The fact that the men there were men that survived Normandy, Holland, and the Battle of the Bulge is astonishing. If you were in the 82nd, and you survived the entire war, there is a chance you took place in all three of those battles and took part in Sicily. Their fortitude was unmatched.
82nd and 101st were composed of some of the bravest men out there for sure. As someone who had his Grandpa and Uncle involved in those, they were some battle hardened and tough men.
"Welcome to the 82nd Airborne airlines. On your left you see the landing invasion. On your right you see France, a place full of beautiful women, expensive booze, and whole 'lotta Germans. Today, we will be serving .30, 30-06, .45 ACP, and 60mm HE shells. We thank you for your one way ticket to France and a VIP suite to a cold place in the ground."
During the end of the war US Flight crews were being trained in pretty extensive evasive maneuvers Against FLAK batteries. As long as you didn't have to fly over one of the three FLAK Towers you'd have an okay chance of completing your mission i'd wager.
Grandpa who was in the 101st described getting shot at with Flaks as "Like a rocking boat in the waves but you know you're going to die any moment" These were some brave brave men honestly especially considering how many of them actually were going solo after the initial landings
Each and everyone born in America, fought for America, and death or not, they served when they were called upon, they don't make em like they used too.
I love how the engines of the C-47 sound like a constant ominous droning. Like I'm listening to some dark ambient music. Really adds to the atmosphere of fear
"Let me call your attention to the fact that our badge is the great American eagle. This is a fitting emblem for a division that will crush its enemies by falling upon them like a thunderbolt from the skies." -William C Lee, cammander of the 101st airborne
I like to imagine this isn't a recording. The men are all scared shitless and one starts singing this song quietly. Gradually all the men join in and it starts to feel like a lively environment where we all forget we're being sent to our doom.
really does sound like that, cooped up in a small tin can, no way to know what the hell is actually happening outside, explosions and the sounds of dying aircraft all around, and you're just counting down to your jump, knowing that there's a real chance you're just jumping to your death, and then singing this helping to drown out the madness you're facing
‘I was only 19 by Redgum’ as an Anzac soldier whilst being surrounded at the battle of Long Tan. Or ‘Long Run’ by Redgum whilst riding on a Huey in Vietnam.
@@bettername7252 yeah the Video name was "Life in the scrub" I think. But major sam is more of an asthetics channel so this could be made very different
I remember watching Overlord the scene where they start taking flak over Normandy and how the AA guns just rip through the belly of the C-47 and turn some of the paratroopers into chum and then a prop gets hit and explodes and rips through the side of the plane crushing those who survived the initial AA flak. Fucking Chilling. Imagine being 19 and being stuck in a plane with no way out only to hope to survive until the light turns green and you can jump out that death trap only to have to now survive making it to solid ground. Definitely the Greatest Generation.
I'm so glad pictures like this still exist, where you can look into the eyes of these young men. I wonder how many of the people in that photo survived...
if you imagine what traumatic experiences most of them and their parent generation had went through, it explains a lot of how fucked up the baby-boomer-generation turned out.
I rewatched it recently and really didnt enjoy it. It feels very forced. If something sad happens it starts raining and sad music starts and events are really heavily foreshadowed it hasnt aged well imo
@@thebiggamers999 One of the worst things about war is that "If you win, it's not a war crime". Also, the camp they liberated was part of something worse than their own war crimes.
The screaming inside would most likely go like this. *red light* "We gotta get the fuck outta here now!" "Stand up!" "Where's that fucking green light!" "Hook up!" "Sarge, we gotta jump now!" "Check your equipment! Sound off!" "Where's the fucking green light!?" "12 okay!" "11 okay!" *Flak sets one of the engines on fire, rounds come through the floor and shreds the men in the middle of the stick* "We gotta get the fuck out now!" "Stand at the door!" The rest would be history.
This one is one of my favourites. Ive never really listened to this songs lyrics but... man. The kinda cheerful lyrics over the pure fear of the paratroopers is just *mouah*
@@jrmungandr Wow, I wasn't expecting for you to respond. Well, keep up the amazing work! Do you think you might do one involving the song "Panzerlied"?
"STAND UP!" My knees buckled as I followed the Jumpmaster's order. I thought about ma's- "HOOK UP!" No time to think now, my hands tremble for the first time since my first training jump. "SOUND OFF FOR EQUIPMENT CHECK" Flak starts ripping through our plane as I barely scream "ONE!" I don't even wait for the Jumpmaster to yell "GO GO GO!" as I make my first combat jump into France, with Angel's wings pinned to my chest, I find myself floating down into the Hell below me... What a hell of a way to die.
