He looks great for being 101 at the time this was made As far as i can tell hes still alive as well. Hes 102 now and received an award in france on july 10 2024. So cool.
To remember so much about something you did 80 years ago. I can barely remember what I actually did yesterday but my combat experience seems like it was yesterday yet it was 20 years ago. This guy is amazing!
If you go through holy *%>] defending your freedoms, you deserve a break on the backside. Or so say the Social Security Administration. I'm retiring on 9/17/24 after 40+ years in the public arena. Primarily bc of health reasons, In a bad way....just had new tires (pads) put on the 27-year old rt. knee. Left is next & at times it'll try to hide itself! Lmao They were put in during '00 & '03 So 2 TKŔs, lamenectony (lower back/lumbar), in 97. Had to sell family owned biz, then proceed with disability case. Low point #1, just my wife & I, in case#2, Retro.98, she lost earnings too.
I got to meet this wonderful man in Bastogne in December 2023. He couldn't have been kinder, and told me the Belgian children he'd met who had thanked him for what he did knew more about the war than he did! What a character, what a man.
@@letsreasonthisout2898 Who do you think bleed to back up the creation of it? The American people have had to die time and again to defend our constitution! What? Are you a coward? Or just ignorant?
Freedoms have to always be fought for at the end of WW2 black soldiers returned home to southern states after they freed Europeans of the Nazi's they found other Nazi's right here in America to greet them.
My Dad was a WWII Army vet, fighting in Europe. He went in at 18 years old, several years after his family emigrated here from Greece. Five Bronze stars. Almost lost a leg in Ardennes forest. (Battle of the Bulge.) Months in hospital in Belgium, then back to the war. The skin of his hands and feet cracked and hurt until he died in 97. Sgt Steven Dellopoulos. ❤
As a Southern California native my ears perked when Mr. Cottrell mentioned Santa Ana. In my late teens I took care of a local WW2 veteran who fought at the Bulge. RIP Robert "Fish" Fischle (1924-2021), 390th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, Battery D.
My friends Father was a Sargent in Patton’s Army and told his son and I how they were hiding in the bushes watching a battle between 3 Sherman’s and a Tiger! The Tiger knocked out all 3 Sherman’s and then a Thunderbolt dove down and unleashed its armor piercing rockets and destroyed the Tiger!!! Mr Micket was a Hero being wounded twice once by Panther shrapnel the Greatest Generation ❤ I Pray we don’t let them down 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I’m a retired paramedic , I had a elderly man I used to pick up for many of his health issues - on my 7th call to him I asked about his pilot wings because we had to transport him in a huge snow storm - was going to be a half hour ride He landed at Utah beach , served the rest of the war - ended up being a fighter pilot after the was and serving in Korea as a f86 Sabre pilot - he was an ace , was shot down , He was a sweet old man - I frequented swing by to have lunch with him on my shift down time - we became friends - I’m honored to have documented his story and pass it on to the local schools - he passed away 2 years after becoming friends - and I got to say good bye while he was on hospice RIP my dude “chucks”
@stevep959 I am the daughter and stepdaughter of two WWII Army Officers, both POW's. My Firefighters and Paramedics are two blocks away and they are fantastic. It took me 20 years before I ever called them. They are just wonderful.
My Uncle landed at Omaha on DDay. Rarely spoke of it until nearing the end of his life. I was blessed to have him as a Role Model. Rest in peace Uncle George. Thank you. 🇺🇲
My father was not accepted into the armed services because he was blind in one eye. He spent the war in a machine shop making war related items. It left him with a ruined back that pained him the rest of his life. I still consider him a hero even though he was not in the military.
my dad ran a medical unit in egypt never spoke about it quietly man and that experience made him quieter i think. i was young when he died. one of my only regrets in life was never getting the chance to thank him for his service
A Penobscot man from that Native nation in Maine, Charles Shay, was a young combat medic on that beach. As far as I know, he is still living today in Normandy.
@@MrKmoconnehe did everything he could. The people who worked stateside helped win the war , without all their hard work the war could not have been won . Historians place great value of the work done in those factories
@@IanClements-l5m Thank you for your comment. My father never complained. The pain from his back made him grumpy but I never understood it was work during war time that ruined it until I was an adult. I never had the maturity to talk to him about until after he was gone.
Imagine having your teacher as a veteran WWII fighter pilot! This man was so prolific. Not only an incredible WWII contribution and achievement, but he kept growing and expanding.
When I learned to fly my original teachers were 2 spray plane pilots, one was a WW2 fighter pilot. When I did my checkride, for my private license, the pilot who went with me and signed me off was a P 38 WW2 fighter pilot. I was very lucky to experience flying with these men.
I didn't have to imagine it. My high school physical teacher in 1980-81 was Colonel John Loisel! He was a double ace (11 kills) and flew P-39s and a P-38 (Screamin' Kid) in the Pacific Theatre (New Guinea) and later flew jets in Korea. Like many of his generation, he spoke very little of his service, and only a few of us knew about his past.
A lot of times their students wouldn't have known, a good bit of those guy's didn't even talk to their own kids about the war until later in life much less being a teacher and telling their students. My last full day of school in 1983 after lunch when we only had a couple classes left in the day out of the clear blue an announcement came over the loudspeaker, we were all to report to the auditorium for the last period including every teacher and anyone working maintenance, aka any janitors on duty, they wanted every living soul in the building in that auditorium. Nobody knew what was going on not even the teachers, when we'd ask they'd just shrug their shoulders and say something like "I don't know, but it's the last day maybe the principle just wants to congratulate everyone and wish them well". So after all of us were there and seated as expected the principle walked out on stage, he proceeded to tell everyone that Mr Fischer wanted to address everyone, he was a teacher who I never had but actually had known since I was a little boy, my grandfather had been the first superintendent of my school district, and my father was a teacher at the Jr High I went to and my mother was the school nurse at the high school whose auditorium we all found ourselves mysteriously seated in that afternoon, so I'd known Mr Fischer along with a good bit of the district's teachers since I was a kid especially the one's at the Jr High and high school since my parents worked at them, many had been at our house when I grew up. Mr Fischer, despite being a large man was always very quiet and unassuming, but he was always very friendly and outgoing, always quick to volunteer to help any kid in any way he could and was in charge of several extracurricular programs, he wasn't the kind of teacher who was there just to put in his years and get a pension he meant it. This was also his last day since he was retiring, after the principle told everyone that the reason we were there was because Mr Fischer was retiring and wanted to address everyone, so he relinquished the stage to him and as Mr Fischer walked out onto it he was met with everyone on their feet clapping, he stepped up to the podium and waved to everyone as we sat down expecting to hear about how he'd enjoyed his years as a teacher along with the usual trip down memory lane as one, that is not what we heard. Nobody, absolutely nobody, none of the staff nor any of his students over the years had known that Mr Fischer was in the war much less a survivor of The Bataan Death March, over the next half hour he told us the harrowing story about being trapped on the Bataan Peninsula and how they fought their way back to the end of it and were eventually forced to surrender when after being out of ammo, food, medical supplies and were mostly a fighting force of wounded men all hopes of being evacuated had dissolved, it was the end, but little did they know it was just the beginning of a nightmare that went from bad to worse. That part of his story only took up the first 5 minutes of his half hour saga, the important part of his story, and why he wanted to talk to everyone was one of the most incredible tales I've ever heard to this day, and one of the craziest things about it to me is that just weeks before I'd read the book Death March; The Survivors of Bataan, a book full of first hand accounts from some of the survivors of Bataan which had just come out several months before, between that and the fact that I was already enlisted in the Army his story, needless to say, had a profound affect on me, and the best part was yet to come. Most of Mr Fischer's story was about the actual death march itself, without being too graphic he told about the Japanese bayoneting anyone who fell out and couldn't make it any further, about how they wouldn't even allow anyone to assist someone who couldn't go any