Please subscribe and hit the like button! That will drastically help our channel and it will show the UA-cam algorithm that people are interested in WWII veterans and their incredible stories Please also consider writing Mr. Gosch a Thank you for your service card / Happy Birthday card That will mean a lot to him. Please address the card to Remember WWII C/O William Gosch P.O. Box 245 Collierville, TN 38027 GOD BLESS THE WWII VETERANS! GOD BLESS THE WWII VETERANS! GOD BLESS THE WWII HEROES AND VETERANS!
He mentioned having the rifle sent home to "North Tonawanda"... that's basically Buffalo, NY. One of the Band of Brothers guys was from there as well. Did he move from Buffalo to Tennessee? I'd like to write him.
I live in Huntsville Alabama I’d love to have the opportunity to thank Mr. Gosch for his service and hear more of his ww2 stories. His voice is like smooth honey over gravel :-)
I think he closes his eyes and pauses at the moment he does because he is in a reverie of divine communion with his God, thanking Him yet again for having spared his life at that moment so he could tell his story at this moment. I think he's overwhelmed by the Love that God showed him in a way so direct it could have had only one source -- and he knows it. How can you possibly respond to the Love that without question saved your life other to recognize and give thanks for it?
My grandfather would tell me stories like this. We'd sit in his living room with his favourite beer (Give me a little when mum wasn't looking) light his pipe and go back to his time in the war. Some were pretty gruesome, but he'd tell the light hearted funny stories too. He died in 2001, I miss him and his stories. The weird thing is, I work in elderly care in a hospital, I seen to attract the WW2 veterans and hear their stories too. Never get tired hearing them.
Never got those stories. I was to young for him to share and I don't even think he shared with my older brother. He was a navigator on a b17 in the 8th airforce. I found a guy on Facebook when I was in my 20s who had action reports and rosters from his time flying. I realized why he didn't share with us. I miss him also. He died in 2010 after suffering from Parkinsons for over a decade
My grandfather was a Marine veteran of Okinawa and Korea. He never talked to us about the fighting except to say "I pray every day that you all will never have to be apart of an amphibious invasion" God bless you sir, and Semper Fi!
My Grandfather was a Korean War Marine also, however he was too young to fight in Okinawa as he was too young for WWII. What can earnestly say is that my Grandfather was the same way, with never speaking of his time in Korea, but rather putting that time behind him.
🙏🙏Blessings forever GOD loves y'all too forever tell everyone you know and don't know. Jesus loves y'all too forever. Teach everyone how to see and enjoy their blessings too forever
@@marcusdelk7708 "The Forgotten War " ! Korea was a meat grinder. USA lost nearly 34 000 soldiers in Korea from 1951-53 . I think sum historians claim nearly 54000 were killed . Some of the bloodiest fighting in World history took place. My father was drafted late 53 , as part of the Korean War if it was going to continue, but great fully not so. I lost a relative in SouthVietnams Central Highlands mid 3/68 , tail end of bloody TET , nearly 2wjs. Before my 11th bday . I'm m an indirect casualty of that conflict by currently being on anti- anxiety , and depressants medications . Seen from 1965-69 friends bros. and neighbors sons sent there . Most came back classic cases of PSTD. A classic case of PSTD was my grandpa( Dad's side) ! He was a medic with cat.s rank in the USAs elite 82nd A/B Division in WW2 in the ETO ! Man , the harrowing , on nearly , and seeing death edge from Normandy , and the bloody fighting he seen , and heard @ STE. Mere Eglise , the blood soaked ground from Grimm fighting in those hedgerows ( DDay 6/6/1944) , "Operation Market Garden" happening @ Holland (mid9/1944) where the Brit paratroopers got mauled @Arnhem , and the USAs 101 and 72nd A/B units faired slightly better but still couldn't consumate a sure footing on the German side of the Rhine River , and later to defend a small parcel of territories against determined Nazi- German counterattacks at high casualties. A bridge too far it was. Grandpa was on his way to the Ardennes. After a brief respite . The jeep he was riding in , with 4 other soldiers , hit a mine kia the driver , soldier behind the driver , wounding the soldier behind my grandpa In front seat where grandpa got wounded too. Both wounded troopers laid off to side of ditch for nearly 1/2 a day before being picked up by USA troops . Luckily , Joachim Pieper of the 1st Waffen SS Panzer Division wasn"t there instead, for grandpa like the other 130-50 , and probably then sum , that Colonel Joachim Pieper had murdered @ Malmady , Belgium. Grandpa was reluctant to talk about his hellish time in the ETO , for it would bring up not to nice of a time period. It took years for him to break out , and talk about his nightmarish experiences .And , what battles grandpa was In was only a fraction of other major engagements the Allied were involved in .
This is a badass who has truly taken lives, taking a life isn't badass, but living with it and not becoming an alcoholic like I did after my combat Infantry days is something to behold.
If you study war, tactics, events, you begin to see patterns of tiny details that changed the entire scope of battle. I can’t help but attribute these things to divine intervention. Like Jeb Stuart in the Civil War, and the battle of Gettysburg. He was days late arriving, solely because he was the cool kid, fast cavalry, busy partying and schmoozing the southern ladies. If he had been there from the first day, the North would almost certainly have been routed and the entire war gone differently. Arrogance and indifference of one man, flipped the entire war. These tales he told, he attributes his survival to divine intervention, and so do I. He was meant to live, and meant to destroy the evil empire Japan had become. He hurt for not seeing men grow and have children, but he was meant to do what he did in that war, and meant to win the battles he fought.
Like the battle of Midway. How can all those decisions go the way they had to? How can one bomb that hit one aircraft carrier just chain react and sink it? How can an overflight just have enough cloud cover to obscure the American fleet? A secular man might chalk it up to freakishly good luck. I don’t believe that. I believe it’s small voices, changing big events.
@@curtish2541Amen. In my life I have survived terrible car accidents and other certain death circumstances. We live by the GRACE of GOD. My mother taught me that and prodded my faith journey and I am thankful for that!!
Riveting listen and God bless you sir, im a 65 year old Kiwi and if it wasnt for you brave Yanks, we would all be speaking Japanese in the South Pacific, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for your bravery and sacrifice. We will remember your buddies, may they Rest In Peace. Sorry to hear about the Kiminos.
They never would have held the pacific in reality..we never would have been speaking Japanese..but bless the young men that fought so bravely ..amazing
We talk shit to each other, but Americans, New Zealanders, Polynesians, Australians, British, French all fought and died together during that war. Russians call it the Great Patriotic War. While I don't agree with them, it definetly was just that and all sides fight like it was.
@@angrybear86same thing they planned to do to us in Australia Completely subjugate and overturn our democratic government to their way of governance as well as completely eclipsing our culture and way of living to their own liking 😢
I'm an Englishman and I would like to thank this brave man for his service and sacrifice. Pity our politicians haven't listened to these men about the futility of war. I wish him well. My Grandfather (East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) fought alongside American GIs in France and Belgium.
My grandfather also landed with the Marines that went in at Yontan airfield. He was with the third wave. Thank you Sir for serving and enduring. Peaceful days to you.
My grandfather was a marine in Okinawa. Carried a BAR, got some tropical fever so bad he had a fever of 107 and got lockjaw. They sent his footlocker to his parents and wrote him off as dead. He recovered and when he went back to his unit every single person he fought with was dead and replaced. 100% casualty rate.
Dad was in the 22nd in Okinawa too. BAR man also! He told me once when showing a picture of some of his buds in the squad, that only him and pointed to another guy, were , to his knowledge, the only living and non-wounded Marines left there. He lost it and was send out after losing his foxhole buddy by a Jap infiltrator who cut his throat. Dad, never spoke much about his experiences in the war. As a Marine, myself, I understood that more completely after my tour in Nam. >salute> to your grandpa also! Simper Fi!
You can seen when he pauses with eyes closed, these are images he's lived with and dreamt about for almost 80 years. You can't erase memories and the harder you try, the more impossible it becomes.
You put the images in a box, with the other memories. It’s when you talk about it, like this, that they come out! That’s why one/ they don’t like to talk about it. What hurts me, is that his pain is directly from opening the box, to tell the story. #RIP
He boarded ship in Guam bound for Okinawa. During the voyage he encountered Kamikaze. There were 355 Kamikaze attacks during the battle for Okinawa. Now…go read an actual fact checked history book on the subject instead of disrespecting a true hero.
Those "It doesn't matter" moments were so telling in what this man saw and went through. Those little details were so meaningless when your trying to survive. God bless this man and the allied powers!
@@cylersmiley5259 what do you mean it wasn’t too horrible? WW2 was a brutal, violent and death ridden war (more so than any others) that not one of us could ever imagine.
