"I Wish It Would Go Away" // Russell Pickett Memorial
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- Опубліковано 4 сер 2020
- On August 2nd, 2020, the world lost another hero. Our dear friend, #RussellPickett, the last surviving member of the 29th Infantry Division Company A, passed away at age 95. We wanted to share this story with you of one of the most amazing moments we had while in Normandy for the 75th anniversary of #DDay.
Many of you may recognize Russell from our D-Day 75-anniversary video. This is the longer story of his return.
Just over a year ago, while we were in #Normandy for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, a few of us had an opportunity to document Russell’s very special first time return to the Dog Green Sector of #OmahaBeach, where he landed in the lead landing craft with Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment, #29thInfantryDivision as a part of the first wave in the early morning hours of #June6, 1944. His landing craft hit a mine or was hit by an artillery shell, he was never sure what exactly happened, but he came to some time later in the shallow water unable to move. His objective that morning was to use his flame thrower to clear out a German pillbox at the base of the bluffs. As we stood at the top of the beach that evening, he was asked what it felt like to be here again and he said, “Not like the first time. To think 75 years later, it seems like yesterday. Sometimes I still feel like I’m going to wake up and it’s not going to be true. I wish it would go away… I wish it would go away.” As we were leaving to head back to our chateau, he paused and said, “My only regret is that I wasn’t able to save more of my comrades after being wounded.”
It is hard to put into words the emotions we felt that evening at the top of the beach at Dog Green listening to Russell share his horrifying experience on that bloody morning, but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that all of us had tears welling up in our eyes as we stood with him looking out over that sacred sand towards the #EnglishChannel.
Russell, it was an absolute honor and a privilege to call you our friend and to share 10 days with you in Normandy celebrating the 75th Anniversary of D-Day and the beginning of the liberation of Europe. You are forever in our hearts and your spirit and story lives among us. Thank you for your courage, your bravery, and your service. Thank you for sharing your personal experience in the place that it happened. We love you and we are going to miss you.
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Rest in peace Sir. The world will never forget your sacrifice, your bravery and your service.
If these videos don't bring a tear to eye nothing will
RIP to this warrior. It's almost mindblowing to think that back then, kids as young as 16 were so eager to fight for freedom, and now all we got left is a softened society, corrupted by smartphones, apps and social media. Hopefully, another generation of heroes will arise at some point. Thank you for your service Russell, and may your name live eternally.
I think smartphones, apps, and social media are great! I think the more connected we are as a planet the less conflict there will be.
@@eljamo93 get out of your comfort zone asap please
@@eljamo93 not really because Wars are still happening
@@alexmason2659 so, maybe fewer are happening that would be without them
@@eljamo93 nope the middle east is in chaos so is Africa Mexico is in a war with drug cartels wars happening in South America war on terror has spilled over into Asia have there been any deadly wars such as WW1 or 2 no but there have been a lot more wars then back then before cellphones and apps were a think apps have nothing to do with wars being started
People name sports persona's as their hero's, but these are the real hero's
Russell Pickett...part of the greatest generation, thank you sir for your service and sacrifice.
RIP Sir. Thank you will never be enough.
Live on in heaven
Thank you PFC Russel Pickett. I hold you dear to my heart.
There is a WWII epitaph somewhere for brave soldier like this and it says "When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow we gave our today".
You fought well and bravely Sir. Very well done. You are now most honorably relieve from your duty.......Journey well with peace.
Thank you so much for your service Russell. Rest easy soldier, your fight is over. RIP.
Real hero of ww2! Respect from Romania! never forget! .
I'm so proud, but you never died. We know who you are and your stories. It's an honor to carry on your legacy and stories,but your legacy and life will never die. You'll live forever, gentlemen, because i and so many others will carry on your legacy and stories.
Greatest Generation Alive . God Speed Mr.Pickett
God bless everyone one of them, they deserve more credit than they received...
Whithouth him and his brothers we dont have freedom,thank you for your Service .
Thank you for being one that saved the world may you Rest In Peace
Rest well, sir. You were an amazing American. Will never be forgotten.
R.I.P. SIR! thanks for you service!
Makes me cry so much. I thank him for his service. Rest In Peace.
On behalf of a great full nation, the Pickett family has my deepest condolences. Rest easy Private.
God these hero’s are dropping like flies before we know it these videos and photos will be all that we have left... if you ever have the honor of meeting a vet I implore you to say thank you for your service
RIP, my dad was born the same year and served.died at age 87
When i heard the news i started to cry
Sammeeee im still crying
Me too, buddy, me too ;(
It was my absolute dream to meet this guy in person. But now its broken and im sad
Batjin B I wish you could have. He was an amazing man!
He is now with his brothers, and i can bet you he has a smile on his face.