further including those who'd previously been wounded in battle, they didn't even look at them as men who deserved assistance because in their eyes instead of dying honorably on the battlefield they gave up and surrendered, one of the most incredible coincidences of my life was sitting there listening to him tell the story about walking past a guy next to the road that the Japanese were making bury someone in a shallow grave and how when the guy started shoveling dirt on top of him he started moaning and coming to because he wasn't dead, when he stopped shoveling dirt on top of him the Japanese soldiers standing there started prodding him with their bayonets forcing him to continue, not being able to think of anything else he bashed the guy over the head with the shovel to put him out of his misery, apparently to him the prospect of doing that was better than burying him alive, Mr Fischer had witnessed something I'd actually just read about in that book, and it's a true shame that Mr Fischer wasn't interviewed for it because the next part of his story was more incredible than any single one I'd read in that book. At one point on what was the last day he blacked out, next thing he knew they were at their final destination, he'd come to lying down at the dock where they'd been waiting to be loaded onto ships that would take them to the various POW camps in the Japanese occupied territories, knowing what happened to anyone who couldn't go on any further and assuming he'd collapsed after blacking out he couldn't understand how he'd made it to where they were, so he started asking the people around him if anyone knew what'd happened with him and how he'd gotten to where they were at, he found someone who did. They told him how when they were walking along speaking in whispers, fot fear they'd be heard he'd actually met two other men from our hometown of Uniontown Pennsylvania and how when he couldn't go on any further and had become delirious they each got on a side of him and were carrying him upright, and how everyone else around them had packed together close so the guards couldn't tell he was being carried, he was told how everyone was determined to get him to the dock because they weren't about to let him die after having made it so far, and how it was the two other men from our hometown that'd rallied everyone to help, wanting to thank thank them and find out who they were he spent the time he had remaining before being loaded onto a ship wandering around asking but nobody who'd been around them seemed to know what'd happened to the two men after they arrived, and without finding out he eventually was loaded onto a ship that took him to his destination, that ended his story about what'd happened on the Bataan Peninsula but it wasn't the end of his lesson. Mr Fischer didn't give an account of anything that happened afterwards during his years as a POW, but I can assure you after having read that book which was also full of accounts from the survivors about their time as POW's it was bad, very bad, but the point behind his story wasn't about telling tales of battle or even about bashing the Japanese, matter of fact one of his points was that the reason they were the way they were was because of the system they were brought up in, and how having to face what was wrong about that system after the war how they'd reinvented themselves to be the modern country they are that competes with products, not bullets, and how the two men that saved him were a product of the system they were brought up in, and an example of how it brings out the best in people instead of the worst, and I can assure you when he was telling his story you could have heard a pin drop in that auditorium. Mr Fischer ended his story summing up how he came home from the war, went to school to get a teaching degree and loved every moment of being a teacher knowing that he was watching young people who'd grown up in the greatest society in history go out into the world to become the next generation of great people, one's that like the generations before that'd cured diseases, advanced the world's of science and technology and put mankind on the moon how they'd be going out to achieve greatness, and raise the next generations to be the kinds of people to save others like he was saved instead of killing them. You see Mr Fischer wasn't the kind of person to sit around watching some 24 hour news station and let it convince him that everything was doom and gloom, he'd seen real doom and gloom and he knew better, that's one of the lessons I took from Mr Fischer and to this day I thank God for it, it's what's kept me now that I'm older from turning into the stereotypical "Kid's these days..." kind of person, instead I'm the guy who reminds everyone who starts with that nonsense about "Kid's these days..." and rambles on about how they can't compare to America's "greatest generation" that we just witnessed two generations in a row march off to a war we all demanded on September 11th 2001 without a single one of them having to be drafted, every one of them volunteered for a war we wanted, and I'm also quick to explain to people that we went into places like Afghanistan and Iraq because like the Japanese before them they're places that have societies that raise people to hate instead of help, and it's our responsibility coming from a society that raises people like the two men who saved Mr Fischer. Mr Fischer never did find out who those two men were despite spending years afterwards inquiring around town if anyone knew someone or the family of anyone who'd been at Bataan, he'd have liked nothing more than to thank them or at least their families for raising such people, but till his last day it remained a complete mystery to him who they were, and who knows, maybe they weren't actually from Uniontown Pennsylvania and were just a couple of guys who told him that to keep him going, no one will ever know but that's not the important part of the story, the important part is the story itself.
@jonwilliams23 I'm 76 and my flight instructor was a US Army Air Corps flight instructor. I learned a lot from him. It was normal, when I was growing up, that we interacted daily with men and women of the Greatest Generation. We were blessed and didn't realize it. I'm still flying now for 55 years. God blessyou Wilber Stokes and your fellow service men and women.
I believe teaching our youth the true history of our country and the brave souls who have defended it is one of the most important endevours anyone can undertake. Thank you so much for your military and civil service Mr. Cottrell. God bless you.
I would teach the youth mindlessly worshiping the military and politicians who start foreign wars is exactly how we go in this mess we're in 2024. The corporate-military-industrial complex controls everything these days. Before Pearl Harbor something like 90 percent of Americans were opposed to that war. Everyone always seems to forget that fact.
@DerSohnDesAlvaters So you would rather live under the rule of the Nazi party? You seem to only know part of the history, the part that demeans our country and the good people who died saving it. I agree that greedy corporations and individuals have caused lots of problems. At this point it's the tech oligarchs you need to be watching and shaming along with the elitist educators.
@@DerSohnDesAlvatersnot a American but as far as I know Japan attacked pearl harbour 3 days latter Nazi Germany along with Italy Declared war on America ,they despised the USA,Americans showed everyone they can fight ,
I, for one, am very proud of Mr. Edwin Cottrell, and I just met him here. I am dumbfounded at the thought of American school children not being taught about WWII. But then I find it hard to believe that it was 80 years ago and I was born just a dozen years after it ended. WWII was still fresh in everyone’s mind when I was a kid.
I'm 72, I was born 7 years after ww2 and I had several teachers in elementary school and high school who were in Europe and the Pacific campaign. Three of my teachers were women veterans, one of whom landed in Normandy several days after D Day. My generation learned from our teachers about ww2, as well as learning about in History class. It was common knowledge
I was born in 1955. My Dad served in the S Pacific. I grew up around WWII Vets, most of my parents family and friends were Vets. Paw took his leadership lessons as a combat platoon Sargent and applied those skills as a Union Stewart and organizer. Re: teachers, my elementary school principal spoke of the joy of being liberated from a German POW camp. He had survived his bomber being shot down. I was privileged to have been in the presence of such heroes.❤
@@mosinmeister25my old geography teachers were navigators and pilots in Lancaster bombers (uk) during the war . I remember on a school trip to France we visited a war cemetery and were told to leave these men alone . Me being nosey followed them for a while till I realised what they were doing , they had went to the graveside of their old comrades . All of them were in tears , hugging each other . I never forgot that sight , it really made me feel so a for them . They were my heros
I met this living legend yesterday at O'Hare airport. Wise beyond belief. I'll think of you often. Hope to see you in your travels again soon. ❤ Your sacrifices created a long period of peace for us. Thank you Freedom is free for us because of you.
For anyone not familiar with the P47 fighter he landed "dead stick," that is no easy task. It was the heaviest, biggest single seat fighter of the war and had the glide characteristics of a brick.