@@cylersmiley5259 you would have been there when the first shot was fired, and back home in your bed when the second shot got fired. What a stupid comment.
@@cylersmiley5259 many didn’t volunteer they were drafted. And didn’t have any choice at that point. If you volunteered you had the choice of which services/branch you would like to join. Draftees didn’t get that choice and mainly went to marines or army infantry. So if u preemptively joined you could pick a branch of service that didn’t have a terribly high death rate. The perks of volunteering I suppose
Mr. Gosch, I know this is not the same country you and your friends fought so hard for and so many died fore but I still want to thank you for your service and sacrifices.
tbh the outcome of WWII is what ruined the world including america...but it's not the fault of men like these who served their country to their knowledge and ability.
@ThatOneGuy if you look around the modern west and see something good and healthy then you are not on the same page as I am. WWII was one of the biggest crossroads in shaping the modern west.
@@levitatingoctahedron922 funny how the neo fash run around spilling their garbage with anime profiles, not being aware of how the modern West is the entire reason they're able to publicly yearn for its downfall in the first place.
@@natsusatsujinki8342 I genuinely dislike when soldiers are compared to murderers. If you want to make the argument that soldiers are murderers do not look at them for at the time they were naive youths doing what they were told in a forced war, look higher than that. Also the IJA committed far worse atrocities than you can imagine if you want to make that sort of point.
@@natsusatsujinki8342 so easy for a man to say those kinds of ignorant things that has never been faced with any sort of situation even remotely close to what these soldiers had faced. I can tell just by the tone in your words that your one of these people that like to act so righteous.
@@natsusatsujinki8342 just be glad you’re living in good times. God is good, but things happen and unfortunately to survive you may have to do what Mr. Gosch had to. Don’t blame the soldiers who would be forced to serve or be jailed. Blame the politicians and greedy men who have power to end millions of lives and choose to do so in war.
@@natsusatsujinki8342 you haven’t experienced anything close to what these men experienced because of what they did 🤷🏻♂️ but what’s the old saying? Good men create good times, good times create weak men and weak men create hard times. you should think before you type
5:20 Anyone else get that feeling like your heart just sinks down into your stomach every time you hear a WW2 vet’s story? Yeah, me too. Thank you guys.
🙏🙏Blessings forever GOD loves y'all too forever tell everyone you know and don't know. Jesus loves y'all too forever. Teach everyone how to see and enjoy their blessings too forever
My Dad was there as well, he had daytime nightmares, that scared the shit out of me at times. His flashbacks would just take him to a place no man should of been. He held a job rather well, which was surprising. He was an over the road truck driver, then a kill man at a slaughter house, till he died from throat cancer. He drank heavy and smoked Winchester cigars. He always tried to get sober, but never could seem to beat that war. He brought back many pictures, that showed death as he and others took lives, to save there own life. Men killing men, it won't ever stop either.
I hope this man knows how loved and appreciated he is. Especially for his service defending the world from evil. Its an absolute honor to hear his story.
I’ve watched a lot of these. This guy ranks in the top 5 for honesty and telling it like it was. Not pulling any punches. Tremendous respect for this man.
@@DirtRoadAutoRepair I also appreciated his acknowledgement of the humanity of the enemy soldiers he killed. Many, especially those who fought in the Pacific, were never able to come to that point later in life.
@@jimcronin2043 absolutely agree with you. Also the part he admits to shooting a woman. Most guys would never admit that even if it was a justified shot.
Totally true Jim, please don't forget to subscribe for more WWII veteran interviews. It would be great if you could also write Mr. Gosch a Thank You for Your Service/ Happy Birthday Letter. It would mean A LOT to him Please send to: Remember WWII C/O William Gosch P.O. Box 245 Collierville, TN 38027
This is one of the most tragic thing about war -- not only are these young men asked to do unthinkable things, they are also asked to carry these memories and these private hells into old age. While new generations move on to new wars.
This is causing me great pain to watch and listen to.My grandfather and 4 of his brothers fought in ww2..One of my uncles lost his life in Pearl Harbor before the war started..I ended up in Afghanistan in 2002 for the first time.....I enlisted in the Army a few days after I turned 18,my bday is August 19th,the Towers fell 3 weeks after I enlisted..Anyway I'm now 38 and I have seen combat in Afghanistan 3 times and have done numerous other things as an Army Ranger...I have night mares over it.Afghanistan in my opinion now that I'm older was over money.I regret ever joining the Army.Had I known what the leaders of this country and the world were going to pull 3 weeks later and known about it what I know today I'd NEVER have enlisted.I have been forgiven by many innocent people over there.I've been told personally that they forgive me.What would you think if you lived in a village back in 2002 without wide spread cellphone and internet access or really any type of world news and a plane flew over and dropped a bomb on everything you know because some idiot with an rpg is holing up in your home that is out by a rural mountain?You'd call Americans Devils too.I went back because in my mind I needed closure for the things I had to do in my earlier years.I have to live with those choices I made.And I will.But,I know exactly where this man is coming from and how he feels...Thankyou for your service Sir.Your life truly was a real sacrifice.It served a true meaning.Unlike the wars that followed.And unlike all of the bs wool that the government pulled over Americans heads during and after WW2.
@@krazzykracker2564 You're correct about the poppys.I didn't read these comments until after I wrote mine.We(Americans) guarded those fields night and day for years. Now I build cars,I own a shop and it's therapeutic to me.It helps ease my stress level.It helps me live with the choices I've made.
Well said. A genuine privilege. Freedom has a high price… that can only be paid for in blood. Watching these men tell their stories and seeing them relive those times etched on their faces hits hard and always makes me cry. Most of the were just young men forced to grow up overnight.
Yes and we are on the verge of loosing it today. Our government has turned on its own population and have become enemies from within. We can let what these young men fought for just be ruined by criminal politicians.
My dad made 4 pacific landings, second wave at iwo jima. He said the worse smell was burning them out with flame throwers. Watched his eyes as he went back to the memory. He was 18 then, 75 when he talked about it.
If you ever wondered why this generation is called "The Greatest Generation" just listen to this gentleman's story. It should be required viewing by all subsequent generations. These people defined what it was like to honor your words with action, their lives embodied character, honesty, integrity.
Totally true Patrick, please don't forget to subscribe for more WWII veteran interviews. It would be great if you could also write Mr. Gosch a Thank You for Your Service/ Happy Birthday Letter. It would mean A LOT to him Please send to: Remember WWII C/O William Gosch P.O. Box 245 Collierville, TN 38027
Sadly my grandfather passed from a heart attack in his 70’s when I was in my early 20’s. He always talked about the war but never in real details. He’d often get that silent stare that I now know meant he was processing/reliving those memories. About a year before he died he started telling my brother and I more details. I will never forget him looking me dead in eye and telling me “I know what $h17 tastes like” and the. He went completely silent and did not move for an uncomfortably long time. I sat there with him staring at me looking nervously over at my brother wondering why my grandpa suddenly said that to me. He eventually blinked his eyes and told me the story on Guadal Canal that he was in a fox hole talking to his one good friend from the war when suddenly a shell tore his buddy in half and his intestines flew across my grandfathers mouth. He the. Was silent and repeatedly made a motion with his finger like he was scraping “stuff” off his tongue. He then sat back in his chair and did not speak for a very long time after. The stuff these kids saw at a young age and carried on throughout their lives is unthinkable. Thank you for your service sir. Truly the greatest generation. What I would give to have been able to have more talks with my grandfather as a grown man.
THE PAIN OF TALKING TO YOUR FRIEND ONE MOMENT AND IN A SPLIT SECOND HE IS NO LONGER WITH YOU, EVER!!! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO BE NORMAL AGAIN AFTER THAT EMOTIONAL TRAUMA, ESPECIALLY IF YOU GUYS WERE LIKE BROTHERS!!😔
@@Plainsimple67 fr lots of people don’t understand how tragic just them being gone in general is because less and less kids are playing team sports but dude iv always wondered if me and my team went to war I couldnt deal with seeing any of them dying it’d send me into a state of delirium or a state of black out rage
Semper Fi Raider. You are why we train the way that we do. None of us would ever want to disappoint or denigrate the memory and actions of the previous generations. They set incredibly high standards we all aspire to today. No member of any Fireteam in any Marine Infantry Battalion would ever want to do less than those who came before us.
My grandfather was a Marine veteran of the Japanese islands and his brother fought in the Marine Corps on Iwo Jima. Thank you for your sacrifice and your words of advice.
yes, yes they did. and the sad fact is most people under 25 don’t even know when ww2 started and ended, much less the unbelievable horrors those soldiers endured in battles like Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Guadalcanal and the countless others in both the pacific theatre and European theatre. history must be preserved and protected otherwise we are all but doomed to repeat it
@@yaboyrella I understand and agree. Young people are obsessed with the pathetic music they listen to that sings about violence and killing people. Doing drugs, gangs, so I think the younger generation is completely cut off from reality. The older generation has struggled much more then the soft weak people of today who are brainless.