Carrentan, Market Garden, Bastongne, pushing through Germany, three combat jumps, and a concentration camp later.... sipping liquor from the stash of a higher up nazi officer's house your division raided. ......"what a helluva way to die." :: toasts to the fallen ::
I forget how many days, weeks, months later it's been. All that time seems like a big ol' mess, all clumped together now. I can barely remember coming home, and falling head over heels for and eventually marrying that girl next door. I can easily remember the look in her honey-brown eyes as we kissed for the first time, then as husband and wife and so on. I remember having our kids, although their names escape me now in my old age. I watched all of them grow up, and have kids of their own. I watched as my love grew old with it, and me as well. I watched my hair eventually lighten and Grey, then whiten. I watched as the lines around my eyes wrinkled ane deepened. But two things never grew old: the names and memories of my fellow troopers who never made it home, and the look in my eyes when I could still see them meet their fates... A thousand yards is an insufficient distance to describe the look in my eyes. Today is a different day than the usual. I am wearing my pink-and-greens, which are pressed as sharp as the day I got them. Although I am wearing sunglasses, my eyes are fierce, and my vision is sharp. And although I usually need a chair or a cane to get around, my legs have summoned enough strength to walk up to my youngest great grandchild. Child? No. He is definitely a man now. And now almost a fellow trooper to boot. Just one last thing to do. He salutes me at attention as I stand in front of him. I return the salute, just as crisp and sharp as the creases of my trousers are over my jump boots. I've been holding a small bit of a heavy metal in my hand, and with a quick thrust, I pin my old jump wings into his chest. A pair of thin lines of blood slowly pool onto his chest, just as it did when I received mine. He salutes and shouts something my old ears can no longer hear. Probably a "Thank you, Sir," or something. I don't know. I mumble about how I'm not an officer, i worked for a goddamn living, and hug him. We start marching and fall into a rhythmic March. I start humming, and although I can't hear him, I know he's singing the words, just as every trooper should... "Gory gory, what a hell of a way to die..."
"Three day supply of K-rations, chocolate bars, Charms candy, powdered coffee, sugar, matches, compass, bayonet, entrenching tool, ammunition, gas mask, musette bag with ammo, my weapon, my .45, canteen, two cartons of smokes, Hawkins mine, two grenades, smoke grenade, Gammon grenade, TNT, THIS bullshit, and a pair of nasty skivvies!"
"The British Grenadiers" but you're getting bushwacked by Colonial minutemen. "Heia Safari" but you're being attacked by bees and the British somewhere in German East Africa.
Them singing this while riding would be comforting, unfortunately the engines were so loud that even shouting was barely audible. That's why they relied on hand signals even when dropping out.
IT takes a special breed to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. and a even more special breed to jump out of plane with flack bursts exploding around you.
i dont know what route they took, but 6 whole minutes of flak and fighter survival has to be one of the craziest war stories you can ever tell your grandson
“Ballad of the Alamo” But the Mexican army is coming over the walls of the Alamo. Maybe you can hear the guns firing, and the clacking of blades and the shouts of men. It would be a good addition to your fine works. “Ballad of the Alamo” isn’t a very mournful song, and I couldn’t think of one better, but it works.
Those guys were really brave no debate. Really any soldier in WWII were brave men, no matter what side they were on. The cowards are the leaders and their poor decisions in their career. Although some were unavoidable.
Only thing missing that would make it perfect is if the song ends with the signal to jump, just the sound of Paratroopers rushing out of the plane as the video closes out.
The Best Generation of Young Men, turned troubled times into a peaceful one. Fought accross Europe, Africa and Asia. Now, because of them, Generations are born and Nations, Technology and Medicine are thriving in an unmatched level never before seen. God Bless these Heroes, whichever side they were. Young men who took up the duty and had the courage to go through it till the end.
Jesus looking into the eyes of these men is like looking straight into a corpse. You know this was taken a couple of hours before most of these boys were in pieces.
My great grandfather flew a c 47 over France. It was shot down during the battle of the bulge. Lucky he led all his men through safely by sleeping in barns during the day and walking back to France during the night. Insane to think what people like him went through.
"Anchors Aweigh" but your fleet is being attacked by Kamikaze planes. "Alte Kameraden" but you are the last of your former battalion defending Berlin. "Three Tankist" but your Regiment got wiped out by Tiger 1 in Battle of Kursk. "Le fiamme nere" but you are dug up from bombardment in Monte Cassino. "Taiheiyō Kōshinkyoku" but you are onboard Musashi and witnessing Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. Some video ideas from me, hope you can use some of them
@@goebbledup1835 thats the whole point of the video, you put some kind of "patriotic" or "cherries" music in wrong situation. Or maybe we can use " X and you are Y" template if the music and the situation are matched. Like "Victory Day and you are a Red Army Soldier marching in Red Square, celebrating the end of Great Patriotic War"
The Alte kameraden or under the double head eagle would stick nicely to the Colombian Battalion in Old Baldy or Pork Chop Hill (the worst one was the first) as we adopted those two after the army reform, with assistance of the Chilean Army (the true inheritors of the Prussian customs 'til today). Sadly, my country only have like 3 types of unique marches that aren't 'exclusive' to an army Branch (Compañía Santander or Santander COmpany in english, and Honores a Popayán or Honor to Popayán are the ones). Another Idea: Gloria al Soldado (the army branch song) but you are in an ambush, encircled and with no support or comms in a minefield in the Catatumbo (god, the 90's to 00's were a hell for everyone)
Paratroopers are some of the most brave and badass troops of the war. Never forget though, the sheer balls it would take to be pilots having to steer those metal coffins through oceans of flak, knowing full well that they are responsible for every life on that tin can. Then, if by some miracle, they make it past the drop zone, they still have to turn around and make it home with flak and ME's hounding them the entire way.