It's amazing the details he remembers, but not surprising. My dad was a P51 pilot in Italy, and he didn't talk about his war experience until he was well into his 70s. He could remember the details too, even though he might not remember what he had for breakfast that day. I wish he was still alive, he'd be 103, so I could pick his brain about what it was like.
I remember sitting with my father in front of an open book showing the details of a B-24 bomber. He was a tail gunner in a B-24 Liberator, Fifteenth Air Force, shot down twice, MIA once, three bronze stars w/ oak leaf cluster. I remember wondering..."You still remember all of these details about this plane?"
Same here.... my dad was in the Navy on the mosquito boats known as P.T. Boats. His was P.T. 143 Dad only told his story in his 70s once. Thank you, dear sir's for your service!
My grandfather was a German WWII veteran. He got drafted at age 17, became a radioman in the infantry with the German Army and was wounded by Sherman tank shrapnel to the leg and taken prisoner by the Canadians. A few weeks prior to his death when he could hardly see anymore, he asked me to get a book from his childhood, where he had collected cigarette cards, and glued them into the book. Without being able to see, he could guide me to a specific cigarette card in the book just from his memory.
I started working in 1975, most of the men I worked with were in that war, and without exception, they held their Honor very highly and were truly men through and through. I'm glad to have known them. Each and every one, and deeply miss many of them .
I graduated HS in 1979 and consider myself lucky to have several WWII veterans and a couple Vietnam veterans as mentors and examples of good character and leadership. Needless to say I don't consider these men "suckers and losers" I consider them heroic.
I can see your easily brainwashed and not a critical thinker able to do your own research to find the truth. A woke general with severe TDS Millie started that rumor to discredit TRUMP as the two were at odds with one another. 7 pinochios on your comment as it never happened!
Just think -- a 22,- 23 yr old kid at the time -- ! I've got a 22 yr old son and my God, I cannot imagine. This veteran thanks you, sir, for your honorable, selfless service. 🇺🇸
All these interviews should be required learning right along with financial responsibility. God bless this man for what he has done for our country. He was 101 at the time of this interview. Amazing..
Me and a friend of mine were both military history nuts. I had my two books in class. One was about P51 Mustangs and P47 Thunderbolts. We were debating which plane was better and our teacher interrupted in an angry voice, "P51 was the best." He told us he was a P51 pilot during the war and I realized that was probably why he had a prosthetic leg. We tried to ask about his service, but he said he didn't want to talk about it. He was part of the greatest generation of this country.
I'll never forget Mr. Moore, my seventh grade science teacher telling stories about his service as commander of a squadron of Sherman tanks in Europe. A very kind, and unassuming man who had a deep appreciation for the USAAF... They saved his squadron from being jumped by Tigers hiding in a treeline.
I'm 73. When i was in 7th grade...I had a History teacher...Mr. Holguin. He had served in WW2 as a commander of a Sherman Tank. On an occasional day...he would meander off to one of his war stories...how his tank was damaged and abandoned in a battle...and his story about that. I was so inspired by him...and I owe my appreciation and knowledge of the war to him. Again...thanks for your sharing! It's so important.
Great story- it would have been amazing if he was able to meet up with the Me109 pilots that allowed him to make it back to base. (If they survived the war)
An American hero for sure..loves our great country and became a teacher, to make kids more knowlegable. Guy is awsome! Salute sir Same age as my dad would have been (8th AAF)1942-1945
I used to hang out with Art Baker who was a pilot on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. I smoked some Ganja with him. I miss that generation. They used to be everywhere when I was a kid. I grew up in a Party House in the Hollywood Hills because my Father was a famous musician. I met so many interesting people.
Well said, "Freedom isn't free!" Thank you for your service. I'm a US Navy Vietnam Veteran. We patrolled the coast of South Vietnam from the DMZ down the coast from Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Qui Nhon, Tuy Hoa, Nha Trang, Phan Rang, Phan Thiet, around the Mekong Delta into the Gulf of Thailand and north to Phu Quoc south of Cambodia. During these patrols we typically intercepted suspicious sampans, junks and merchant vessels. When contraband was discovered, the crew would be held for processing by South Vietnamese forces. We had a South Vietnamese liaison officer onboard to coordinate these events.
Thank you for your service sir. I am the very proud son of a WWII and Viet Nam Army veteran. During WWII, my father was a rifleman in Dog Company in the all Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment. The 65th IR that was assigned to the 7th US Army. He entered the conflict through southern France in Oct '44. When WWII ended, he was in southern Germany.
I'm sure they mentioned it once or twice in your history books. Everyone gets in a twist about that but the fact is it was only a few years in a very long history of the world, even in American history which is comparatively short compared to the history of England it's still only a few years of it's history. If they spent as much time teaching about WW2 as possible, because of how well it's documented, there not only wouldn't be time to teach other history, which is also important, there wouldn't be enough time to teach the other classes like math and sciences. Don't worry, WW2 is in their history books and just like with every generation since the one's who have an interest in it have the rest of their lives to learn all they want about it from the endless resources available, the countless books, documentaries and RUclips videos will fill them in with every bit of information they'll want, and the one's that aren't interested in it, they'll go off and study medicine and engineering, and we need them to because God knows it's not going to be historians that cure AIDS or put us back on the moon and off to Mars, someone's gonna have to study other things besides WW2 if we're keep progressing.
Thank you for sharing I was NEVER enlightened about WW2 and most things that I have learned is from books and people like you .Thank you for your service David Manley AZ2 USN California ANG 1979 -88
A true hero. I worked with a surgeon who was fighter pilot in the Pacific. He said that one time they were practicing bombing a coral island with a 3-plane formation. The lead plane was in the middle and dropped the first bombs. The fighters to his right and left and behind him suffered damage due to the shrapnel and the coral pieces that struck them. They had been used to bombing on softer dirt in the US. Tactics were changed immediately!
Yea, there's a little known story about P51's in the Pacific that's not well known because everyone was told to keep hush hush about it during the war. It didn't take long after the P51 showed up in the Pacific that they started mysteriously disappearing after ground attack mission's, fighter's in the Pacific were concentrating a good bit on attacking Japanese air fields, P51 mission's where pilots that returned reporting that there was no AA fire coming from the ground when they attacked but had planes and pilots mysteriously disappear didn't make any sense, quite often planes would get separated from the rest of the flight from making standard jinking maneuvers after a staffing run but there was no reason they shouldn't have found their way back on their own, most would but when P51's showed up they were disappearing at an unusual rate. They eventually figured out from some that were returning with their own .50 cal bullets lodged in their underside that the coral the islands were comprised of was prone to making bullets ricochet up into the air in front of the very fighter that was shooting them and that they'd been flying through their own bullets, they surmised that P51's that got separated from the rest and had a hole in their cooling system was causing the pilots to bail out without knowing about it so there was no report that the rescue planes could respond to. When they figured out what was going on P51's in the Pacific were quietly restricted from ground attack and everyone was told to keep quiet about why. There's a P47 pilot who was in the Pacific named Martin Jackson who's in two different interviews here on RUclips that talks about it, I can't remember the name of the channel that has the interview where he talks about it but it's not the one with the San Diego Air And Space Museum, it's the other channel that interviews him that he talks about that.