Did they? Do you think they’d be proud of what the world is today? Do you think if they knew the world would be the way it is, they wouldn’t have fought the wrong enemy? General Patton himself said we fought the wrong side.
@@guccimalcs you're not a combat veteran what could you think you possibly understand. Absolutely nothing and a lame quote by Patton? Patton said many things. He also was a racist...
"I stopped, thanked god, prayed, and got up and continued with the assault" tells a ton about his mindset and how much of a badass you had to be to survive those times.
My great grandfather Charlie “chuck” Feeney was in the 115th Army Infantry, 27th Division. Before the war he had worked as a Editor/Critic for The paper News weekly in New York City, and joined the army hoping to be a journalist. He instead was handed a rifle, and was part of some of the first army units to land with the Marines on Saipan (The Blood Rock) and Okinawa. He only spoke of the war once, and that’s when he broke down in tears while watching a documentary on Hiroshima at the age of 80. He only said “If wasn’t for my rifle and bayonet, I wouldn’t be here. They wouldn’t stop coming”. To say we owe our lives to these great men is an understatement. We sent our young boys off to islands they didn’t even know the names of or even existed. Spilt blood and watched their brethren’s die, all in the name of Freedom and liberty. Let these men forever be an example for future generations. God bless you for your service sir. 🇺🇸
My dad was from upstate NY, and an engineer in the 27th, also landed on Saipan in 44’ , wounded by mortar at the airfield, Purple Heart . He NEVER went to a beach the rest of his life and would never talk about the war much when we were kids
There's no doubt that the Japanese would have invaded the US mainland if they hadn't been stopped in the Pacific. I doubt the Iraqis would have, though.
I remember becoming fascinated with learning about WWII in 2010. By then most WWII vets were in their mid 80s and early 90s. Now, here in 2021 we have only a precious few more years for this generation to share with us what they experienced in a time where so many died
I think a real long movie/series needs to be made. It could be called "They Shall Never Grow Old 2" or something. If you haven't heard of " They Shall Never Grow Old" then i think you guys need to look it up. What ww1 footage survived was colorized and made into a movie not too long ago
@@lilredwagon5311 I have heard of that movie. It is very good. But I would call it "You Know Those People Who Never Grow Old? Well, Their Children Shall Never Grow Old Too. In Fact No Gets Old Because of All This Gluten-Free Shit So It's Not That Impressive As Their Parents Never Growing Old"
My grandfather survived the evacuation of Dunkirk. Never spoke of it. I wish he was able to share his experiences. But I understood why he couldn't or wouldn't. Thankyou for your service 🍻👍🇦🇺
Small world. Mine too. He was in the Royal Engineers. Went back in on D-DAY. Went in as a boy soldier came out as a captain. Legend. Lest we forget. 🦘🇦🇺👍
I feel sorry for the ones here today who see what they fought for. With the whole gender hlsteria. Not to mention losing our industry in the USA to China. Wages going down. Its going bad.
I'm sorry my bro but the world never were saved, if that were the case there should have been peace in the rest of the 20th century but that was not the case, there were many wars and deaths.
@@GuyFromTheSouth Imagine those Japs making it to the US mainland doing what they did to POW and Asian countries. These men are goddamn super heroes. God bless them.
There was a Japanese machine gunner on Iwo Jima that killed 16 to 30 marines that Japanese veteran felt just like this man felt he felt some much pain for taking those souls he visited the family’s of the men he killed and talked to them and did everything he could to apologize he died just last year
@@gabrielillescas oh man I read it a while it was about imperial Japanese veterans in the pacific theatre and he felt horrible that he took many young men’s lives it was an online site it had history and many biography’s on Japanese soldier it was this Japanese website I just watched it in English sub
@@rafaeldoespiritosanto8440 Obrigado. Queria achar alguém relato de veteranos do lado do Japão, porém é bem difícil de encontrar online. A grande parte desses relatos é dos norte-americanos. Mas mesmo assim obrigado.
I am from Okinawan decent I learned that my friends great grandpa fought in Okinawa and now after 3 generations who used to be enemies are now friends with one another
There's nothing pretty about war Marine. I felt exactly the same way around a year and a half to 2 years after I got out of the Marine Corps. For me it started with the nightmares and reliving the fire fights I was involved in. Semper Fidelis Leatherneck. I am damn proud to have been a part of a Brotherhood that you helped create. You are a Giant among men and I really enjoyed your stories of the situation you endured and survived. I wish you the absolute best.
My father who is still with us at 99 years old was on Okinawa the same time as this fellow Marine. His experience was pretty much the same as this gentleman's. He survived even after catching a ricocheted bullet to his back. God Bless and Keep ALL of our service men and women!!!
Sir, you and your brothers are heroes. We'll never repay you for what you've done to the American Nation and people from all over the World. My deepest respect.
These men were real men. What they had to do and what they saw was just nearly unbearable. Respect for all of these veterans from all countries. Greetings from Germany.
@@M1nd_Fl4y3r Its how the world was since very recent years. Life in general was horrible compared to today's standards, men and women were much tougher, a different breed. Doesn't mean we should strive to torment ourselves with similar experiences, but respect those who had to go through it for the easy lives we have today.
My grandfather couldn't talk about it. My father was really bad out of nam. Not easy being raised by a guy reliving his 2 years of service in his mind his entire life. Wish he had gotten some sort of treatment before losing him. But that wasn't in the cards. Thank you for sharing your story. The kids of soldiers need to hear these...because a lot of soldiers can't bring that to light. Much respect.
I was a young Marine when I married my wife. Her grandpa was a Marine in the Battle of Okinawa. And as much as would have loved to hear his stories, I never asked him about it, out of respect. He had a St. Christopher medallion he purchased on the Navy ship en route to Okinawa. He wore it during his time in the battle. It was eventually passed down to my son who also served in the Marines and wore it during his deployment.
Thank you for doing what you had to do years ago. I served in the USAF during desert storm and I salute all who took up arms for their country (even if the world thought we were wrong)
A number of times when he is uncertain about a detail in a story, Mr. Gosch says "I don't know.. it doesn't matter"... the truth is, it all matters, every word of what you have to say. Thank you, sir, for your service
The details do not matter, the entirety of the situation is what matters, and he understands that fact perfectly. When you are involved in something so large and so life altering, as time goes on the picture gets smaller and the things that truly matter become fewer.
Okay, you both missed the point entirely... I was attempting to simply honor the man. Of course every detail isn't "significant" to Mr. Gosch in retelling his story , but every word this man has to say should be and is significant to all of us
@@mikemanning5918 … I did not miss the point at all. I was shedding light on his thought process as someone who has been in similar situations. If you asked him directly he would agree that minor details that were major at the time are insignificant years later. I get that you are honoring him as we all should, I simply shared my understanding of where he is coming from in terms of the greater picture. Many of us felt his words when he said “it doesn’t matter”.
@@mikemanning5918 no, no I didn’t. Coming from a long line a vets they wouldn’t care at this day an age about minor details. Hell my grandfather wouldn’t even speak about Vietnam. I had to read about him in a book.
That's a believable narrative.... I've learned that most people who have been in combat don't talk... Until many years later.... Thanks for your service 🙏☝️🇺🇲
I’m stationed here in Okinawa now and when I drive around I just imagine how terrible fighting on this landscape would have been… thanks to this hero and plenty more for their sacrifices.
@@MitchJohnson0110 Yep, just like in NAM the average firefight was 20-30 yards. Dudes shooting M60’s, M16s, AKs and RPG’s at each other is freaking nuts. Thats so close!
I was stationed at Naha Okinawa during the 70’s. There was still reminders of the war there even on base. Shot up bunkers and gun emplacements. It made me think of what terror they must have went through then.
I was stationed there in the early 90's, not as much to see then as what you saw but there was still some reminders of the war. Some of the same things you saw just not as many. I had an Uncle that was in the Army Air Corps he was in WW2 and in Korea said he never got close to being hurt, he did 2 tours in Vietnam and was wounded both tours, the second wounds ended his 30 year career. I was very young and we lived in Florida at the time and I ask dad one time why my uncle never wore shorts because it was so hot and dad told me he had something wrong with his legs and being young I left it at that. When I became a Marine, one of my other uncle's told me about my uncle being wounded and how it happened. He was one hell of a man. RIP Uncle and to all the brave men and women that have given their lives for our great country. Semper Fi from an old Marine.