Rest In Peace with all the warriors, all the fighters that lost their life’s, fighting in wars that were not build by them, but instead by some morons that never fought before, and just played with these warriors life’s like they were simple muppets.
Let’s change the world when we still have some time to do so.
Greetings from Portugal 🇵🇹 full of love for everyone reading this.
Thank You, RIP
Obrigado from Portugal ♥️
He was my favorite veteran
What a heavy burden he carried for 76 years. May he finally have a much deserved rest with his brothers in arms. Thank you for documenting his story. ❤️
From the small town of Soddy Daisy TN, we can have the most badass men. The sir was a true gentleman and warrior. I feel privileged to have gotten to know him from attending the same church as well as listening to his stories as a kid. God bless and freedom on!
RIP
You are wrong you and everyone else who hit that beach whether you were wounded or killed are HEROES!
Rest in peace legend,and thank you and all the people that sacrificed their own lives for our better future❤
RIP. Good sir. You will never be forgotten 🙏
God took back his hero 🙏 R.I.P
Thank you sir, for what you've done. I'm a young french man and each day I enjoy being free. Free to have a family, free to go where I wanna go, free to live in a democracy. And that is possible only because you gave a part of your life. You chose to fight a racist and antisemitic dictator, and thousands of your comrades died for this. Here in France, we'll never forget your sacrifice, never 🙏🙏🙏
All these stories changed my life. It was very emotional video. The stories remind me of my great grandfather. His story and Russell’s story will never be forgotten. Thank you for what your doing.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 God Bless these men of the greatest Generation and God Bless the USA!
To me, these men were, are and always will be heroes. Not in the superman way, but as exemplary humble men and women that were willing to die for their country and belief in free democracy. I thank each and every veteran I meet and thank them for inspiring and turning my life for the better. Rest easy, sir!
My heart melts watching this and I'm in tears. Thank you for sharing Russell Pickett's story.
Rest In Peace Mr. Russell. God bless you for what you did, and thank you to everyone who helped him find his beachhead last year. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Wow a day after My bday My fav vent deid i will allways remebrer you russel
These heroes must be remembered. Thank you
Thanks u a lots sir for your service we will remember you till end of life you are hero of our country R. I. P
This caught me off guard. I remember watching the 75th anniversary video of D-Day and see him talking and telling his story. I cried that day. And when I heard the news I cried too. Thanks to him and all those who serve we live in a free world. Thanks to them, Im serving my country too, proudly like they did. They inspired me to do it and i will do it without question nor hesitation. Thank you Russel Picket, rest easy warrior.
Sorry if I ask this but those anyone know where he was buried? I want to give him respect. :c
I'm not sure where he is buried. Thank you for serving!
Thank you anyways. Thank you for giving this fellow brothers the last chance to go to not only the fires of once a hell but a big field full of brotherhood and bravery. Thank you for what all you've done. Its really heart warming. Keep it up. And thank you for the support we appreciate it a lot. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
@@BestDefenseFoundation He is buried at Chattanooga TN National Cemetery
.
Rest in Peace Hero!!!
We are grateful!
🇺🇸✌🇺🇸✌🇺🇸✌🇺🇸
Rest in peace Sir you will never be forgotten
He is now in paradise and feeling only joy!
glad to see zero dislikes. Russell ive said this a lot of times but will see you in heaven. Thank you.
Thank you for your service.
It so sad that they almost gone Rest In Peace Russell Pickett
God love every last one of them. If I may, we need to teach this and these kinds of stories to high schoolers lest we never forget. Mr. Pickett, thank you for your service, sir.
R.I.P thank you for your service. you will be missed
We lost another hero.. we live the daily lives we live now because these brave men. Thank you for your service, & god bless you Russel Pickett. 🇺🇸
And when he gets to heaven saint peter he will tell: “ just another soldier reporting , sir. I’ve served my time in hell.” .. a true hero from the greatest generation !! Thank you sir !!
We need a world full of people like you again Sir thank you for your service 🙏🏽🥺❤️🇺🇸God bless you!! Rest in peace, we love you too!!
Rip sir you are a hero and thank you for your service
Thank you sir
For all veterans would be good to treath and help them with a lot of respect!!!
Rest In Peace sir you’re Memory will ever be forgotten
RIP.... Thanks for your service!!!!
I keep coming back to watch this and it makes me sad that we lost a great hero but it also fills me with joy because Russel was able to get that closure. To see where he cane in for the last time. Russel was a good man. Rest easy warrior. We’ll take it from here.
I went to the Medal of Honor museum in Chattanooga Tennessee, they had his uniform and his medals, we went on august 2nd, 2021, which marks a year of his death, thank you for your service, I salute you, and REST IN PEACE SIR!
I am French and I thank the American troops for having delivered us during WW2. I am grateful for their sacrifice. I will never forget. Bless you all.