Pilot: Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, we're about to hit a patch of turbulence. Don't worry boys, turbulence never took down a plane >explosions and machinegun fire< But if you look to your left being pursued by Messerschmidt 109s. They take down planes all the time
I can't imagine the fear in these men. Flying over beaches full of fortifications with the constant firing of a flak, these guy's have took on the most insane job of WW2, you can't decide if you'll live or die in that moment.
the paratroopers were encouraged by their commanders to sing while they were flying towards the dropzones. the reason why is for two reasons the first being that this would boost morale before combat. and the second reason was to get the paratroopers occupied with singing and to get their mind off the death that abundant. so they don't ask themselves and others will they die what and if so what would be the cause of their own death. whether it being getting shot, bleeding out, starvation, dehydration, explosion, or shrapnel from a grenade, the list goes on. but you get the idea of why the paratroopers would sing songs while sitting in their planes flying towards their dropzone.
Woohoo! Thanks for taking my suggestion! Can't wait for this one! Next do Yellow Rose of Texas but you're peppering Santa Ana's caviar with musket fire
I can imagine being a paratrooper... and it scares me. Imagine sitting in a 6x14 room that's made of pure metal, and the sounds of flak and engines isn't helping. You're in a room with about 22 other men, all waiting for the airplane door to open up. You're all completely stressed, making this even harder on you than the sounds of engines and flak. It's like the stress in the room is like a gas, everyone's taking it in. Then the door opens up, and you and all the other soldiers jump off, immediatly start falling at what you can only assume is the speed of the plane. You cover your eyes, completely stressed, just thinking how much better drinking with your friends would've been than this. As you're falling, machine gun fire opens up on you and you can only hope you're not as unlucky enough to get struck by a bullet. Then finally, you uncover your hands, and see the island below. You pull the cord on your parachute, having seen everyone do the same... and it won't work. And as you fall, you realise... you aren't going to be able to drop no more.
fun fact: before the the 82nd was an airbourne divison they were an infantry division, and in WWI, Alvin York, the most condecorated american soldier of the war, made part of it
days 2 of asking for : "on ira pendre notre linge sur la ligne siegfried" but you are a french soldier in the maginot line in his bunker surrounded by german
My Uncle Lemoyne Cline served with the 82nd and jumped on D-Day. He lived to be 93 and was killed by a nursing home attendant giving him 2.5X more insulin than prescribed. Gory, gory what a helluva way to die…
![Turbulence [But It's a Military History of World War 2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fm3ARMJI-j8/mqdefault.jpg)
![[CC]"Horst-Wessel-Lied" - National anthem of Nazi Germany (1933-1945) - German and Vietnamese lyrics](/img/1.gif)
The fact that the men there were men that survived Normandy, Holland, and the Battle of the Bulge is astonishing. If you were in the 82nd, and you survived the entire war, there is a chance you took place in all three of those battles and took part in Sicily. Their fortitude was unmatched.
Sure is.
Imagine those Germans that went through the succesfull Polish campaign, French '40 campaign and then Barbarossa all the way to freezing Stalingrad
There are men who survived the entire Eastern Front, from '41 to '45. My fucking God.
@@user-sm5sj6mg2t Yeah that's definitely seeing hell
82nd and 101st were composed of some of the bravest men out there for sure. As someone who had his Grandpa and Uncle involved in those, they were some battle hardened and tough men.
“Thank you for flying American Airlines.”
"At Pan Am, the sky is no longer the limit."
NOW GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY PLANE
Great comment lmao
just got back from vacation from grandcanyon in american airlines thank God I'm alive
"Welcome to the 82nd Airborne airlines. On your left you see the landing invasion. On your right you see France, a place full of beautiful women, expensive booze, and whole 'lotta Germans. Today, we will be serving .30, 30-06, .45 ACP, and 60mm HE shells. We thank you for your one way ticket to France and a VIP suite to a cold place in the ground."
"We're not in hell soldier, we're in Normandy." Jesus. That is one hell of a sentence.
If Normandy is hell, what was the Pacific?
@@carterfranklin2320 Well, I'm guessing the entire world during the war was Hell itself.