@@jerrygirdner2753 Amazing! Thanks for telling me about that. There was quite a bit left when I was there. Even a large artillery piece up on top of a hill on base. One shot up bunker with the projectiles still in the concrete (probably 50 cal) was right behind our barracks. Myself and a friend use to explore the overgrown areas on base and find the bunkers.
I was stationed on Okinawa in 1995 at Camps Kinser and Foster. Driving past and through those steep hills I was and still amazed at what our veterans had to climb while enduring gunfire, mortars, artillery, grenades. In the 1990s civilian construction companies were still finding unexploded ordinance in the ground. My mom's older brother was 17 and on a destroyer off of Okinawa fighting the kamikazes, he only told me a story about one attack, one time only. He never spoke about the war again.
Much respect to this man. This country would be nothin without these men. LITERALLY. Ty sir for your tremendous loss and the things u witnessed so we didn’t have too.👏🏽👏🏽💪🏽🎖
No guilt should be felt the true reality is if you didn’t kill you were gonna be killed. Not only did you survive but your siblings and their siblings survived. You fought for your country and your family and your future family. Thank you
There's a vid here on UA-cam that posts never before seen and obscure still photos of various combat positions, attacks, being attacked, bombardments, etc, etc. Carefully altering the balance of this Normandy landing and link with the other two groups. There's also stuff from the Axis powers. I think that this one is British. But, there is another one of a Japanese soldier (Nanking I think) tossing a baby off of his bayonet that had gotten stuck.
He can feel whatever he wants to feel. Easier said than done to just “not feeling guilty” especially when you see the human atrocities this man went through.
Thanks for watching! Please don't forget to hit like and subscribe! Also please consider writing Mr. Gosch a thank you for your service letter! Remember WWII C/O William Gosch P.O. Box 245 Collierville, TN 38027
I was stationed on Okinawa for 3 years in Army, 20 plus years after WW2. Found a few war relics there, such as a land mine on a beach, and a live unexploded shell out in the water about 100 yards. Scary finds, I respect you sir! Thank you for your service.
I agree that when they tell their stories you can see they are back in that moment. Reliving whatever hell they experienced all those years ago. Thank you to everyone who gave their lives or were wounded mentally or physically. You truly are the greatest generation.
wow... im canadian and i respect american war heroes as much as my own countrys as they fought side by side for peace.... this man is still so sharp, so wise... we are so blessed to be able to hear his stories and see his bring backs
Thank you for telling this story. These men and women of that generation are all about gone and these stories need to be told so people can remember what everyone went through, both sides. Thank you sir!
My father was also a marine on Okinawa he was in the first wave when he left there they were sailing on to mainland Japan when the U.S dropped the atomic bomb. If they hadn't I probably wouldn't be posting this
I salute you sir ! My grandfather was also a Raider in Tony Walkers P company and made it all the way to okinawa where he was hit blowing a bunker , by then the Raiders were disbanded as you know and he was in walkers recon team ! God bless you and all the others !
A true war hero and an American treasure. The souvenirs our soldiers bring back from wars should be preserved forever so we never forget the sacrfices they made. Some people may try to erase history, but the items brought back will forever tell the story.
Please subscribe and hit the like button! That will drastically help our channel and it will show the UA-cam algorithm that people are interested in WWII veterans and their incredible stories
Please also consider writing Mr. Gosch a Thank you for your service card / Happy Birthday card
That will mean a lot to him. Please address the card to
Remember WWII
C/O William Gosch
P.O. Box 245
Collierville, TN
38027
GOD BLESS THE WWII VETERANS!
GOD BLESS THE WWII VETERANS!
GOD BLESS THE WWII HEROES AND VETERANS!
May have missed it...when is his birthday?
He mentioned having the rifle sent home to "North Tonawanda"... that's basically Buffalo, NY. One of the Band of Brothers guys was from there as well. Did he move from Buffalo to Tennessee? I'd like to write him.
I live in Huntsville Alabama I’d love to have the opportunity to thank Mr. Gosch for his service and hear more of his ww2 stories. His voice is like smooth honey over gravel :-)
his birthday was 12/08 - just turned 98 from m North Tonawanda, NY
@@susan7970 Holy cow that's the day before my birthday, and I'm 30 mins from him. I gotta meet this guy!!
He closes his eyes, goes back. He can see, hear, smell the misery he once lived. Amazing hero. 🇺🇸
I think he closes his eyes and pauses at the moment he does because he is in a reverie of divine communion with his God, thanking Him yet again for having spared his life at that moment so he could tell his story at this moment. I think he's overwhelmed by the Love that God showed him in a way so direct it could have had only one source -- and he knows it. How can you possibly respond to the Love that without question saved your life other to recognize and give thanks for it?
ABSOLUTELY!
Too true hes left with them horrifying memories
When you have nearly died many time's, and should be dead, you thank God, and His Son everyday, and you tell your story. God bless everyone.
Wars are caused by the governments of different countries.not the folk walking the streets.beatha no bas.
His silent pauses speaks louder than words. He's re-living it. What a hero.
Can definitely feel he was still there while speaking about it.
You can literally see him going back in time. Bet he could hear and smell war all over again.
That's exactly what I just said to my wife.
A hero, for taking a man life...
@@rononeal979 there’s more to it than that. But I doubt that you would understand.
My grandfather would tell me stories like this. We'd sit in his living room with his favourite beer (Give me a little when mum wasn't looking) light his pipe and go back to his time in the war. Some were pretty gruesome, but he'd tell the light hearted funny stories too. He died in 2001, I miss him and his stories. The weird thing is, I work in elderly care in a hospital, I seen to attract the WW2 veterans and hear their stories too. Never get tired hearing them.
You should document their stories. It’s a shame that we are losing our vets to old age and a lot of their stories die with them.
Never got those stories. I was to young for him to share and I don't even think he shared with my older brother. He was a navigator on a b17 in the 8th airforce. I found a guy on Facebook when I was in my 20s who had action reports and rosters from his time flying. I realized why he didn't share with us. I miss him also. He died in 2010 after suffering from Parkinsons for over a decade
Thank them for us.
Thank you
Keep up the Good work!
My grandfather was a Marine veteran of Okinawa and Korea. He never talked to us about the fighting except to say "I pray every day that you all will never have to be apart of an amphibious invasion"
God bless you sir, and Semper Fi!
My Grandfather was a Korean War Marine also, however he was too young to fight in Okinawa as he was too young for WWII. What can earnestly say is that my Grandfather was the same way, with never speaking of his time in Korea, but rather putting that time behind him.
@@marcusdelk7708 Must of been with the 1st Marine Div."Guadalcanal"!
🙏🙏Blessings forever GOD loves y'all too forever tell everyone you know and don't know. Jesus loves y'all too forever. Teach everyone how to see and enjoy their blessings too forever
@@marcusdelk7708 "The Forgotten War " ! Korea was a meat grinder. USA lost nearly 34 000 soldiers in Korea from 1951-53 . I think sum historians claim nearly 54000 were killed . Some of the bloodiest fighting in World history took place. My father was drafted late 53 , as part of the Korean War if it was going to continue, but great fully not so.
I lost a relative in SouthVietnams Central Highlands mid 3/68 , tail end of bloody TET , nearly 2wjs. Before my 11th bday . I'm m an indirect casualty of that conflict by currently being on anti- anxiety , and depressants medications .
Seen from 1965-69 friends bros. and neighbors sons sent there . Most came back classic cases of PSTD.
A classic case of PSTD was my grandpa( Dad's side) ! He was a medic with cat.s rank in the USAs elite 82nd A/B Division in WW2 in the ETO ! Man , the harrowing , on nearly , and seeing death edge from Normandy , and the bloody fighting he seen , and heard @ STE. Mere Eglise , the blood soaked ground from Grimm fighting in those hedgerows ( DDay 6/6/1944) , "Operation Market Garden" happening @ Holland (mid9/1944) where the Brit paratroopers got mauled @Arnhem , and the USAs 101 and 72nd A/B units faired slightly better but still couldn't consumate a sure footing on the German side of the Rhine River , and later to defend a small parcel of territories against determined Nazi- German counterattacks at high casualties. A bridge too far it was.
Grandpa was on his way to the Ardennes. After a brief respite . The jeep he was riding in , with 4 other soldiers , hit a mine kia the driver , soldier behind the driver , wounding the soldier behind my grandpa In front seat where grandpa got wounded too. Both wounded troopers laid off to side of ditch for nearly 1/2 a day before being picked up by USA troops . Luckily , Joachim Pieper of the 1st Waffen SS Panzer Division wasn"t there instead, for grandpa like the other 130-50 , and probably then sum , that Colonel Joachim Pieper had murdered @ Malmady , Belgium.