Salute to you, sir. Good friend, John C Clay, RIP, flew P47s in Belgium during the Bulge. Planes so heavily loaded they had to fly north to gain altitude before heading into battle. Told me the strafed tanks by walking 50 cal. Bullets into tank engines by ricocheting the slugs as attacking from rear. My father, 9th Army, 84th inf 333rd infantry undoubtedly benefited from your heroic service. Thanks again
It's a myth, oh those guy's probably thought it worked but there's no way after deflecting off the ground .50 cal bullets still had enough energy to penetrate the thickness of armor that the bottom of a Tiger hull is made of. It's generally accepted that the guy's who claimed they did it were shooting Panthers not Tiger's, many Panthers were misidentified as Tiger's even by ground troops much less someone buzzing by at 250+ MPH in a fighter, there were far more claims turned in by ground attack pilots for Tiger's than there were Tiger's in the theater, it's not that they were lying about anything they were just misidentifying what they were taking out, Tiger was the big buzzword when it came to German tanks and the Panther shared a lot of the visual characteristics of the Tiger especially that great big gun sticking out of it, to someone zipping by in a plane I'm sure that was an easy mistake to make especially when you consider that at the same time they're keeping track of all those guages in front of them telling them if their engine was about to blow up, what their altitude was and everything else along with keeping your head on a swivel for threats both from the ground and the air, yea those guy's were pretty busy in those cockpits so it's easy to understand how they could mistake a Panther for a Tiger.
Many thanks to those who dedicated their lives to making our country a safer and better place like my father and Mr. Cottrell. Each served in both the military and public service, law enforcement in my father’s case and education in Mr. Cottrell’s. Thanks to the Greatest Generation and what they sacrificed for our nation!🇺🇸
A very accomplished man. What a credit to this man. As for the current generation of useless humans….. they have no idea of what sacrifice means let alone respect Thank you for a wonderful insight into your life and due respect to you 👍
My dad was in the British Army infantry in the whole length of WW2. Anytime he had thoughts about that war, he always had tremendous respect for the “Yanks” he’d call them. He said they were brave and had the best gear and equipment. He said the Americans save the day many times and spoke highly of the soldiers he fought with. He loved Americans and what they did.
Absolutely freedom is earned. Your whole story was doing exactly that. My father told me to teach my children about WWll and I have. Thank you for securing the freedoms my family cherishes.
Thank you Colonel...your service is very appreciated....you and your squadrons' , and so many WW2 vets' stories go untold...I'd love to buy you a beer or two and humbly listen...your memory is razor sharp... I bet you could shave a few strokes off my game as well...🍻
This hero is what every American should aspire to be. I am so lucky to have been born in this country that has been protected by men like this and we owe these men a huge debt of gratitude for their service.
This patriot had good sense to stay away from the US Navy. He’d may have ended up in IJN/A death camps. This takes nothing away from his valor or courage. His own intelligence shows that. Thank you Edwin.
You do understand that the majority of the Americans that were in the Japanese prison camp's were actually Army don't you? Matter of fact in the Pacific ⅔rds of all US military personnel killed and wounded were Army, the Army not only was involved in every single battle, ncluding Saipan, Tarawa and even Iwo Jima, but it conducted more amphibious landings than the Marine's did. The Army was in every battle and also had the most air power in the Pacific, it's number's dwarfed those of the Marine's and Navy and is why the majority of killed, wounded and captured in the Pacific was Army. And they had plenty enough of P47's there also and from early on not just the P47N at the end of the war like most people think. So he could very easily have found himself in the Pacific being a P47 pilot.
I love that these men are coming forward with their stories. Thank you, and we cannot thank you all enough for your service. "Freedom isn't free" well, someday I hope it is... the only reason it isnt is because of greedy assholes.
great video wish there were more people like this still around to make sure we all understand what it takes to enjoy the life we take for granted today !!
What he said at the end about the social studies teachers is very important. My parents and other family survived WWII in the Netherlands. I know quite a bit about the war mostly because family and veterans didn't talk about it much so I started studies on my own like Patton's biography. I run into surprisingly and unfortunately young people that know little or nothing about it. We need to work harder.
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So technology is great, but no way new pilots could ever last with these old pilots!
He looks great for being 101 at the time this was made
As far as i can tell hes still alive as well. Hes 102 now and received an award in france on july 10 2024.
So cool.
To remember so much about something you did 80 years ago. I can barely remember what I actually did yesterday but my combat experience seems like it was yesterday yet it was 20 years ago. This guy is amazing!
If you go through holy *%>] defending your freedoms, you deserve a break on the backside.
Or so say the Social Security Administration. I'm retiring on 9/17/24 after 40+ years in the public arena. Primarily bc of health reasons, In a bad way....just had new tires (pads) put on the 27-year old rt. knee. Left is next & at times it'll try to hide itself! Lmao
They were put in during '00 & '03
So 2 TKŔs, lamenectony (lower back/lumbar), in 97. Had to sell family owned biz, then proceed with disability case. Low point #1, just my wife & I, in case#2, Retro.98, she lost earnings too.
What an absolute beast! Godbless this man and all who served.
I'm a USAF vet. and this man has my salute.
He looks great for a 70 year old! God bless him.
If he's this sharp right now, image how on fire he was in 1944! Amazing man.
I got to meet this wonderful man in Bastogne in December 2023. He couldn't have been kinder, and told me the Belgian children he'd met who had thanked him for what he did knew more about the war than he did!
What a character, what a man.
I'm jealous and I admire you for going.
"FREEDOM ISN'T FREE. YOU HAVE TO EARN FREEDOM".
Truth to that, Sir.
Folks/countries do not respect your freedom unless they think you are willing to defend it. Bullies exist at all levels
Amen brother!!!
In other words, if we want our Constitution back, we're gonna have to bleed for it.
@@letsreasonthisout2898 Who do you think bleed to back up the creation of it? The American people have had to die time and again to defend our constitution! What? Are you a coward? Or just ignorant?
Freedoms have to always be fought for at the end of WW2 black soldiers returned home to southern states after they freed Europeans of the Nazi's they found other Nazi's right here in America to greet them.
My Dad was a WWII Army vet, fighting in Europe. He went in at 18 years old, several years after his family emigrated here from Greece.
Five Bronze stars. Almost lost a leg in Ardennes forest. (Battle of the Bulge.) Months in hospital in Belgium, then back to the war. The skin of his hands and feet cracked and hurt until he died in 97.
Sgt Steven Dellopoulos. ❤
Probably Bronze Service Stars. No Dellopoulos is listed in the database as having recieved a Bronze Star, let alone 5.
God bless you and your father
God Bless You! My Dad flew P 47 in WW2 . Thank you for serving our Country !
Your dad is part of the Greatest Generation! Men like him saved us!
My dad was Donald Stoddard maybe you knew him. The story goes he could spin the plans in without using bullets some of the time.
@@philipnestor5034 murdoch murdoch greatest generation
Thank you, Edwin Cottrell! You were very lucky to have those ME-109's escort you! God bless 'em!
Agree. I was hoping for some elaboration on his part about that part of the incident. ie: "Why did they do that? in his opinion."
I know! Reminds me of the famous Franz Stigler incident with the B17
@@NVRAMboi had to be respect for another pilot
OTHER commenter 👍🏼 "Mutual Respect". War was basically over. 3 years prior doubt this would've happened.
Sir with all respect THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
Truly our greatest generation!!! Thank you sir and all the men and women who fought in World War 2. GREATEST GENERATION!!!!! 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🙏🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️🪖🪖🪖
We all owe so much to this generation.
As a Southern California native my ears perked when Mr. Cottrell mentioned Santa Ana. In my late teens I took care of a local WW2 veteran who fought at the Bulge. RIP Robert "Fish" Fischle (1924-2021), 390th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, Battery D.