@@carterfranklin2320 The pacific was extra hell
@@carterfranklin2320 Japanese hell , so normal hell but more fire and bamboo.
@@carterfranklin2320 Hell, but Wet
6 minutes straight of being flak? That's actually a miracle for them to finish this song.
Some made it! If they didn't we probably wouldn't be here now
@@jrmungandr indeed, and thank God for that.
Pathfinders would take 6 minutes of heavy flak and then tell their memoirist "The LZ got a little hot that day"
During the end of the war US Flight crews were being trained in pretty extensive evasive maneuvers Against FLAK batteries. As long as you didn't have to fly over one of the three FLAK Towers you'd have an okay chance of completing your mission i'd wager.
@@IudiciumInfernalum It was just one tower too far to met their doom
"Looks like you guys will be surrounded."
"We’re paratroopers, Lieutenant. We’re supposed to be surrounded."
Chad Winters
No Major Richard winters
@@gabrielreidmiller967 he knows that he was calling winters a Chad
VDV moment
Winters actually said that to Private Hall so it would be Private instead of Lieutenant. Winters was the Lieutenant but it's his quote from BoB.
Can't imagine being in those brave men's place. What a helluva way to die.
Grandpa who was in the 101st described getting shot at with Flaks as "Like a rocking boat in the waves but you know you're going to die any moment"
These were some brave brave men honestly especially considering how many of them actually were going solo after the initial landings
I literally read the last line of your comment as he said that
@Aidan Hand Way braver than you for sure .ᕙ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕗ
@Aidan Hand based
Each and everyone born in America, fought for America, and death or not, they served when they were called upon, they don't make em like they used too.
I love how the engines of the C-47 sound like a constant ominous droning. Like I'm listening to some dark ambient music. Really adds to the atmosphere of fear
Thanks! I'm glad it all comes through, there was a danger of the mix becoming very muddled and crowded but it worked out
except like WAYYYYYY louder
"he had to sit and listen to those awful roars"
They are the awful engines aren't they.
Those awful engines
it's interesting that airborne troops still sing this while waiting to jump.
in german, it's called "Galgenhumor" = gallows-humor. knowing your soon death is much likely and still joking (about it).
Same in Swedish! Galghumor
@@DeadSomething it's called Gallows Humor in English as well.
@@pcarrierorange eh this is more 'black humor' I'd say.
@@dynamicpaintball that's pretty much the same thing, translated to English
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright.
he checked his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines Roar
You ant going to jump no more
Gory gory what a helluva way to die!
@Charles Parnell he said Yes and then they stood him up
“Footballs coming home” but England loses the euros
Based
@@jrmungandr Redpilled
"Deutschlandld" but the English are cheering in the pub after there win against Germany
"Is coming Home" but it's passo di corsa dei Bersaglieri
Based Italy
Rule Britannia but your in the HMAS hood and you just spotted Jerry's new ship
Oh Fuck
Or, even better, Sink the Bismarck
You mean HMS Hood or are you on about Kaiserriech Hood?
The hood sunk in 3 minutes so this time works out pretty well
No no, Heart of Oak!
"Let me call your attention to the fact that our badge is the great American eagle. This is a fitting emblem for a division that will crush its enemies by falling upon them like a thunderbolt from the skies."
-William C Lee, cammander of the 101st airborne
Coldest shit ever said
WW2 US did that job and then some
@@dusk6159 nope, china rekt u lol.
@@scorchclasstitan6727 Got something wrong in your head? WW2 China? VS the US?
@@dusk6159 r/whoosh, entire point went over that hollow skull of yours :P.
I like to imagine this isn't a recording. The men are all scared shitless and one starts singing this song quietly. Gradually all the men join in and it starts to feel like a lively environment where we all forget we're being sent to our doom.
That needs to be a scene in a future war film, that would be quite moving
I was thinking the same thing
really does sound like that, cooped up in a small tin can, no way to know what the hell is actually happening outside, explosions and the sounds of dying aircraft all around, and you're just counting down to your jump, knowing that there's a real chance you're just jumping to your death, and then singing this helping to drown out the madness you're facing
it's like "we can scream and panic or show one last bit of courage."
@@ataka2142 similar to the panzerlied scene in battle of the bulge.
“Soldiers Of The King” but you’re in a bunker during the bombardment before The German Spring Offensive
"Men of Harlech" but you're surrounded at Rorke's Drift
"British Grenadiers" but you're marching up the Bunker Hill.
And that proves that as long as the battle hymn melody plays louder than the noise, your spirit remains flying high. Beautiful
It really doesn’t prove anything man, try saying it while actually being in their shoes, war is hell. Especially a war on a global scale like WW2.
Eh we jump out of planes. It’s more so that we are scared but we are also too crazy to care😂
Men of Harlech but you're facing Napoleon's Old Guard at Waterloo
Seems like a fun time
Men of Harlech but you're facing down the Zulu army at Rorke's Drift
@@kapitankapital6580 Zulu war chant but you’re attacking Rorke’s Drift
Men of Harlech but the Saxons are about to breach your castle walls and you're ready to give them hell.