Grandpa was reluctant to talk about his hellish time in the ETO , for it would bring up not to nice of a time period. It took years for him to break out , and talk about his nightmarish experiences .And , what battles grandpa was In was only a fraction of other major engagements the Allied were involved in .
@@marcusdelk7708 God bless your grandpa for serving this nation USA I'm.a bloody war that shouldn't , and never be forgotten !!
This is a badass who has truly taken lives, taking a life isn't badass, but living with it and not becoming an alcoholic like I did after my combat Infantry days is something to behold.
Thank you for your service. You're a hero, and you can beat the Alcoholism. I'm 15 yrs clean.
dont forget the dreams they dont go away..I was in the Australian infantry for 12 years.....
God Bless you
Please go to the VA for help
Hey man a warrior is a warrior even if he drinks
“I sat down and I prayed” that’s a graduate course in theology no man can take from him, from us, thank u for this and sir for ur service
If you study war, tactics, events, you begin to see patterns of tiny details that changed the entire scope of battle.
I can’t help but attribute these things to divine intervention. Like Jeb Stuart in the Civil War, and the battle of Gettysburg. He was days late arriving, solely because he was the cool kid, fast cavalry, busy partying and schmoozing the southern ladies. If he had been there from the first day, the North would almost certainly have been routed and the entire war gone differently. Arrogance and indifference of one man, flipped the entire war.
These tales he told, he attributes his survival to divine intervention, and so do I. He was meant to live, and meant to destroy the evil empire Japan had become. He hurt for not seeing men grow and have children, but he was meant to do what he did in that war, and meant to win the battles he fought.
Like the battle of Midway. How can all those decisions go the way they had to? How can one bomb that hit one aircraft carrier just chain react and sink it? How can an overflight just have enough cloud cover to obscure the American fleet?
A secular man might chalk it up to freakishly good luck. I don’t believe that. I believe it’s small voices, changing big events.
Amen
@@curtish2541Amen.
In my life I have survived terrible car accidents and other certain death circumstances. We live by the GRACE of GOD. My mother taught me that and prodded my faith journey and I am thankful for that!!
Riveting listen and God bless you sir, im a 65 year old Kiwi and if it wasnt for you brave Yanks, we would all be speaking Japanese in the South Pacific, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for your bravery and sacrifice. We will remember your buddies, may they Rest In Peace. Sorry to hear about the Kiminos.
you will be speaking Chinese soon. get ardern out now.
Great comment. Pray for America. We are in trouble.
"Yankee" is how the local Indians said "English." If it wasn't for George Washington, we'd all be speaking English.
They never would have held the pacific in reality..we never would have been speaking Japanese..but bless the young men that fought so bravely ..amazing
I'm a kiwi too
As a New Zealander, I know how you and your friends secured our safety and freedom in the Pacific, I/we cannot thank you enough.
We talk shit to each other, but Americans, New Zealanders, Polynesians, Australians, British, French all fought and died together during that war. Russians call it the Great Patriotic War. While I don't agree with them, it definetly was just that and all sides fight like it was.
Can't imagine what the Japanese imperial army would have done to NZ
@@angrybear86same thing they planned to do to us in Australia
Completely subjugate and overturn our democratic government to their way of governance as well as completely eclipsing our culture and way of living to their own liking 😢
@@EncrypticMethods sad we're becoming what they fought against. Never give up. Freedom eternal.
Recognize your fellow country men for the life that you have today . Don’t let them be forgotten !!
I'm an Englishman and I would like to thank this brave man for his service and sacrifice. Pity our politicians haven't listened to these men about the futility of war. I wish him well.
My Grandfather (East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) fought alongside American GIs in France and Belgium.
Amazing stories. So many see an old man, but I see a 20 year old surviving in ruthless conditions. A true hero.
👏👏👏
Amen
My grandfather also landed with the Marines that went in at Yontan airfield. He was with the third wave. Thank you Sir for serving and enduring. Peaceful days to you.
Okinawa was brutal 12,700 Americans were killed, over 40,000 wounded. Worse than Iwo Jima. This man was part of America's greatest generation.
Greatest generation.
@@lars277 even more Japanese died, possibly 100x Japanese than Americans, death toll was insanity
@@lars277 good enough numbers to wipe out civvies with bombs, won't you say?
My grandfather was there but with Army Americal div. He said they fault right beside the marines.
My grandfather was a marine in Okinawa. Carried a BAR, got some tropical fever so bad he had a fever of 107 and got lockjaw. They sent his footlocker to his parents and wrote him off as dead. He recovered and when he went back to his unit every single person he fought with was dead and replaced. 100% casualty rate.
Dad was in the 22nd in Okinawa too. BAR man also! He told me once when showing a picture of some of his buds in the squad, that only him and pointed to another guy, were , to his knowledge, the only living and non-wounded Marines left there. He lost it and was send out after losing his foxhole buddy by a Jap infiltrator who cut his throat. Dad, never spoke much about his experiences in the war. As a Marine, myself, I understood that more completely after my tour in Nam. >salute> to your grandpa also! Simper Fi!
God bless
Wow. Isn't that something
So he gets sick and recovered only to comeback and find out his whole unit was KIA.... WOW!
You can seen when he pauses with eyes closed, these are images he's lived with and dreamt about for almost 80 years. You can't erase memories and the harder you try, the more impossible it becomes.
You put the images in a box, with the other memories. It’s when you talk about it, like this, that they come out! That’s why one/ they don’t like to talk about it. What hurts me, is that his pain is directly from opening the box, to tell the story. #RIP
This man endured unspeakable horrors to purchase our freedom as Americans. Thank you sir.
@@Boristheborat nope. Typical online meaningless response.
He boarded ship in Guam bound for Okinawa. During the voyage he encountered Kamikaze. There were 355 Kamikaze attacks during the battle for Okinawa. Now…go read an actual fact checked history book on the subject instead of disrespecting a true hero.
Those "It doesn't matter" moments were so telling in what this man saw and went through. Those little details were so meaningless when your trying to survive. God bless this man and the allied powers!
Write them down & see if enough to publish, or start putting them here.
He mentioned “God” and “Japs.” Surely, UA-cam will take it down…
@@nigel900 vote blue
@@kbanghart Can’t… I have principles and a consensus.
@@nigel900 me too
We're losing these great individuals ... capturing and sharing these stories is vital.
Indeed vital
There 119,000 WW2 veterans alive today, and they are passing away at 131 per day
good
All these years and this man still knows the details, how horrible it must have been at those moments
@@cylersmiley5259 what do you mean it wasn’t too horrible? WW2 was a brutal, violent and death ridden war (more so than any others) that not one of us could ever imagine.
Cyler Easily said from the comfort of your parent's basement.
@@cylersmiley5259 you would have been there when the first shot was fired, and back home in your bed when the second shot got fired. What a stupid comment.
@@cylersmiley5259 many didn’t volunteer they were drafted. And didn’t have any choice at that point. If you volunteered you had the choice of which services/branch you would like to join. Draftees didn’t get that choice and mainly went to marines or army infantry. So if u preemptively joined you could pick a branch of service that didn’t have a terribly high death rate. The perks of volunteering I suppose
@@cunnycam he wouldn’t have been able to pass basic training or not even physically qualified
Mr. Gosch, I know this is not the same country you and your friends fought so hard for and so many died fore but I still want to thank you for your service and sacrifices.
Gentlemen like him is what made our country so Great !! Simply the greatest generation.
its not about country its about human life and the things you do for that life
tbh the outcome of WWII is what ruined the world including america...but it's not the fault of men like these who served their country to their knowledge and ability.
@ThatOneGuy if you look around the modern west and see something good and healthy then you are not on the same page as I am. WWII was one of the biggest crossroads in shaping the modern west.
@@levitatingoctahedron922 funny how the neo fash run around spilling their garbage with anime profiles, not being aware of how the modern West is the entire reason they're able to publicly yearn for its downfall in the first place.
All that greatness is being trampled on daily, unfortunately.
You could see every time he closed his eyes it was taking him back to where it happened, thank you for your service young man
@@natsusatsujinki8342 I genuinely dislike when soldiers are compared to murderers. If you want to make the argument that soldiers are murderers do not look at them for at the time they were naive youths doing what they were told in a forced war, look higher than that. Also the IJA committed far worse atrocities than you can imagine if you want to make that sort of point.
@@natsusatsujinki8342 so easy for a man to say those kinds of ignorant things that has never been faced with any sort of situation even remotely close to what these soldiers had faced. I can tell just by the tone in your words that your one of these people that like to act so righteous.
