FARK.com: (6822090) Bad guys: "You're outnumbered. You're surrounded. Surrender, and we won't kill you." Good guys: "Nah. We'd rather fight." Bad guys: "D'oh." History: "Thanks"

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		Bad guys: "You're outnumbered. You're surrounded. Surrender, and we won't kill you." Good guys: "Nah. We'd rather fight." Bad guys: "D'oh." History: "Thanks" (life.com)		278
		More: Hero, Battle of the Bulge

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278 Comments (+0 »)

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The AlbinoSaxon

2011-12-16 04:24:11 PM

Nuts!

OregonVet

2011-12-16 04:31:43 PM

One of my uncles was killed just before that. The German that shot him switched his wedding band to his other hand. I have his Purple Heart.

/csb

BKITU

2011-12-16 04:47:29 PM

Time for the shaky hand to remove the glasses.

Because People in power are Stupid

2011-12-16 04:52:06 PM

Darth_Lukecash

2011-12-16 04:52:31 PM

OregonVet: One of my uncles was killed just before that. The German that shot him switched his wedding band to his other hand. I have his Purple Heart.

/csb

I wonder what was the significance for the ring switch?

My relatives served in the Pacific. So no CSB time for me.

/Oh and despite what the Airborne will claim, Patton sure in the hell did save their asses.

Makh

2011-12-16 05:17:09 PM

Darth_Lukecash: I wonder what was the significance for the ring switch?

No longer married? Death do they part? I dunno.

some.old.lady.

2011-12-16 05:28:04 PM

OregonVet: One of my uncles was killed just before that. The German that shot him switched his wedding band to his other hand. I have his Purple Heart.

/csb

.....

The German that shot him switched *his* wedding band
... German guy's or uncle's wedding band?

to *his* other hand.
.... German guy's or uncle's hand?

downstairs

2011-12-16 05:42:25 PM

Brass. Balls.

Darth_Lukecash

2011-12-16 06:00:50 PM

OregonVet

2011-12-16 06:09:37 PM

some.old.lady.: The German that shot him switched *his* wedding band
... German guy's or uncle's wedding band?

to *his* other hand.
.... German guy's or uncle's hand?

The sniper (German) took my uncle's wedding band off of his left ring finger and then the German put my uncle's wedding band on my uncle's right ring finger.

/not sure if that is better, but you should get it

Darth_Lukecash: I wonder what was the significance for the ring switch?

The best anyone ever came up with is that the sniper acknowledged the loss to my uncle's family. The official story is his tank was moving along a road and was ambushed by a couple snipers. The lid was open (warm day, in what is now referred to as a green area), and one dropped a grenade inside, two, including my uncle, got out and were immediately shot, the other(s) died inside. The Purple Heart isn't very specific, and other than stories passed down over the years there isn't much to go on. But one of my cousins has been researching the family tree and that's best he could find. Kinda like a hobby for him, but his IRL job is Anthropology and he seems pretty thorough....

R.A.Danny

2011-12-16 06:24:00 PM

The pic of the German was kinda chilling. Even the bad guys were just kids.

Bukharin

2011-12-16 06:40:28 PM

R.A.Danny: The pic of the German was kinda chilling. Even the bad guys were just kids.

Older people know better.
The youth are easy to persuade.
If you are into WW2 history, or any war in general, you might like this book.

covers.openlibrary.org

yogaFLAME

2011-12-16 06:47:12 PM

BKITU: [static.life.com image 420x315]

Time for the shaky hand to remove the glasses.

Everyone please leave the room.

xl5150

2011-12-16 07:05:34 PM

Fascinating pictures from a fascinating time.

Back then, being in the military actually stood for something significant. Nowadays, all it means is that you're fighting sham wars for rich guys because you screwed around too much in high school to be able to get into college.

A different time, indeed.

antidisestablishmentarianism

2011-12-16 07:05:54 PM

The AlbinoSaxon: Nuts!

Elephantman

2011-12-16 07:25:36 PM

CygnusDarius

2011-12-16 07:27:23 PM

The AlbinoSaxon: Nuts!

Came for this. Leaving satisfied.

SpookyEyes

2011-12-16 07:29:27 PM

The guy shaving without his shirt...holy shiat, that had to be cold.

Heron

2011-12-16 07:30:34 PM

Sad to say the kids of those soldiers are busy tearing to shreds everything they fought and died for.