@@themanhimself1229 people forget it's a Welsh song. Rep this.
British contribution at Waterloo is overrated (thanks to pro-British historical writings), do Dutch or Prussian version instead.
‘I was only 19 by Redgum’ as an Anzac soldier whilst being surrounded at the battle of Long Tan. Or ‘Long Run’ by Redgum whilst riding on a Huey in Vietnam.
I was only 19 but the Chinook dropping of the arty gun just took enemy fire
yes, this one please
There’s a guy who already has done something with Redgum in Vietnam. He’s called majorsamm and his channel is a lot like this
@@bettername7252 yeah the Video name was "Life in the scrub" I think. But major sam is more of an asthetics channel so this could be made very different
@@absolutfreeman1033 link?
I remember watching Overlord the scene where they start taking flak over Normandy and how the AA guns just rip through the belly of the C-47 and turn some of the paratroopers into chum and then a prop gets hit and explodes and rips through the side of the plane crushing those who survived the initial AA flak. Fucking Chilling.
Imagine being 19 and being stuck in a plane with no way out only to hope to survive until the light turns green and you can jump out that death trap only to have to now survive making it to solid ground.
Definitely the Greatest Generation.
@Joey Wheeler ...
@Joey Wheeler lol So true.
Very true.
@@rokor3578 i think your quite shit imo, you didnt go through what they did
@Joey Wheeler True ay boomers are quite shit. Silent Gen are chill boys.
I'm so glad pictures like this still exist, where you can look into the eyes of these young men. I wonder how many of the people in that photo survived...
if you imagine what traumatic experiences most of them and their parent generation had went through, it explains a lot of how fucked up the baby-boomer-generation turned out.
@@DeadSomething I mean baby boomer generation did fight in Vietnam and Rhodesia
Probably four did.
i mean, prolly none by now
A good commie is a dead commie. Change your profile picture to a nationalist one.
“La vie en Rose” but you’re surrounded at Dien Bien Phu
Bomb track
I'm sitting on top of the world but you're dying from lack of oxygen on top of Mount Everest
If it isn’t too much to ask, “ A don José” but you’re fighting back the spanish in la batalla de las piedras
@@luca_uy6529 nothing is too much to ask, but the requests are coming in absolute droves and I have to prioritise
@@jrmungandr Please do this
Pilot be like: "Guys, stfu, I'm trying to keep us alive and you aren't helping!"
The boys: *Sing louder*
Pilot: "Heh. Magnificent cheeky bastards."
@@Briselance Pilot: *dives into the enemy flak batteries*
@@abcdefgh6143 the pilot is a mad man then.
Pilot: Well Well Well * *Instantly banzai at the flak battery* *
"Guerilla Radio" but you're pinned down in a Kill Zone in Fallujah and your friend is bleeding out next to you
This sounds intense, I like it
Damn, this reminds me of how wonderful the series "Band of Brothers" was and how brave those paratroopers were.
I rewatched it recently and really didnt enjoy it. It feels very forced. If something sad happens it starts raining and sad music starts and events are really heavily foreshadowed it hasnt aged well imo
@@thechongwolla Um, I think you're referring to a different series.
brave and technically all war criminals
@@thebiggamers999 One of the worst things about war is that "If you win, it's not a war crime". Also, the camp they liberated was part of something worse than their own war crimes.
@@RedditzGG oh yeah im not here to debate on what is worse, just saying that because of someone higher up they became war criminals
"Chłopcy silni jak stal" but you're sitting in a destroyed apartment during the Warsaw uprising, hiding from German sniper fire and artillery barrage
O jak bardzo!!
A może "umówiłem się z nią na 9"?
@@mietekobrusmietek6560
Nawet lepiej by było
"The Young Tank Lieutenant" but you're the tank column that got hit on it's way to Grozny
"BMP's hit! I'm wounded.."
Man the radio transmisions from that battle are heartbreaking
@@daniels_0399 To know they all perished is honestly haunting. You're listening to men who were already dead. It's quite sad.
@@ataka2142 blatantly being abandoned by your commanders must've been morale breaking
@@daniels_0399 which battle?
@@user-vk1dv3pr8o The First Chechen War
Here are the recordings we are referencing: ruclips.net/video/P-9_yEmj0dk/видео.html&ab_channel=doit
My grandfather was a Korean War vet, a halftrack driver towing heavy artillery, and he used to sing this song to me as a kid. Thanks for the memories.
honestly the only thing that would've made this better is ending it with "Men, Ready for Jump!" basically leaving you with the idea of jumping out
The screaming inside would most likely go like this.
*red light*
"We gotta get the fuck outta here now!"
"Stand up!"
"Where's that fucking green light!"
"Hook up!"
