy that you commented. ♥️
I hate the way this is edited, can we hear one story at at a time instead of mixing all stories together!
Thanks you :) i want to hear the full story
I know right
This editing way is called "Cross-cutting", it is used to raise up the tension. Maybe they wanted to make it more similar to a movie than a documentary.
jtridexter they have full interviews with these veterans on the channel
@@nedlero8549 but it didn't worked at all, that's just poor confusing editing
''They are not real people...they are just targets.'' 2:57 ; This guy is broken so deep....
Wonder how his "target's" family feels
Sami Shreih
It’s them or him.
@@CitizenOfEarth69 well guess what, they know the price of war and going to battel, if it wasn't for men like him or my dad or me, my family wouldn't be alive and maybe your family wouldn't either
@@merganzer73 Except they went there to kill the Vietnamese....they didn't come to fuck with us.
@@Jonathan-cz4ky orders are orders you know what you sign up for in the service, so at that point you do what you gotta do to see your family again
Lonnie was a pure soul who wanted to live a full life. He also wanted to achieve that path peacefully. Sometimes the bullshit gets in the way and your number is called and sometimes you pick that number.