My friends Father was a Sargent in Patton’s Army and told his son and I how they were hiding in the bushes watching a battle between 3 Sherman’s and a Tiger! The Tiger knocked out all 3 Sherman’s and then a Thunderbolt dove down and unleashed its armor piercing rockets and destroyed the Tiger!!!
Mr Micket was a Hero being wounded twice once by Panther shrapnel the Greatest Generation ❤ I Pray we don’t let them down 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
His recall is incredible. Thank you for preserving these stories.
I’m a retired paramedic , I had a elderly man I used to pick up for many of his health issues - on my 7th call to him I asked about his pilot wings because we had to transport him in a huge snow storm - was going to be a half hour ride
He landed at Utah beach , served the rest of the war - ended up being a fighter pilot after the was and serving in Korea as a f86 Sabre pilot - he was an ace , was shot down ,
He was a sweet old man - I frequented swing by to have lunch with him on my shift down time - we became friends -
I’m honored to have documented his story and pass it on to the local schools - he passed away 2 years after becoming friends - and I got to say good bye while he was on hospice
RIP my dude “chucks”
I'm also a retired Paramedic, and treasured the times I got to assist our veterans. I only wish my time spent with them was a lot longer.
You went above and beyond for him. God bless you as well, sir.
I read ww2 and k and v books. Gallant men. Great hardships!
@@MarcSlicer-n2o YOU HAVE ME CRYING, MARK. That is so wonderful to befriend him. I believe you benefitted from his friendship, too.
@stevep959
I am the daughter and stepdaughter of two WWII Army Officers, both POW's. My Firefighters and Paramedics are two blocks away and they are fantastic. It took me 20 years before I ever called them. They are just wonderful.
My Uncle landed at Omaha on DDay. Rarely spoke of it until nearing the end of his life. I was blessed to have him as a Role Model. Rest in peace Uncle George. Thank you. 🇺🇲
My father was not accepted into the armed services because he was blind in one eye. He spent the war in a machine shop making war related items. It left him with a ruined back that pained him the rest of his life. I still consider him a hero even though he was not in the military.
my dad ran a medical unit in egypt never spoke about it quietly man and that experience made him quieter i think. i was young when he died. one of my only regrets in life was never getting the chance to thank him for his service
A Penobscot man from that Native nation in Maine, Charles Shay, was a young combat medic on that beach. As far as I know, he is still living today in Normandy.
@@MrKmoconnehe did everything he could. The people who worked stateside helped win the war , without all their hard work the war could not have been won .
Historians place great value of the work done in those factories
@@IanClements-l5m Thank you for your comment. My father never complained. The pain from his back made him grumpy but I never understood it was work during war time that ruined it until I was an adult. I never had the maturity to talk to him about until after he was gone.
My father flew 104 missions from oct 43 to Oct 44 with the 358th FG 366SQ (P-47) 8th and 9th AF
Imagine having your teacher as a veteran WWII fighter pilot!
This man was so prolific. Not only an incredible WWII contribution and achievement, but he kept growing and expanding.
When I learned to fly my original teachers were 2 spray plane pilots, one was a WW2 fighter pilot. When I did my checkride, for my private license, the pilot who went with me and signed me off was a P 38 WW2 fighter pilot. I was very lucky to experience flying with these men.
My algebra teacher was a shot down B-17 hid out in France until the american troop caught up to him. lived his live in a bottle from that point on. 😢
I didn't have to imagine it. My high school physical teacher in 1980-81 was Colonel John Loisel! He was a double ace (11 kills) and flew P-39s and a P-38 (Screamin' Kid) in the Pacific Theatre (New Guinea) and later flew jets in Korea. Like many of his generation, he spoke very little of his service, and only a few of us knew about his past.
A lot of times their students wouldn't have known, a good bit of those guy's didn't even talk to their own kids about the war until later in life much less being a teacher and telling their students.
My last full day of school in 1983 after lunch when we only had a couple classes left in the day out of the clear blue an announcement came over the loudspeaker, we were all to report to the auditorium for the last period including every teacher and anyone working maintenance, aka any janitors on duty, they wanted every living soul in the building in that auditorium.
Nobody knew what was going on not even the teachers, when we'd ask they'd just shrug their shoulders and say something like "I don't know, but it's the last day maybe the principle just wants to congratulate everyone and wish them well".
So after all of us were there and seated as expected the principle walked out on stage, he proceeded to tell everyone that Mr Fischer wanted to address everyone, he was a teacher who I never had but actually had known since I was a little boy, my grandfather had been the first superintendent of my school district, and my father was a teacher at the Jr High I went to and my mother was the school nurse at the high school whose auditorium we all found ourselves mysteriously seated in that afternoon, so I'd known Mr Fischer along with a good bit of the district's teachers since I was a kid especially the one's at the Jr High and high school since my parents worked at them, many had been at our house when I grew up.
Mr Fischer, despite being a large man was always very quiet and unassuming, but he was always very friendly and outgoing, always quick to volunteer to help any kid in any way he could and was in charge of several extracurricular programs, he wasn't the kind of teacher who was there just to put in his years and get a pension he meant it.
This was also his last day since he was retiring, after the principle told everyone that the reason we were there was because Mr Fischer was retiring and wanted to address everyone, so he relinquished the stage to him and as Mr Fischer walked out onto it he was met with everyone on their feet clapping, he stepped up to the podium and waved to everyone as we sat down expecting to hear about how he'd enjoyed his years as a teacher along with the usual trip down memory lane as one, that is not what we heard.
Nobody, absolutely nobody, none of the staff nor any of his students over the years had known that Mr Fischer was in the war much less a survivor of The Bataan Death March, over the next half hour he told us the harrowing story about being trapped on the Bataan Peninsula and how they fought their way back to the end of it and were eventually forced to surrender when after being out of ammo, food, medical supplies and were mostly a fighting force of wounded men all hopes of being evacuated had dissolved, it was the end, but little did they know it was just the beginning of a nightmare that went from bad to worse.
That part of his story only took up the first 5 minutes of his half hour saga, the important part of his story, and why he wanted to talk to everyone was one of the most incredible tales I've ever heard to this day, and one of the craziest things about it to me is that just weeks before I'd read the book Death March; The Survivors of Bataan, a book full of first hand accounts from some of the survivors of Bataan which had just come out several months before, between that and the fact that I was already enlisted in the Army his story, needless to say, had a profound affect on me, and the best part was yet to come.
Most of Mr Fischer's story was about the actual death march itself, without being too graphic he told about the Japanese bayoneting anyone who fell out and couldn't make it any further, about how they wouldn't even allow anyone to assist someone who couldn't go any further including those who'd previously been wounded in battle, they didn't even look at them as men who deserved assistance because in their eyes instead of dying honorably on the battlefield they gave up and surrendered, one of the most incredible coincidences of my life was sitting there listening to him tell the story about walking past a guy next to the road that the Japanese were making bury someone in a shallow grave and how when the guy started shoveling dirt on top of him he started moaning and coming to because he wasn't dead, when he stopped shoveling dirt on top of him the Japanese soldiers standing there started prodding him with their bayonets forcing him to continue, not being able to think of anything else he bashed the guy over the head with the shovel to put him out of his misery, apparently to him the prospect of doing that was better than burying him alive, Mr Fischer had witnessed something I'd actually just read about in that book, and it's a true shame that Mr Fischer wasn't interviewed for it because the next part of his story was more incredible than any single one I'd read in that book.