Somaticasual

2011-12-16 07:31:06 PM

Ha. #11 caught an old guy eyein' it up.

WTF_Are_You_Looking_At

2011-12-16 07:31:07 PM

Histories are written by the victors with a good PR department..... except for that Pat Tillman incident...

//Oh well, you can't win them all.

video man

2011-12-16 07:32:43 PM

Man I wish my family had military CSBs that good. All that I have is that my great-grandfather was the first American to crash a motorcycle in WWI.

video man

2011-12-16 07:33:43 PM

SpookyEyes: The guy shaving without his shirt...holy shiat, that had to be cold.

Mr. Cool ICE?

100 Watt Walrus

2011-12-16 07:36:40 PM

Deslide-ified (new window)

bdub77

2011-12-16 07:37:02 PM

On the subject of WWII, maybe you farkers can help me with something. Every time I watch Band of Brothers it gets really dusty in my house. I vacuum, air it out, white glove treatment, the whole works.

Weirdest phenomenon.

moondo

2011-12-16 07:37:09 PM

Feels surreal that people would do this to each other.

Sid_6.7

2011-12-16 07:38:24 PM

OregonVet: some.old.lady.: The German that shot him switched *his* wedding band
... German guy's or uncle's wedding band?

to *his* other hand.
.... German guy's or uncle's hand?

The sniper (German) took my uncle's wedding band off of his left ring finger and then the German put my uncle's wedding band on my uncle's right ring finger.

/not sure if that is better, but you should get it

Darth_Lukecash: I wonder what was the significance for the ring switch?

The best anyone ever came up with is that the sniper acknowledged the loss to my uncle's family. The official story is his tank was moving along a road and was ambushed by a couple snipers. The lid was open (warm day, in what is now referred to as a green area), and one dropped a grenade inside, two, including my uncle, got out and were immediately shot, the other(s) died inside. The Purple Heart isn't very specific, and other than stories passed down over the years there isn't much to go on. But one of my cousins has been researching the family tree and that's best he could find. Kinda like a hobby for him, but his IRL job is Anthropology and he seems pretty thorough....

Germans tend to wear the rings on the right hand, engagement and wedding. Maybe it's related to that.

Also, it can be customary for someone whose spouse dies to switch their ring from the left hand to the right hand. Maybe it's related to that.

It might have been related to the fact that he killed the guy, or maybe he thought the ring was on the wrong hand.

rebelyell2006

2011-12-16 07:40:20 PM

xl5150: Fascinating pictures from a fascinating time.

Back then, being in the military actually stood for something significant. Nowadays, all it means is that you're fighting sham wars for rich guys because you screwed around too much in high school to be able to get into college.

A different time, indeed.

The underlined statements are the only accurate statements from your post. If you ask Smedley Butler, or if you ask leftists between WW1 and WW2, they'd say that wars were being fought for corporate and ultra-wealthy interests, not national interests. But on the other hand, one of my fraternity's alumnus died in Afghanistan. Another was a civilian analyst for the defense department, who went over to Iraq for a year with other civilians. There were plenty of ROTC cadets at my undergrad and given that I went to a decent school and given the fact that college education was not widespread in the 1940s, it would be more correct to say that the army of today is far more educated than the army of WW2.

jake_lex

2011-12-16 07:40:43 PM

R.A.Danny: The pic of the German was kinda chilling. Even the bad guys were just kids.

My dad, who spent WWII as a mechanic on fighter planes in England, told me a story once about the time some German POW's arrived at his base, and started working there. My dad said that the first time he saw one of them, a member of the fearsome Wehrmacht, he was just shocked about how it was just some blond-haired guy about the same age as him, looking very similar.

He said that the greatest disappointment of his time in the Army was that he was scheduled to go take part in the German Occupation Army, but that was cancelled. I can't imagine why a 21 year old being sent to the land that invented beer, full of frauleins grateful for their liberation from Nazism, would be disappointed when he didn't get to go.

/miss ya dad

some_beer_drinker

2011-12-16 07:40:45 PM

The AlbinoSaxon: Nuts!

this, you nazi bastards.

DeadMouseTails

2011-12-16 07:41:31 PM

R.A.Danny: The pic of the German was kinda chilling. Even the bad guys were just kids.

War is definitely a young mans game. More mature folks know better than to think it's always worth the collateral damage.

austin_millbarge

2011-12-16 07:41:42 PM

The AlbinoSaxon: Nuts!