My uncle was there also. He never talked about it and not even to his brothers and sisters. Im so proud the United States was there to help France. I too am a military veteran, I come from a military family, I served in the United States Marine Corps 1973 to 1977. Semper Fidelis
@@usmc-veteran73-77 What an amazing family story!
@@nowopening1648 thank you. Like I said, I come from a military family on "both" sides of my family. Several serviced WW-2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm and the War on Terrorism. How are the COVID19 virus numbers in France? Stay safe.
@@usmc-veteran73-77 Thank you. Life goes on, we are being carreful. Take care.
Rest In Peace sir thank you so much for your service sir.
glad to see there is no dislikes. could never thank these men enough for what they did for me, my family, and everyone alive today. they will always be the greatest generation
Rest in peace sir. You will be missed.
Rest in peace sir Pickett. Thank you for your service, may you never be forgotten
😢
Thank you sir for your heroic bravery and valiant service to our country RIP 🇺🇸
God Bless the greatest Generation! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
They dont die. They live forever
Rip, may you find freedom with all your brothers who went through this horror with you. You helped my country to get out off this nazi terror. Thanks to every American WW2 soldier and greetings from Germany. I will always remember your sacrifice.
God speed sir, Rest In Peace Hero
so sad thats crazy that the were 16 to 20
I see you watch history secrets
I watch hs
God bless these heroes
Having walked that beach at low tide and toured Normandy and the US cemetery I gained a whole new respect for our nation and the heroes we have to be grateful for. Most of the heroes are in the cemetery but having a living representative teaches the young how tough you have to be to stand up to evil and just say NO.
I Salute you Sir, May you Rest In Peace, internal Happiness and an eternity in heaven 🇺🇸
Words are not enough to describe how gratefull we are sir , thank you so much for your service 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Agreed!
We will never forget what you did for our countrys. You will always have my respect. Rest in piece and honor.
Michael Neumann
Germany
Rest easy sir!
Rest in peace, sir. You’ve taught me so much about life. Thank you for your service. ❤️
We can never thank you enough. Both you and this foundation. But thank you. I wish I could have told him that.
You have fought for us, now it is time for rest. God bless you, warrior of the nation. Rest in peace.
May he rest in peace and see his comrades again... Thank you so much for giving us this freedom.. the ability to live on freely to it's fullest...♡
I just got out of basic, this is heartbreaking to hear. A true American hero. May he rest in peace.
Always sad to lose a hero, but always encouraged by our new heroes who choose to serve, like you. Thank you!
Rest well good soldier.
RIP and respect to a true hero. I just found this channel and will be binging your videos. I can't thank you enough for what you are doing. The stories and the way they are presented are awesome, inspiring, and heartbreaking all at the same time. I'm not crying... that's just liquid freedom. Please keep this going!
Wow! Thank you so much! This made my day! We have no plans of stopping!
He lived on our street R.I.P Mr pickett thats what everyone called him last time i saw him i gave him a drawing. God bless u mr pickett.
Rest in Paradise Sir. Thank you for your service. 🇺🇸
Thank you for your service to our great nation. RIP soldier.
Who‘s that dislike, I mean c‘mon this video is soo magnificent! U can’t dislike it
RIP Sir.
Rest In Peace, we thank you for your service, We salute you soldier! 🇺🇸❤️😁👍😇
That was such an emotional experience that evening at the top of Dog Green sector. I’m crying again. Man :(
So glad we got to experience that together!
Best Defense Foundation ❤️
Rest In Peace to my hometown/American hero. I wish more people knew your story.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE ! Rest in peace. Thanks for the free world...we will never forget😖
It’s hard to process he passed away 2-3 weeks ago. It was like a few month’s when I first saw the video of “48 of my comrades”. The one speech that always got to me from that video was from him “soldiers go through things people don’t know and we don’t bother to tell them” cause I know what he means by that. Mr Russell, thank you for your service and all what you’ve done for our country. Rest In Peace 🙏🏼
Thank you you for your service Mr. Pickett.🇺🇸 🙏 RIP
My god zero dislikes. A true hero! Rest in peace ✋
God dammit! Sir, I salute you and it breaks my heart but it give me peace at the same time! I hope you can see your Battle Buddies! As and Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran, I salute you and your family and pray and wish the best for y'all!
Rest in peace
As he is kept im our hearts he will be always alive, Never forget this man.. We shall learn from this Soilder. He fought not to have fame but to have Justice for the world.
Amazing story. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate these men who gave it all for us. Thank you BDF for helping us remember
What frustrates me is this video has 4,000 views but the importance of millions. I wish people would pay more attention to the real heroes of the United States like Russell. May you rest in eternal peace.
Rip. Russell you’re mission is over may u dance with the Angels🙏🏻❤️