"Sarge, we gotta jump now!"
"Check your equipment! Sound off!"
"Where's the fucking green light!?"
"12 okay!"
"11 okay!"
*Flak sets one of the engines on fire, rounds come through the floor and shreds the men in the middle of the stick*
"We gotta get the fuck out now!"
"Stand at the door!"
The rest would be history.
"Greenlight, GO GO GO GO GO..."
This one is one of my favourites. Ive never really listened to this songs lyrics but... man. The kinda cheerful lyrics over the pure fear of the paratroopers is just *mouah*
Thanks! I like to think I did it justice
@@jrmungandr Wow, I wasn't expecting for you to respond. Well, keep up the amazing work! Do you think you might do one involving the song "Panzerlied"?
"STAND UP!"
My knees buckled as I followed the Jumpmaster's order. I thought about ma's-
"HOOK UP!"
No time to think now, my hands tremble for the first time since my first training jump.
"SOUND OFF FOR EQUIPMENT CHECK"
Flak starts ripping through our plane as I barely scream "ONE!"
I don't even wait for the Jumpmaster to yell "GO GO GO!" as I make my first combat jump into France, with Angel's wings pinned to my chest, I find myself floating down into the Hell below me...
What a hell of a way to die.
Carrentan, Market Garden, Bastongne, pushing through Germany, three combat jumps, and a concentration camp later.... sipping liquor from the stash of a higher up nazi officer's house your division raided.
......"what a helluva way to die." :: toasts to the fallen ::
I forget how many days, weeks, months later it's been. All that time seems like a big ol' mess, all clumped together now. I can barely remember coming home, and falling head over heels for and eventually marrying that girl next door. I can easily remember the look in her honey-brown eyes as we kissed for the first time, then as husband and wife and so on. I remember having our kids, although their names escape me now in my old age. I watched all of them grow up, and have kids of their own. I watched as my love grew old with it, and me as well. I watched my hair eventually lighten and Grey, then whiten. I watched as the lines around my eyes wrinkled ane deepened. But two things never grew old: the names and memories of my fellow troopers who never made it home, and the look in my eyes when I could still see them meet their fates...
A thousand yards is an insufficient distance to describe the look in my eyes.
Today is a different day than the usual. I am wearing my pink-and-greens, which are pressed as sharp as the day I got them. Although I am wearing sunglasses, my eyes are fierce, and my vision is sharp. And although I usually need a chair or a cane to get around, my legs have summoned enough strength to walk up to my youngest great grandchild. Child? No. He is definitely a man now. And now almost a fellow trooper to boot. Just one last thing to do. He salutes me at attention as I stand in front of him. I return the salute, just as crisp and sharp as the creases of my trousers are over my jump boots. I've been holding a small bit of a heavy metal in my hand, and with a quick thrust, I pin my old jump wings into his chest. A pair of thin lines of blood slowly pool onto his chest, just as it did when I received mine. He salutes and shouts something my old ears can no longer hear. Probably a "Thank you, Sir," or something. I don't know. I mumble about how I'm not an officer, i worked for a goddamn living, and hug him. We start marching and fall into a rhythmic March. I start humming, and although I can't hear him, I know he's singing the words, just as every trooper should...
"Gory gory, what a hell of a way to die..."
"Three day supply of K-rations, chocolate bars, Charms candy, powdered coffee, sugar, matches, compass, bayonet, entrenching tool, ammunition, gas mask, musette bag with ammo, my weapon, my .45, canteen, two cartons of smokes, Hawkins mine, two grenades, smoke grenade, Gammon grenade, TNT, THIS bullshit, and a pair of nasty skivvies!"
What's your point?
@liamweaver2944 it's a band of brothers reference
I've been in an airborne unit for almost 2 years and its a shame only a few paratroopers know this song by heart
Well then. It looks like you'll be the one to reintroduce it. :-) 😎
I’m with 10th MT, and know it by heart lmao
Nobody even wants to sing it anymore. “That’s boot shit” or when I start singing it as I laugh like a psycho “shut the fuck up”😂
"The British Grenadiers" but you're getting bushwacked by Colonial minutemen.
"Heia Safari" but you're being attacked by bees and the British somewhere in German East Africa.
Them singing this while riding would be comforting, unfortunately the engines were so loud that even shouting was barely audible. That's why they relied on hand signals even when dropping out.
IT takes a special breed to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
and a even more special breed to jump out of plane with flack bursts exploding around you.
Literally was listening to this last night, surprised to see it being a new upload here lol
The hive mind knows what you want before you do
The fact that the lead voice for this song is still alive is mind blowing
i dont know what route they took, but 6 whole minutes of flak and fighter survival has to be one of the craziest war stories you can ever tell your grandson
Still I can't imagine the terror those troops went through 80 years ago...