Done in one.

RoyBatty

2011-12-16 07:43:26 PM

Scott Turow's Ordinary Heroes (amazon (new window)) is one very interesting tale of the Battle of the Bulge. Especially interesting if you're Jewish, or a lawyer, and a parent/grandparent served during it.

USCLaw2010

2011-12-16 07:43:30 PM

r1niceboy

2011-12-16 07:43:45 PM

I interviewed some former soldiers from WWII. A paratrooper from the 101st and a British commando that fought pretty much everywhere. They said that fighting in the cold is much worse than any other theatre, as it's impossible to feel optimistic when everything has lost its colour and you can barely bend your fingers to pull a trigger when the enemy comes near. I imagine that's how the Germans felt too, also both sides at Stalingrad during the winters.

I know when I've been out hunting in snow or really cold dampness, it's harder to regulate your breathing in order to shoot accurately at distance. You have to get closer. Now imagine that's in a combat situation. The Bulge was hell frozen over. I have the utmost respect for those guys.

Kid Mojo

2011-12-16 07:47:09 PM

I don't think LIFE understands how the Internet works.

scanman61

2011-12-16 07:48:01 PM

video man: Man I wish my family had military CSBs that good. All that I have is that my great-grandfather was the first American to crash a motorcycle in WWI.

My grandfather was a SeaBee in the Pacific and was part of the Bomb Damage Assessment team at Hiroshima.

He had a copy of the report in book form (with photos) that I read when I was about 15. He also had photos of himself at various landmarks including ground zero.

That's when I learned to stop worrying and love The Bomb.

spawn73

2011-12-16 07:48:22 PM

bdub77: On the subject of WWII, maybe you farkers can help me with something. Every time I watch Band of Brothers it gets really dusty in my house. I vacuum, air it out, white glove treatment, the whole works.

Yeah, kicking your ass for using the most annoying meme ever?

ThisIsntMe

2011-12-16 07:49:38 PM

Came for the Alamo,

Leaving sadly disappoint son.

MurphyMurphy

2011-12-16 07:50:18 PM

those guys look like they could really use a bacon sandwich

ronaprhys

2011-12-16 07:50:25 PM

The AlbinoSaxon: Nuts!

You magnificent bastard

-Alexander the Great.

HaywoodJablonski

2011-12-16 07:51:06 PM

Thanks for the timely update from 70 years ago. Any news on this "teevee" device the English invented?

Onkel Buck

2011-12-16 07:51:14 PM

xl5150: Fascinating pictures from a fascinating time.

Back then, being in the military actually stood for something significant. Nowadays, all it means is that you're fighting sham wars for rich guys because you screwed around too much in high school to be able to get into college.

A different time, indeed.

OK I'll bite. I got good grades and got accepted. But I was bored with school and wanted an adventure, yes yes phoney tough crazy brave etc...I basically lived my "college age years" in Europe, with an Army job, drinking more beer, banging more biatches and going to more places, than your average frat boy, and I was young enough to enjoy it instead of working my whole life saving up for the dream trip. I met a lot of guys like myself, that weren't ready to sit in a class room for another 4 years. I got out, came home, went to school and graduated with honors because I was more mature and disciplined. Now I work in robotics. so yah farking around in high school really screwed up my life.

macross87

2011-12-16 07:51:15 PM

OregonVet: One of my uncles was killed just before that. The German that shot him switched his wedding band to his other hand. I have his Purple Heart.

/csb

Was your uncle's name Quinn and are his ashes on your piano?

Active introvert

2011-12-16 07:53:48 PM

The AlbinoSaxon: Nuts!

Done in one.

Inquizition

2011-12-16 07:58:14 PM

100 Watt Walrus: Deslide-ified (new window)

Deslideified is now one of my favorite sites!
Thanks for that!

MurphyMurphy

2011-12-16 07:59:21 PM

bdub77

2011-12-16 08:00:12 PM

Deslideified is now one of my favorite sites!
Thanks for that!

yah. Is there a firefox plugin for that?

Gyrfalcon

2011-12-16 08:00:32 PM

HaywoodJablonski: Thanks for the timely update from 70 years ago. Any news on this "teevee" device the English invented?

You shut your whore mouth.

MurphyMurphy

2011-12-16 08:00:51 PM