@@natsusatsujinki8342 just be glad you’re living in good times. God is good, but things happen and unfortunately to survive you may have to do what Mr. Gosch had to. Don’t blame the soldiers who would be forced to serve or be jailed. Blame the politicians and greedy men who have power to end millions of lives and choose to do so in war.
@@natsusatsujinki8342 you haven’t experienced anything close to what these men experienced because of what they did 🤷🏻♂️ but what’s the old saying? Good men create good times, good times create weak men and weak men create hard times. you should think before you type
@@natsusatsujinki8342 just stop lol
An honor to hear this Marine’s story. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Semper-Fi
Teach this in our schools ! Let’s not forget who made our life so safe and comfortable for us today !
As if Japan was gonna invade the US ffs
You people ALWAYS amaze me 😊
5:20 Anyone else get that feeling like your heart just sinks down into your stomach every time you hear a WW2 vet’s story? Yeah, me too. Thank you guys.
🙏🙏Blessings forever GOD loves y'all too forever tell everyone you know and don't know. Jesus loves y'all too forever. Teach everyone how to see and enjoy their blessings too forever
Yes me too
My Dad was there as well, he had daytime nightmares, that scared the shit out of me at times. His flashbacks would just take him to a place no man should of been. He held a job rather well, which was surprising. He was an over the road truck driver, then a kill man at a slaughter house, till he died from throat cancer. He drank heavy and smoked Winchester cigars. He always tried to get sober, but never could seem to beat that war. He brought back many pictures, that showed death as he and others took lives, to save there own life. Men killing men, it won't ever stop either.
I hope this man knows how loved and appreciated he is. Especially for his service defending the world from evil. Its an absolute honor to hear his story.
Evil is still among us this is what pisses me off
@@giovonne we wouldn’t even know the difference between good and evil without men like this
Then souvenirs were spooky though
There was no evil. You’re missing the point of what he’s saying. They were all just kids sent off to war and told to kill eachother
@@guccimalcs The Nazis and the Imperial Army were evil😂
Nobody comes out of a war "ok". Good on him for surviving and telling his story.
13 american casualties occurred in Guam and NO Kamikaze were involved. This guy is full of shit.
American hero. Thank you for your service and for sharing your lessons
Much honesty and realism from this veteran.
I’ve watched a lot of these. This guy ranks in the top 5 for honesty and telling it like it was. Not pulling any punches. Tremendous respect for this man.
@@DirtRoadAutoRepair I also appreciated his acknowledgement of the humanity of the enemy soldiers he killed. Many, especially those who fought in the Pacific, were never able to come to that point later in life.
@@jimcronin2043 absolutely agree with you. Also the part he admits to shooting a woman. Most guys would never admit that even if it was a justified shot.
Totally true Jim, please don't forget to subscribe for more WWII veteran interviews. It would be great if you could also write Mr. Gosch a Thank You for Your Service/ Happy Birthday Letter. It would mean A LOT to him
Please send to:
Remember WWII
C/O William Gosch
P.O. Box 245
Collierville, TN
38027
@@RememberWW2 that is so cool that you accept letters for these guys. I bet that means more to them than just about anything else could.
This is one of the most tragic thing about war -- not only are these young men asked to do unthinkable things, they are also asked to carry these memories and these private hells into old age. While new generations move on to new wars.
I am a Vietnam vet and whenever I see Iraqi or Afghanistan vets I shake their hands and tell them we all get our useless wars
@Robert Boiteau you were there so big industry's could profit. Also for poppys for drugs
This is causing me great pain to watch and listen to.My grandfather and 4 of his brothers fought in ww2..One of my uncles lost his life in Pearl Harbor before the war started..I ended up in Afghanistan in 2002 for the first time.....I enlisted in the Army a few days after I turned 18,my bday is August 19th,the Towers fell 3 weeks after I enlisted..Anyway I'm now 38 and I have seen combat in Afghanistan 3 times and have done numerous other things as an Army Ranger...I have night mares over it.Afghanistan in my opinion now that I'm older was over money.I regret ever joining the Army.Had I known what the leaders of this country and the world were going to pull 3 weeks later and known about it what I know today I'd NEVER have enlisted.I have been forgiven by many innocent people over there.I've been told personally that they forgive me.What would you think if you lived in a village back in 2002 without wide spread cellphone and internet access or really any type of world news and a plane flew over and dropped a bomb on everything you know because some idiot with an rpg is holing up in your home that is out by a rural mountain?You'd call Americans Devils too.I went back because in my mind I needed closure for the things I had to do in my earlier years.I have to live with those choices I made.And I will.But,I know exactly where this man is coming from and how he feels...Thankyou for your service Sir.Your life truly was a real sacrifice.It served a true meaning.Unlike the wars that followed.And unlike all of the bs wool that the government pulled over Americans heads during and after WW2.
@@krazzykracker2564 You're correct about the poppys.I didn't read these comments until after I wrote mine.We(Americans) guarded those fields night and day for years.
Now I build cars,I own a shop and it's therapeutic to me.It helps ease my stress level.It helps me live with the choices I've made.
This man was just one of many that was required by law to pay for our freedoms. We all owe him and all the others a debt of gratitude.
Then you have people complaining about sending money to not have war. 😂😂
That was a privilege to hear this '"MAN'S" story... Anyone not honored by it should be ashamed.. This is the price of freedom.
Well said. A genuine privilege. Freedom has a high price… that can only be paid for in blood. Watching these men tell their stories and seeing them relive those times etched on their faces hits hard and always makes me cry. Most of the were just young men forced to grow up overnight.
Soy boy
Many take for granted these days
Also the price paid for the rich man war mongers
Paid by the poor man's blood
Yes and we are on the verge of loosing it today. Our government has turned on its own population and have become enemies from within. We can let what these young men fought for just be ruined by criminal politicians.
God bless you sir! We listened to a MAN today.
Lots of broken pieces in their poor guys mind that he still has to try to make sense of. Thank you for your service Sir.
My dad made 4 pacific landings, second wave at iwo jima. He said the worse smell was burning them out with flame throwers. Watched his eyes as he went back to the memory. He was 18 then, 75 when he talked about it.
Which outfit?
Your dad is part of the Great Generation. Men like him saved us.
wow
This man is one of the best there was. Marine raiders are no joke.
If you ever wondered why this generation is called "The Greatest Generation" just listen to this gentleman's story. It should be required viewing by all subsequent generations. These people defined what it was like to honor your words with action, their lives embodied character, honesty, integrity.
Living national treasure each & every one of these men, we own them everything
Totally true Patrick, please don't forget to subscribe for more WWII veteran interviews. It would be great if you could also write Mr. Gosch a Thank You for Your Service/ Happy Birthday Letter. It would mean A LOT to him
Please send to:
Remember WWII
C/O William Gosch
P.O. Box 245
Collierville, TN
38027
@@RememberWW2 when was his birthday? I’d love to send a letter
So give him everything you have.
@@itsxercc your a coward
My mom was an army nurse station on Saipan and Okinawa during the war. So proud of her.❤
Much respect to your mom, my father was a combat corpsman on Siapan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa
@@wileecoyote5929 who knows they could’ve had stories in common❤️
God bless your father service too 🙏
Sadly my grandfather passed from a heart attack in his 70’s when I was in my early 20’s. He always talked about the war but never in real details. He’d often get that silent stare that I now know meant he was processing/reliving those memories. About a year before he died he started telling my brother and I more details. I will never forget him looking me dead in eye and telling me “I know what $h17 tastes like” and the. He went completely silent and did not move for an uncomfortably long time. I sat there with him staring at me looking nervously over at my brother wondering why my grandpa suddenly said that to me. He eventually blinked his eyes and told me the story on Guadal Canal that he was in a fox hole talking to his one good friend from the war when suddenly a shell tore his buddy in half and his intestines flew across my grandfathers mouth. He the. Was silent and repeatedly made a motion with his finger like he was scraping “stuff” off his tongue. He then sat back in his chair and did not speak for a very long time after. The stuff these kids saw at a young age and carried on throughout their lives is unthinkable.
Thank you for your service sir. Truly the greatest generation. What I would give to have been able to have more talks with my grandfather as a grown man.
THE PAIN OF TALKING TO YOUR FRIEND ONE MOMENT AND IN A SPLIT SECOND HE IS NO LONGER WITH YOU, EVER!!! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO BE NORMAL AGAIN AFTER THAT EMOTIONAL TRAUMA, ESPECIALLY IF YOU GUYS WERE LIKE BROTHERS!!😔
@@Plainsimple67 fr lots of people don’t understand how tragic just them being gone in general is because less and less kids are playing team sports but dude iv always wondered if me and my team went to war I couldnt deal with seeing any of them dying it’d send me into a state of delirium or a state of black out rage
@@No__Bark_34 ABSOLUTELY, LOSING FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES, IS MORE DESTRUCTIVE EMOTIONALLY TO THE ONES LEFT BEHIND AND WORST, WITNESSING THEIR DEATHS!!