REAL Men
“Ballad of the Alamo” But the Mexican army is coming over the walls of the Alamo. Maybe you can hear the guns firing, and the clacking of blades and the shouts of men. It would be a good addition to your fine works. “Ballad of the Alamo” isn’t a very mournful song, and I couldn’t think of one better, but it works.
Big iron but your taking fire from the Alamo
"we'll meet again" but your huddled in an air raid shelter in London
I havent heard that cadence in a long time. Still makes me feel like a paratrooper all over again.
I grew up as an army kid in the UK and although we didnt know it word by word we sung loads of gory versions of the song.
It's fitting for the song.
Imagine the intensity in that moment. Grandpa was a fucking hardass.
And the band played Waltzing Matilda but you’re attending a service at Gallipoli 100 years later
"Ode to Eight Hundred Warriors" but you're with the 88th Division taking heavy fire at Sihang Warehouse during the battle of Shanghai
Hell yeah something about the Sino Japanese war really needs to happen it’s basically forgotten about in common knowledge
Those guys were really brave no debate. Really any soldier in WWII were brave men, no matter what side they were on. The cowards are the leaders and their poor decisions in their career. Although some were unavoidable.
The 101st and 82nd were brave as heck
Only thing missing that would make it perfect is if the song ends with the signal to jump, just the sound of Paratroopers rushing out of the plane as the video closes out.
"Take Your Overcoat, Lets Go Home" after you just won Berlin for the motherland.
But then the back ground sound would be just nothing if it was after the battle of Berlin.
@@name-yr8kn true
@@beautifullifeform4360 Нет
@@beautifullifeform4360 не сторонник коммш
@name trucks rolling, prisoner collum walking by, fire roaring and cracking, shots and screams in distance...
"Verdun on ne passe pas" but you're waiting for the german to come in the forest while a battle is taking place nearby
“We’re not lost Private, we’re in Normandy.”
We used to sing this song in my ROTC regiment during Veterans Day parades. The look on the old-timers faces when we sang it was nothing short of pride
The Best Generation of Young Men, turned troubled times into a peaceful one. Fought accross Europe, Africa and Asia. Now, because of them, Generations are born and Nations, Technology and Medicine are thriving in an unmatched level never before seen.
God Bless these Heroes, whichever side they were. Young men who took up the duty and had the courage to go through it till the end.
Jesus looking into the eyes of these men is like looking straight into a corpse. You know this was taken a couple of hours before most of these boys were in pieces.
My great grandfather flew a c 47 over France. It was shot down during the battle of the bulge. Lucky he led all his men through safely by sleeping in barns during the day and walking back to France during the night. Insane to think what people like him went through.
"Anchors Aweigh" but your fleet is being attacked by Kamikaze planes.
"Alte Kameraden" but you are the last of your former battalion defending Berlin.
"Three Tankist" but your Regiment got wiped out by Tiger 1 in Battle of Kursk.
"Le fiamme nere" but you are dug up from bombardment in Monte Cassino.
"Taiheiyō Kōshinkyoku" but you are onboard Musashi and witnessing Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.
Some video ideas from me, hope you can use some of them
@@goebbledup1835 thats the whole point of the video, you put some kind of "patriotic" or "cherries" music in wrong situation. Or maybe we can use " X and you are Y" template if the music and the situation are matched. Like "Victory Day and you are a Red Army Soldier marching in Red Square, celebrating the end of Great Patriotic War"
The Alte kameraden or under the double head eagle would stick nicely to the Colombian Battalion in Old Baldy or Pork Chop Hill (the worst one was the first) as we adopted those two after the army reform, with assistance of the Chilean Army (the true inheritors of the Prussian customs 'til today).
Sadly, my country only have like 3 types of unique marches that aren't 'exclusive' to an army Branch (Compañía Santander or Santander COmpany in english, and Honores a Popayán or Honor to Popayán are the ones).
Another Idea: Gloria al Soldado (the army branch song) but you are in an ambush, encircled and with no support or comms in a minefield in the Catatumbo (god, the 90's to 00's were a hell for everyone)
"Anchors Aweigh" but under kamikaze attack
Crew of USS Laffey (DD-724): "What, you guys get music?"
Never been in an aircraft that was taking fire. But I imagine with every ping you realize how thin that metal is.
My grandpa was a crew chief on one of these planes. They're pretty cool.
that pilot is surely a master of flying surviving a 6 minute flak
'The battle is going on again' but the West Germans cut off your unit in the offensive on Hanover
I turned the volume all the way up and it feels like I’m in the 101st Airborne Division, 506 PIR, Easy Company, in my C-47 on June 6th 1944
"The Cossack Rode Over the Danube" but the Sich is about to be occupied and destroyed
"Are we happy!?"
"Hell yes!"
“Sakkijarven polkka” from enemy radio stations jamming your mines whilst you are being encircled by Finnish snipers in the winter war
Sgt. Nuessly , Sgt. Blunt, Sgt. Wanous I sincerely thank you all for your mentorship
hearing that low hum of the c-47's engines is chilling. those were truly brave men that day in france.