At one point on what was the last day he blacked out, next thing he knew they were at their final destination, he'd come to lying down at the dock where they'd been waiting to be loaded onto ships that would take them to the various POW camps in the Japanese occupied territories, knowing what happened to anyone who couldn't go on any further and assuming he'd collapsed after blacking out he couldn't understand how he'd made it to where they were, so he started asking the people around him if anyone knew what'd happened with him and how he'd gotten to where they were at, he found someone who did.
They told him how when they were walking along speaking in whispers, fot fear they'd be heard he'd actually met two other men from our hometown of Uniontown Pennsylvania and how when he couldn't go on any further and had become delirious they each got on a side of him and were carrying him upright, and how everyone else around them had packed together close so the guards couldn't tell he was being carried, he was told how everyone was determined to get him to the dock because they weren't about to let him die after having made it so far, and how it was the two other men from our hometown that'd rallied everyone to help, wanting to thank thank them and find out who they were he spent the time he had remaining before being loaded onto a ship wandering around asking but nobody who'd been around them seemed to know what'd happened to the two men after they arrived, and without finding out he eventually was loaded onto a ship that took him to his destination, that ended his story about what'd happened on the Bataan Peninsula but it wasn't the end of his lesson.
Mr Fischer didn't give an account of anything that happened afterwards during his years as a POW, but I can assure you after having read that book which was also full of accounts from the survivors about their time as POW's it was bad, very bad, but the point behind his story wasn't about telling tales of battle or even about bashing the Japanese, matter of fact one of his points was that the reason they were the way they were was because of the system they were brought up in, and how having to face what was wrong about that system after the war how they'd reinvented themselves to be the modern country they are that competes with products, not bullets, and how the two men that saved him were a product of the system they were brought up in, and an example of how it brings out the best in people instead of the worst, and I can assure you when he was telling his story you could have heard a pin drop in that auditorium.
Mr Fischer ended his story summing up how he came home from the war, went to school to get a teaching degree and loved every moment of being a teacher knowing that he was watching young people who'd grown up in the greatest society in history go out into the world to become the next generation of great people, one's that like the generations before that'd cured diseases, advanced the world's of science and technology and put mankind on the moon how they'd be going out to achieve greatness, and raise the next generations to be the kinds of people to save others like he was saved instead of killing them.
You see Mr Fischer wasn't the kind of person to sit around watching some 24 hour news station and let it convince him that everything was doom and gloom, he'd seen real doom and gloom and he knew better, that's one of the lessons I took from Mr Fischer and to this day I thank God for it, it's what's kept me now that I'm older from turning into the stereotypical "Kid's these days..." kind of person, instead I'm the guy who reminds everyone who starts with that nonsense about "Kid's these days..." and rambles on about how they can't compare to America's "greatest generation" that we just witnessed two generations in a row march off to a war we all demanded on September 11th 2001 without a single one of them having to be drafted, every one of them volunteered for a war we wanted, and I'm also quick to explain to people that we went into places like Afghanistan and Iraq because like the Japanese before them they're places that have societies that raise people to hate instead of help, and it's our responsibility coming from a society that raises people like the two men who saved Mr Fischer.
Mr Fischer never did find out who those two men were despite spending years afterwards inquiring around town if anyone knew someone or the family of anyone who'd been at Bataan, he'd have liked nothing more than to thank them or at least their families for raising such people, but till his last day it remained a complete mystery to him who they were, and who knows, maybe they weren't actually from Uniontown Pennsylvania and were just a couple of guys who told him that to keep him going, no one will ever know but that's not the important part of the story, the important part is the story itself.
@jonwilliams23 I'm 76 and my flight instructor was a US Army Air Corps flight instructor. I learned a lot from him. It was normal, when I was growing up, that we interacted daily with men and women of the Greatest Generation. We were blessed and didn't realize it. I'm still flying now for 55 years. God blessyou Wilber Stokes and your fellow service men and women.
I believe teaching our youth the true history of our country and the brave souls who have defended it is one of the most important endevours anyone can undertake. Thank you so much for your military and civil service Mr. Cottrell. God bless you.
I would teach the youth mindlessly worshiping the military and politicians who start foreign wars is exactly how we go in this mess we're in 2024. The corporate-military-industrial complex controls everything these days. Before Pearl Harbor something like 90 percent of Americans were opposed to that war. Everyone always seems to forget that fact.
@DerSohnDesAlvaters So you would rather live under the rule of the Nazi party? You seem to only know part of the history, the part that demeans our country and the good people who died saving it. I agree that greedy corporations and individuals have caused lots of problems. At this point it's the tech oligarchs you need to be watching and shaming along with the elitist educators.
@@DerSohnDesAlvatersnot a American but as far as I know Japan attacked pearl harbour 3 days latter Nazi Germany along with Italy Declared war on America ,they despised the USA,Americans showed everyone they can fight ,
@DerSohnDesAlvaters the mic started after wwii. Find another channel for your woke comments. We are trying to honor a WWII vet here.
I, for one, am very proud of Mr. Edwin Cottrell, and I just met him here.
I am dumbfounded at the thought of American school children not being taught about WWII. But then I find it hard to believe that it was 80 years ago and I was born just a dozen years after it ended. WWII was still fresh in everyone’s mind when I was a kid.
I'm 72, I was born 7 years after ww2 and I had several teachers in elementary school and high school who were in Europe and the Pacific campaign. Three of my teachers were women veterans, one of whom landed in Normandy several days after D Day. My generation learned from our teachers about ww2, as well as learning about in History class. It was common knowledge
Suffolk County Long Island New York,, the teachers never talked about itHard to believe I was born only 10 years after World War II
Same here! 73 and my 8th grade history teacher was a B17 navigator and late war POW.
@@TheNextGoogification where was this? If you were born mid-50s it would be a crime for your teachers not to teach it.
My Lord, that is disgusting.
I was born in 1955. My Dad served in the S Pacific. I grew up around WWII Vets, most of my parents family and friends were Vets. Paw took his leadership lessons as a combat platoon Sargent and applied those skills as a Union Stewart and organizer. Re: teachers, my elementary school principal spoke of the joy of being liberated from a German POW camp. He had survived his bomber being shot down. I was privileged to have been in the presence of such heroes.❤
@@mosinmeister25my old geography teachers were navigators and pilots in Lancaster bombers (uk) during the war .
I remember on a school trip to France we visited a war cemetery and were told to leave these men alone . Me being nosey followed them for a while till I realised what they were doing , they had went to the graveside of their old comrades . All of them were in tears , hugging each other . I never forgot that sight , it really made me feel so a for them .
They were my heros
what an honor to hear him speak ..
What we men call “A MANS MAN!”
As Arnold would say; "Not a girly man!"
It’s only gay if you kiss. Nothing wrong with helpin’ a buddy out now and then
I met this living legend yesterday at O'Hare airport. Wise beyond belief. I'll think of you often. Hope to see you in your travels again soon. ❤
Your sacrifices created a long period of peace for us. Thank you
Freedom is free for us because of you.
Yes , Freedom Isn't Free , very awesome story. USN BT2 '74 - '79 Tin Can
For anyone not familiar with the P47 fighter he landed "dead stick," that is no easy task. It was the heaviest, biggest single seat fighter of the war and had the glide characteristics of a brick.
You mean single engine?
It's amazing the details he remembers, but not surprising. My dad was a P51 pilot in Italy, and he didn't talk about his war experience until he was well into his 70s. He could remember the details too, even though he might not remember what he had for breakfast that day. I wish he was still alive, he'd be 103, so I could pick his brain about what it was like.