Relax with the caps lock buddy
@@webcamthemesongs WHY??!! IT'S JUST CAPS BUDDY, THAT'S ALL!!🤷♂️
A great man from the greatest generation! A real hero. God bless him and all of them!
I'm going to send this to Brian Williams so he knows what a real hero is
These guys are the last real men we will ever witness…. Love you man and thank you so much for your courage. You are a true warrior
Can't even imagine what these men went through. Truly the greatest generation
Semper Fi Raider. You are why we train the way that we do. None of us would ever want to disappoint or denigrate the memory and actions of the previous generations. They set incredibly high standards we all aspire to today. No member of any Fireteam in any Marine Infantry Battalion would ever want to do less than those who came before us.
It's a privilege and honor to listen to this hero of a man tell his story I thank you for that and your service
My grandfather was a Marine veteran of the Japanese islands and his brother fought in the Marine Corps on Iwo Jima. Thank you for your sacrifice and your words of advice.
I know, I've probably said this a hundred times? These men, truly saved the world.
That’s why they’re called the greatest generation
yes, yes they did. and the sad fact is most people under 25 don’t even know when ww2 started and ended, much less the unbelievable horrors those soldiers endured in battles like Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Guadalcanal and the countless others in both the pacific theatre and European theatre. history must be preserved and protected otherwise we are all but doomed to repeat it
@@yaboyrella I understand and agree. Young people are obsessed with the pathetic music they listen to that sings about violence and killing people. Doing drugs, gangs, so I think the younger generation is completely cut off from reality. The older generation has struggled much more then the soft weak people of today who are brainless.
Did they? Do you think they’d be proud of what the world is today? Do you think if they knew the world would be the way it is, they wouldn’t have fought the wrong enemy?
General Patton himself said we fought the wrong side.
@@guccimalcs you're not a combat veteran what could you think you possibly understand. Absolutely nothing and a lame quote by Patton? Patton said many things. He also was a racist...
"I stopped, thanked god, prayed, and got up and continued with the assault" tells a ton about his mindset and how much of a badass you had to be to survive those times.
Remember, a voice saved his life. 6:09
My great grandfather Charlie “chuck” Feeney was in the 115th Army Infantry, 27th Division. Before the war he had worked as a Editor/Critic for The paper News weekly in New York City, and joined the army hoping to be a journalist. He instead was handed a rifle, and was part of some of the first army units to land with the Marines on Saipan (The Blood Rock) and Okinawa. He only spoke of the war once, and that’s when he broke down in tears while watching a documentary on Hiroshima at the age of 80. He only said “If wasn’t for my rifle and bayonet, I wouldn’t be here. They wouldn’t stop coming”. To say we owe our lives to these great men is an understatement. We sent our young boys off to islands they didn’t even know the names of or even existed. Spilt blood and watched their brethren’s die, all in the name of Freedom and liberty. Let these men forever be an example for future generations. God bless you for your service sir. 🇺🇸
We certainly doAnd we owe our lives and freedom to all the veterans from all the services in any conflict that this country has been involved in.
My dad was from upstate NY, and an engineer in the 27th, also landed on Saipan in 44’ , wounded by mortar at the airfield, Purple Heart . He NEVER went to a beach the rest of his life and would never talk about the war much when we were kids
@@johndavis9432 eh not all conflicts are freedom related. I get what you’re saying though. They deserve their respect for sure.
@@jamesy4003 North Tonawanda, New York, my Uncle Army Air Corps/Air Force Major Albert Kantor flew B-17s in the war
There's no doubt that the Japanese would have invaded the US mainland if they hadn't been stopped in the Pacific.
I doubt the Iraqis would have, though.
I remember becoming fascinated with learning about WWII in 2010. By then most WWII vets were in their mid 80s and early 90s. Now, here in 2021 we have only a precious few more years for this generation to share with us what they experienced in a time where so many died
It’s a shame so many of their stories couldn’t be shared until relatively recently.
I think a real long movie/series needs to be made. It could be called "They Shall Never Grow Old 2" or something. If you haven't heard of " They Shall Never Grow Old" then i think you guys need to look it up. What ww1 footage survived was colorized and made into a movie not too long ago
@@lilredwagon5311 I have heard of that movie. It is very good. But I would call it "You Know Those People Who Never Grow Old? Well, Their Children Shall Never Grow Old Too. In Fact No Gets Old Because of All This Gluten-Free Shit So It's Not That Impressive As Their Parents Never Growing Old"
@@maxazzopardi7446 oh boy
..
My grandpa is 97 and was one of the first to step foot in Nagasaki after the bombs. Real heroes dude
My grandfather survived the evacuation of Dunkirk. Never spoke of it. I wish he was able to share his experiences. But I understood why he couldn't or wouldn't. Thankyou for your service 🍻👍🇦🇺
Small world. Mine too.
He was in the Royal Engineers. Went back in on D-DAY.
Went in as a boy soldier came out as a captain.
Legend.
Lest we forget.
🦘🇦🇺👍
I reserve the highest respect for our WWII veterans. They truly helped to save the world.
They did save the world
I feel sorry for the ones here today who see what they fought for. With the whole gender hlsteria. Not to mention losing our industry in the USA to China. Wages going down. Its going bad.
I'm sorry my bro but the world never were saved, if that were the case there should have been peace in the rest of the 20th century but that was not the case, there were many wars and deaths.
@@GuyFromTheSouth Imagine those Japs making it to the US mainland doing what they did to POW and Asian countries. These men are goddamn super heroes. God bless them.
His eyes tell you everything. Glad he survived and, hopefully, got to live a long and happy life full of Love, family and friends. He earned it.
There was a Japanese machine gunner on Iwo Jima that killed 16 to 30 marines that Japanese veteran felt just like this man felt he felt some much pain for taking those souls he visited the family’s of the men he killed and talked to them and did everything he could to apologize he died just last year
Where did you find this ? I'm a history student and we are currently working in WW2, especially the pacific theater.
@@gabrielillescas oh man I read it a while it was about imperial Japanese veterans in the pacific theatre and he felt horrible that he took many young men’s lives it was an online site it had history and many biography’s on Japanese soldier it was this Japanese website I just watched it in English sub
@@rafaeldoespiritosanto8440 Obrigado.
Queria achar alguém relato de veteranos do lado do Japão, porém é bem difícil de encontrar online. A grande parte desses relatos é dos norte-americanos. Mas mesmo assim obrigado.
@@gabrielillescas sem problemas amigo
RIP GOD forgives too
can't imagine the flashes of memory he is seeing in his head in his moments of silence. just as fresh in his head as if it all happened yesterday
My father was a Marine in WWII on a small island. He never spoke about his experience until he was in his late 80s
He was military, like all of my family - in other words, he saw his duty and he did it. He also pulls no punches....he's GREAT!
I am from Okinawan decent I learned that my friends great grandpa fought in Okinawa and now after 3 generations who used to be enemies are now friends with one another
Only 2 kinds of Warriors! The quick, and the Dead… Much Respect to this man, a Real Warrior.
There's nothing pretty about war Marine. I felt exactly the same way around a year and a half to 2 years after I got out of the Marine Corps. For me it started with the nightmares and reliving the fire fights I was involved in. Semper Fidelis Leatherneck. I am damn proud to have been a part of a Brotherhood that you helped create. You are a Giant among men and I really enjoyed your stories of the situation you endured and survived. I wish you the absolute best.
Thanks for documenting this legendary WWII vet's story.
closes his eyes, remembers his friends and the pain they all went through :( the sound of the bullets hitting targets would have been horrible..
Those sickening smacks and thuds!!
Sounds absolute chaos glad I could hear this man's story thanks for your service sir 🙏
Builds your faith, many stories i hear talk about the lord speaking to them and saving there lives
My father who is still with us at 99 years old was on Okinawa the same time as this fellow Marine. His experience was pretty much the same as this gentleman's. He survived even after catching a ricocheted bullet to his back. God Bless and Keep ALL of our service men and women!!!
Was he a racist tho?
You have a mangina
@@zazasnruntz7505 who are you talking about?
Sir, you and your brothers are heroes. We'll never repay you for what you've done to the American Nation and people from all over the World. My deepest respect.
He gave his youth for this country.
Thank you for your service.
Thanks so much for sharing this! My father served w/the Marines at Okinawa. He was haunted by the experience.
These men were real men. What they had to do and what they saw was just nearly unbearable. Respect for all of these veterans from all countries. Greetings from Germany.
My grandpa killed many nazis.