The fact these soldiers took a civil war battle song, that was beautiful, and made it to show how horrid war was, is astonishing
The absolute hell these men faced then is unimaginable
That little extra low hum in the background inspires so much dread. It's a brilliant addition to the video.
Paratroopers are some of the most brave and badass troops of the war. Never forget though, the sheer balls it would take to be pilots having to steer those metal coffins through oceans of flak, knowing full well that they are responsible for every life on that tin can. Then, if by some miracle, they make it past the drop zone, they still have to turn around and make it home with flak and ME's hounding them the entire way.
"I was only 19" except you're actually 15.
“Creep” but they’re pumping teargas into your compound
British Grenadiers but you're in the thin red line and 3000 Cossacks are charging your position.
Mood is COMPLETELY changed with the flak, out-fucking-standing
"Lads we're about to jump into Hell! So let's give the Krauts quite a thrashing! For King and Country!" - Captain Tobias Picker 1901 - 1944
This gives me goosebumps and it gives me a feeling of strength and motivation like I am invincible and can do anything
What gets me is how young a lot of these guys were going into all of the fighting
I listen to this with ny eyes closed in the car so 4d experience
this man is truly a chad! his talent in this field is unmatched! have a sub my friend!
You da chad bro
Pilot: Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, we're about to hit a patch of turbulence. Don't worry boys, turbulence never took down a plane
>explosions and machinegun fire<
But if you look to your left being pursued by Messerschmidt 109s. They take down planes all the time
I can't imagine the fear in these men. Flying over beaches full of fortifications with the constant firing of a flak, these guy's have took on the most insane job of WW2, you can't decide if you'll live or die in that moment.
the paratroopers were encouraged by their commanders to sing while they were flying towards the dropzones. the reason why is for two reasons the first being that this would boost morale before combat. and the second reason was to get the paratroopers occupied with singing and to get their mind off the death that abundant. so they don't ask themselves and others will they die what and if so what would be the cause of their own death. whether it being getting shot, bleeding out, starvation, dehydration, explosion, or shrapnel from a grenade, the list goes on. but you get the idea of why the paratroopers would sing songs while sitting in their planes flying towards their dropzone.
Woohoo! Thanks for taking my suggestion! Can't wait for this one! Next do Yellow Rose of Texas but you're peppering Santa Ana's caviar with musket fire
"Call a Marine" but you're fighting for your life in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan
"I wanna jump, sir!"
"I'm not listening to you! You stay on the plane!"
THE MAN DID IT
I do it for y'all
I like the Lambeth walk scene in the Longest day, with the British Airborne glider infantry singing the Lambeth walk before the landing.
Wow.
only thing that’s missing to really get the experience is the screaming of the wounded
Hair raising chills. Leave it to YT to give PTSD from a sedentary position.
Bercow, is that you?
Shout out to the pilot of that C-47.
Harder times, harder men. We're fortunate men like this walked among us
I can imagine being a paratrooper... and it scares me. Imagine sitting in a 6x14 room that's made of pure metal, and the sounds of flak and engines isn't helping. You're in a room with about 22 other men, all waiting for the airplane door to open up. You're all completely stressed, making this even harder on you than the sounds of engines and flak. It's like the stress in the room is like a gas, everyone's taking it in. Then the door opens up, and you and all the other soldiers jump off, immediatly start falling at what you can only assume is the speed of the plane. You cover your eyes, completely stressed, just thinking how much better drinking with your friends would've been than this. As you're falling, machine gun fire opens up on you and you can only hope you're not as unlucky enough to get struck by a bullet. Then finally, you uncover your hands, and see the island below. You pull the cord on your parachute, having seen everyone do the same... and it won't work. And as you fall, you realise... you aren't going to be able to drop no more.
John Brown’s Body but you’re on Sherman’s March.
fun fact: before the the 82nd was an airbourne divison they were an infantry division, and in WWI, Alvin York, the most condecorated american soldier of the war, made part of it
days 2 of asking for : "on ira pendre notre linge sur la ligne siegfried" but you are a french soldier in the maginot line in his bunker surrounded by german
Eben Emael does the trick too
Welcome aboard Ryanair!
My Uncle Lemoyne Cline served with the 82nd and jumped on D-Day. He lived to be 93 and was killed by a nursing home attendant giving him 2.5X more insulin than prescribed.
Gory, gory what a helluva way to die…
Fucking travesty.
Bold of you to assume you could hear anything over the roar of the engines
Sakkijarven Polka but you're caught in a blizzard whilst the Russians charge your trench
VDV right now
That would mean they got the objective done even against all odds
@@a_ghost8926they didn't, they all died
This is my favorite channel now
Alright, fellas, I got one: "The Ballad of Roger Young" but Arachnids ate your sergeant and outnumber you 10,000 to one.
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