I remember sitting with my father in front of an open book showing the details of a B-24 bomber. He was a tail gunner in a B-24 Liberator, Fifteenth Air Force, shot down twice, MIA once, three bronze stars w/ oak leaf cluster. I remember wondering..."You still remember all of these details about this plane?"
Same here.... my dad was in the Navy on the mosquito boats known as P.T. Boats.
His was P.T. 143
Dad only told his story in his 70s once.
Thank you, dear sir's for your service!
My grandfather was a German WWII veteran. He got drafted at age 17, became a radioman in the infantry with the German Army and was wounded by Sherman tank shrapnel to the leg and taken prisoner by the Canadians. A few weeks prior to his death when he could hardly see anymore, he asked me to get a book from his childhood, where he had collected cigarette cards, and glued them into the book. Without being able to see, he could guide me to a specific cigarette card in the book just from his memory.
I started working in 1975, most of the men I worked with were in that war, and without exception, they held their Honor very highly and were truly men through and through.
I'm glad to have known them.
Each and every one, and deeply miss many of them .
Thank You so much for your service and lovely dedications to Our Beautiful USA Dear American Sir.🥰😍🤗❤🤍💙💯
I graduated HS in 1979 and consider myself lucky to have several WWII veterans and a couple Vietnam veterans as mentors and examples of good character and leadership. Needless to say I don't consider these men "suckers and losers" I consider them heroic.
I can see your easily brainwashed and not a critical thinker able to do your own research to find the truth. A woke general with severe TDS Millie started that rumor to discredit TRUMP as the two were at odds with one another. 7 pinochios on your comment as it never happened!
Praise to this WWII pilot from a fellow Veteran. Thank you for telling your history to young students.
Good bless you dear veteran your not old school you are the RIGHT SCHOOL.
Just think -- a 22,- 23 yr old kid at the time -- !
I've got a 22 yr old son and my God, I cannot imagine.
This veteran thanks you, sir, for your honorable, selfless service. 🇺🇸
My Dad served in the 82d Airborne and my Mom was an Army Nurse during WWII. I am so glad that I was raised by the Greatest Generation.
He tells his story with nerves of steel.
I liked his last statement.
Freedom isn’t free. It comes at a high cost stained with blood.
What an outstanding valiant man and Pilot!
All these interviews should be required learning right along with financial responsibility. God bless this man for what he has done for our country. He was 101 at the time of this interview. Amazing..
Me and a friend of mine were both military history nuts. I had my two books in class. One was about P51 Mustangs and P47 Thunderbolts. We were debating which plane was better and our teacher interrupted in an angry voice, "P51 was the best." He told us he was a P51 pilot during the war and I realized that was probably why he had a prosthetic leg. We tried to ask about his service, but he said he didn't want to talk about it. He was part of the greatest generation of this country.
I'll never forget Mr. Moore, my seventh grade science teacher telling stories about his service as commander of a squadron of Sherman tanks in Europe. A very kind, and unassuming man who had a deep appreciation for the USAAF... They saved his squadron from being jumped by Tigers hiding in a treeline.
I'm 73. When i was in 7th grade...I had a History teacher...Mr. Holguin. He had served in WW2 as a commander of a Sherman Tank. On an occasional day...he would meander off to one of his war stories...how his tank was damaged and abandoned in a battle...and his story about that. I was so inspired by him...and I owe my appreciation and knowledge of the war to him. Again...thanks for your sharing! It's so important.
Flying a thunderbolt hunting tigers impressive work, sir
Great story- it would have been amazing if he was able to meet up with the Me109 pilots that allowed him to make it back to base. (If they survived the war)
Despite being 30 years older than me, his memory is much better than mine. Amazing and wonderful patriot!
I said the exact same thing.
An American hero for sure..loves our great country and became a teacher, to make kids more knowlegable. Guy is awsome!
Salute sir
Same age as my dad would have been (8th AAF)1942-1945
Goosebumps at 11:00... Realized he was telling the story of Operation Bodenplatte, Jan 1st, 1945.
The Bluenose Bastards of Bodney was the p51 and p47 group taking off to meet the germans coming in for operation Bodenplatte ...
I used to hang out with Art Baker who was a pilot on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. I smoked some Ganja with him. I miss that generation. They used to be everywhere when I was a kid.
I grew up in a Party House in the Hollywood Hills because my Father was a famous musician. I met so many interesting people.
Who’s your dad?
Buell Neidlinger. He's dead.
Well said, "Freedom isn't free!"
Thank you for your service.
I'm a US Navy Vietnam Veteran. We patrolled the coast of South Vietnam from the DMZ down the coast from Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Qui Nhon, Tuy Hoa, Nha Trang, Phan Rang, Phan Thiet, around the Mekong Delta into the Gulf of Thailand and north to Phu Quoc south of Cambodia.
During these patrols we typically intercepted suspicious sampans, junks and merchant vessels. When contraband was discovered, the crew would be held for processing by South Vietnamese forces. We had a South Vietnamese liaison officer onboard to coordinate these events.
Thank you for your service sir. I am the very proud son of a WWII and Viet Nam Army veteran. During WWII, my father was a rifleman in Dog Company in the all Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment. The 65th IR that was assigned to the 7th US Army. He entered the conflict through southern France in Oct '44. When WWII ended, he was in southern Germany.
Thank you for your service and sacrifice to our country! God bless you!❤
Thank you for sharing your experience along with your unselfish service, sacrifice and courage to fight for the United States of America ❤🇺🇸
Fascinating listening to these vets. It's the same here in the UK, they don't teach anything about WWII at school.
Disgraceful
I'm sure they mentioned it once or twice in your history books.
Everyone gets in a twist about that but the fact is it was only a few years in a very long history of the world, even in American history which is comparatively short compared to the history of England it's still only a few years of it's history.
If they spent as much time teaching about WW2 as possible, because of how well it's documented, there not only wouldn't be time to teach other history, which is also important, there wouldn't be enough time to teach the other classes like math and sciences.
Don't worry, WW2 is in their history books and just like with every generation since the one's who have an interest in it have the rest of their lives to learn all they want about it from the endless resources available, the countless books, documentaries and RUclips videos will fill them in with every bit of information they'll want, and the one's that aren't interested in it, they'll go off and study medicine and engineering, and we need them to because God knows it's not going to be historians that cure AIDS or put us back on the moon and off to Mars, someone's gonna have to study other things besides WW2 if we're keep progressing.
Honor amongst warriors.
My father was in the 1830th Ordnance Co which was attached to the 276th TFG. At the time of the Bulge, they were flying P 47s.
Listening to these veterans is absolutely riveting!
Thank you for sharing I was NEVER enlightened about WW2 and most things that I have learned is from books and people like you .Thank you for your service David Manley AZ2 USN California ANG 1979 -88
SALUTE
SIR
THANK YOU
for Your Service
A true hero. I worked with a surgeon who was fighter pilot in the Pacific. He said that one time they were practicing bombing a coral island with a 3-plane formation. The lead plane was in the middle and dropped the first bombs. The fighters to his right and left and behind him suffered damage due to the shrapnel and the coral pieces that struck them. They had been used to bombing on softer dirt in the US. Tactics were changed immediately!
Yea, there's a little known story about P51's in the Pacific that's not well known because everyone was told to keep hush hush about it during the war.
It didn't take long after the P51 showed up in the Pacific that they started mysteriously disappearing after ground attack mission's, fighter's in the Pacific were concentrating a good bit on attacking Japanese air fields, P51 mission's where pilots that returned reporting that there was no AA fire coming from the ground when they attacked but had planes and pilots mysteriously disappear didn't make any sense, quite often planes would get separated from the rest of the flight from making standard jinking maneuvers after a staffing run but there was no reason they shouldn't have found their way back on their own, most would but when P51's showed up they were disappearing at an unusual rate.