The idea that people have to go through shit like this to become real men is the kind of toxic idea that will lead us down this road again
@@M1nd_Fl4y3r Its how the world was since very recent years. Life in general was horrible compared to today's standards, men and women were much tougher, a different breed. Doesn't mean we should strive to torment ourselves with similar experiences, but respect those who had to go through it for the easy lives we have today.
@@JuniorJuni070 that won‘t trigger any German person nowadays. And the ones who are triggered by it should meet your grandpa.
@@M1nd_Fl4y3r He didn't have to go through it to become a "real man." He was a real man before, during and after.
My grandfather couldn't talk about it. My father was really bad out of nam. Not easy being raised by a guy reliving his 2 years of service in his mind his entire life. Wish he had gotten some sort of treatment before losing him. But that wasn't in the cards. Thank you for sharing your story. The kids of soldiers need to hear these...because a lot of soldiers can't bring that to light. Much respect.
Respect to your family as well.
I hope you are doing well and if you have children I hope they are grateful to have a loving father!
Damn you've got videos of Wwe 2011 right before I officially stopped watching. Good times.
@@FezCaliph yep. Lifetime fan. The rammstein I posted is solid as well, ha.
@@joshx022 I will always be a fan of WWF/WWE, but I just can't watch a full show like I used to back in the day. Can't forget such fond memories.
I was a young Marine when I married my wife. Her grandpa was a Marine in the Battle of Okinawa. And as much as would have loved to hear his stories, I never asked him about it, out of respect. He had a St. Christopher medallion he purchased on the Navy ship en route to Okinawa. He wore it during his time in the battle. It was eventually passed down to my son who also served in the Marines and wore it during his deployment.
I am very grateful to be able to here this story. It is amazing to hear history told by someone who lived and created it.
How many years have passed, almost 80!!
And he still remembered even the smallest things of those days...
Thank you for doing what you had to do years ago. I served in the USAF during desert storm and I salute all who took up arms for their country (even if the world thought we were wrong)
You can tell he's reliving every moment as he tells the story.
A number of times when he is uncertain about a detail in a story, Mr. Gosch says "I don't know.. it doesn't matter"... the truth is, it all matters, every word of what you have to say. Thank you, sir, for your service
It doesn’t matter to him due to the fact there was a lost worse coming back to him then the name of a ship or how far he ran.
The details do not matter, the entirety of the situation is what matters, and he understands that fact perfectly. When you are involved in something so large and so life altering, as time goes on the picture gets smaller and the things that truly matter become fewer.
Okay, you both missed the point entirely... I was attempting to simply honor the man. Of course every detail isn't "significant" to Mr. Gosch in retelling his story , but every word this man has to say should be and is significant to all of us
@@mikemanning5918 … I did not miss the point at all. I was shedding light on his thought process as someone who has been in similar situations. If you asked him directly he would agree that minor details that were major at the time are insignificant years later. I get that you are honoring him as we all should, I simply shared my understanding of where he is coming from in terms of the greater picture. Many of us felt his words when he said “it doesn’t matter”.
@@mikemanning5918 no, no I didn’t. Coming from a long line a vets they wouldn’t care at this day an age about minor details. Hell my grandfather wouldn’t even speak about Vietnam. I had to read about him in a book.
That's a believable narrative.... I've learned that most people who have been in combat don't talk... Until many years later.... Thanks for your service 🙏☝️🇺🇲
I’m stationed here in Okinawa now and when I drive around I just imagine how terrible fighting on this landscape would have been… thanks to this hero and plenty more for their sacrifices.
When he said they were having a gunfight at 50-75 feet i almost crapped my pants can you imagine CQB with a BAR? That guns huge
@@MitchJohnson0110 Yep, just like in NAM the average firefight was 20-30 yards. Dudes shooting M60’s, M16s, AKs and RPG’s at each other is freaking nuts. Thats so close!
God Bless this great American Patriot. Thank you for all you have done for our great country, Sir.
This man is a true warrior. Kills his enemy, loves his god, takes souvenirs from his kills. This man is awesome.
I was stationed at Naha Okinawa during the 70’s. There was still reminders of the war there even on base. Shot up bunkers and gun emplacements. It made me think of what terror they must have went through then.
I was stationed there in the early 90's, not as much to see then as what you saw but there was still some reminders of the war. Some of the same things you saw just not as many. I had an Uncle that was in the Army Air Corps he was in WW2 and in Korea said he never got close to being hurt, he did 2 tours in Vietnam and was wounded both tours, the second wounds ended his 30 year career. I was very young and we lived in Florida at the time and I ask dad one time why my uncle never wore shorts because it was so hot and dad told me he had something wrong with his legs and being young I left it at that. When I became a Marine, one of my other uncle's told me about my uncle being wounded and how it happened. He was one hell of a man. RIP Uncle and to all the brave men and women that have given their lives for our great country. Semper Fi from an old Marine.
@@jerrygirdner2753 Amazing! Thanks for telling me about that. There was quite a bit left when I was there. Even a large artillery piece up on top of a hill on base. One shot up bunker with the projectiles still in the concrete (probably 50 cal) was right behind our barracks. Myself and a friend use to explore the overgrown areas on base and find the bunkers.
I was stationed on Okinawa in 1995 at Camps Kinser and Foster. Driving past and through those steep hills I was and still amazed at what our veterans had to climb while enduring gunfire, mortars, artillery, grenades. In the 1990s civilian construction companies were still finding unexploded ordinance in the ground. My mom's older brother was 17 and on a destroyer off of Okinawa fighting the kamikazes, he only told me a story about one attack, one time only. He never spoke about the war again.
I was down at Kinser in 86.
Kadena AFB 71-73. Wasn't a tree over ten feet on the south end of the island.
Much respect to this man. This country would be nothin without these men. LITERALLY. Ty sir for your tremendous loss and the things u witnessed so we didn’t have too.👏🏽👏🏽💪🏽🎖
War is so terrible, this man is a hero.
No guilt should be felt the true reality is if you didn’t kill you were gonna be killed. Not only did you survive but your siblings and their siblings survived. You fought for your country and your family and your future family. Thank you
There's a vid here on UA-cam that posts never before seen and obscure still photos of various combat positions, attacks, being attacked, bombardments, etc, etc. Carefully altering the balance of this Normandy landing and link with the other two groups. There's also stuff from the Axis powers. I think that this one is British. But, there is another one of a Japanese soldier (Nanking I think) tossing a baby off of his bayonet that had gotten stuck.
He can feel whatever he wants to feel. Easier said than done to just “not feeling guilty” especially when you see the human atrocities this man went through.
I am so grateful for these stories and the Country we live in
Thanks for watching! Please don't forget to hit like and subscribe! Also please consider writing Mr. Gosch a thank you for your service letter!
Remember WWII
C/O William Gosch
P.O. Box 245
Collierville, TN
38027
Amazing story. Thank-you for your service.
I was stationed on Okinawa for 3 years in Army, 20 plus years after WW2. Found a few war relics there, such as a land mine on a beach, and a live unexploded shell out in the water about 100 yards. Scary finds, I respect you sir! Thank you for your service.
Apparently 50% of ordinance did not explode. They’re still finding UXB.
You can tell he's reliving it what a strong man.
True American hero. Thank you very much sir. God bless u and your family.
they don't make many like this any longer. thank you sir for all you did.
My Father was there ...unfortunately he passed before I was old enough to have a discussion with him about it... Thank you for your service
I agree that when they tell their stories you can see they are back in that moment. Reliving whatever hell they experienced all those years ago. Thank you to everyone who gave their lives or were wounded mentally or physically. You truly are the greatest generation.
Hard to imagine what this guy went through. He’s reliving his experiences as he talks…Incredible…
wow... im canadian and i respect american war heroes as much as my own countrys as they fought side by side for peace.... this man is still so sharp, so wise... we are so blessed to be able to hear his stories and see his bring backs
I'm in awe. God bless you Sir. I'm glad you made it home. Your cause was just.
Thank you for telling this story. These men and women of that generation are all about gone and these stories need to be told so people can remember what everyone went through, both sides. Thank you sir!
My father was also a marine on Okinawa he was in the first wave when he left there they were sailing on to mainland Japan when the U.S dropped the atomic bomb. If they hadn't I probably wouldn't be posting this
I salute you sir ! My grandfather was also a Raider in Tony Walkers P company and made it all the way to okinawa where he was hit blowing a bunker , by then the Raiders were disbanded as you know and he was in walkers recon team ! God bless you and all the others !
A true war hero and an American treasure. The souvenirs our soldiers bring back from wars should be preserved forever so we never forget the sacrfices they made. Some people may try to erase history, but the items brought back will forever tell the story.