They eventually figured out from some that were returning with their own .50 cal bullets lodged in their underside that the coral the islands were comprised of was prone to making bullets ricochet up into the air in front of the very fighter that was shooting them and that they'd been flying through their own bullets, they surmised that P51's that got separated from the rest and had a hole in their cooling system was causing the pilots to bail out without knowing about it so there was no report that the rescue planes could respond to.
When they figured out what was going on P51's in the Pacific were quietly restricted from ground attack and everyone was told to keep quiet about why.
There's a P47 pilot who was in the Pacific named Martin Jackson who's in two different interviews here on RUclips that talks about it, I can't remember the name of the channel that has the interview where he talks about it but it's not the one with the San Diego Air And Space Museum, it's the other channel that interviews him that he talks about that.
Wow what a memory he has very detailed. Thank you sir for serving your country and making it a free country.
Thank you for sharing your experiences!!
Thanks for your service and for letting people know what you had to do so they could live in freedom. Not teaching history is a recipe for disaster.
Thank you for your Service and balls of steel Sir .
My grandfather was a gunner on the B25 bomber. He didn’t speak much of that time. I miss you, papa.
He is the kind of professor I had in college.
A real man, thank you for your service sir.
Thank you Sir, our freedom is due to the sacrifices you all made.
Thank you for your service Sir God Bless . 🙏
Salute to you, sir. Good friend, John C Clay, RIP, flew P47s in Belgium during the Bulge. Planes so heavily loaded they had to fly north to gain altitude before heading into battle. Told me the strafed tanks by walking 50 cal. Bullets into tank engines by ricocheting the slugs as attacking from rear. My father, 9th Army, 84th inf 333rd infantry undoubtedly benefited from your heroic service. Thanks again
I was wondering how heavily armored Tigers could be damaged by .50 caliber rounds, I thought they would just bounce off.
Learned something new.
@@donreinke5863 those pilots were ingenious. Probably not something taught in flight training
It's a myth, oh those guy's probably thought it worked but there's no way after deflecting off the ground .50 cal bullets still had enough energy to penetrate the thickness of armor that the bottom of a Tiger hull is made of.
It's generally accepted that the guy's who claimed they did it were shooting Panthers not Tiger's, many Panthers were misidentified as Tiger's even by ground troops much less someone buzzing by at 250+ MPH in a fighter, there were far more claims turned in by ground attack pilots for Tiger's than there were Tiger's in the theater, it's not that they were lying about anything they were just misidentifying what they were taking out, Tiger was the big buzzword when it came to German tanks and the Panther shared a lot of the visual characteristics of the Tiger especially that great big gun sticking out of it, to someone zipping by in a plane I'm sure that was an easy mistake to make especially when you consider that at the same time they're keeping track of all those guages in front of them telling them if their engine was about to blow up, what their altitude was and everything else along with keeping your head on a swivel for threats both from the ground and the air, yea those guy's were pretty busy in those cockpits so it's easy to understand how they could mistake a Panther for a Tiger.
An amazing memory for details.
My uncle was there. He was KIA 12/31/44. 55th. AIB C company. God bless you sir!
amazing memory at his age!!!
WOW!!! What a LEGEND!!!
I'm very proud you and I are Americans. Thank you for your service.
Many thanks to those who dedicated their lives to making our country a safer and better place like my father and Mr. Cottrell. Each served in both the military and public service, law enforcement in my father’s case and education in Mr. Cottrell’s. Thanks to the Greatest Generation and what they sacrificed for our nation!🇺🇸
I graduated from West Chester University, cool to see a local connection in one of these presentations.
A very accomplished man. What a credit to this man. As for the current generation of useless humans….. they have no idea of what sacrifice means let alone respect Thank you for a wonderful insight into your life and due respect to you 👍
Don’t discount all of “this generation” - my 24 year old youngest son is a soldier in the Army.
Thanks to all our Veterans who served. Semper Fi. Freedom is free. Good message.
yup, when you look at how the world is today, thank a vet
Thank you sir for your service. Let’s hope the lessons you learned and taught are appreciated by the world of today.
My dad was in the British Army infantry in the whole length of WW2. Anytime he had thoughts about that war, he always had tremendous respect for the “Yanks” he’d call them. He said they were brave and had the best gear and equipment. He said the Americans save the day many times and spoke highly of the soldiers he fought with. He loved Americans and what they did.
What an amazing person you are Mr Cottrell. You are a hero! Thank you for sharing your story. God bless you. ❤
It's great seeing the 48th FG (now the 48th FW at RAF Lakenheath UK) and Lt. Col. Cottrell getting some "press". Mors Inimicis!
It’s wild that the German planes communicated with each other, and decided to help him land the plane safely instead of shooting him down.
Thank you Mr Cottrell this world is a better place due to people like you. Freedom is not free.
Absolutely freedom is earned. Your whole story was doing exactly that. My father told me to teach my children about WWll and I have. Thank you for securing the freedoms my family cherishes.
Thank you Colonel...your service is very appreciated....you and your squadrons' , and so many WW2 vets' stories go untold...I'd love to buy you a beer or two and humbly listen...your memory is razor sharp... I bet you could shave a few strokes off my game as well...🍻
Amazing man.
Central PA representing! Thank you for your service sir
What a great man ! ❤❤❤
Thankful for his service! Our highest thoughts. And what a great story. Thanks.
Wow, what an excellent memory to remember all the details right down to dates. God bless this man.
Respect.
This hero is what every American should aspire to be. I am so lucky to have been born in this country that has been protected by men like this and we owe these men a huge debt of gratitude for their service.
Thank you for your service.you are a true gentleman and patriot😊
Thank you.
This patriot had good sense to stay away from the US Navy. He’d may have ended up in IJN/A death camps. This takes nothing away from his valor or courage. His own intelligence shows that. Thank you Edwin.
You do understand that the majority of the Americans that were in the Japanese prison camp's were actually Army don't you?
Matter of fact in the Pacific ⅔rds of all US military personnel killed and wounded were Army, the Army not only was involved in every single battle, ncluding Saipan, Tarawa and even Iwo Jima, but it conducted more amphibious landings than the Marine's did.
The Army was in every battle and also had the most air power in the Pacific, it's number's dwarfed those of the Marine's and Navy and is why the majority of killed, wounded and captured in the Pacific was Army.
And they had plenty enough of P47's there also and from early on not just the P47N at the end of the war like most people think.
So he could very easily have found himself in the Pacific being a P47 pilot.
Thankyou for your service.
Fascinating stories from one of the bravest of the brave. Thank you Colonel for fighting for our freedom!
PHENOMENAL memory recall of so many details from events that occurred well over 80 years ago! Wow, just wow.
I SALUTE YOU, SIR! THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I love that these men are coming forward with their stories. Thank you, and we cannot thank you all enough for your service. "Freedom isn't free" well, someday I hope it is... the only reason it isnt is because of greedy assholes.
God bless you sir for your service and for the freedom to many take for granted. My Father served in the 3rd infantry during that time.
great video wish there were more people like this still around to make sure we all understand what it takes to enjoy the life we take for granted today !!
What he said at the end about the social studies teachers is very important. My parents and other family survived WWII in the Netherlands. I know quite a bit about the war mostly because family and veterans didn't talk about it much so I started studies on my own like Patton's biography. I run into surprisingly and unfortunately young people that know little or nothing about it. We need to work harder.
Bless you sir, and thank you!! From a retired Navy guy.