HUGE SALUTE!!!!

Donald Buska, an 86 year-old Navy Veteran passed away on Tuesday after returning from a trip to Washington DC with the Big Sky Honor Flight of Montana.

"He had the time of his life," Buska's son Jeff told the Billings Newspaper. "What a way to go. He went out on a high note"

Jeff Buska said his father was in his glory as he toured the WWII Memorial and posed for a class photo with a former poker buddy who was also on the trip. He was able to witness the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery and was escorted with the other vets by DC Police.

Jeff said his father died less than eight hours after the homecoming, following a night of reading letters and sharing stories about a once in a lifetime experience.

"My dad went to go dance with Mom" Jeff said.


This man and others of that era are truly 'The Greatest Generation'......

I remember taking my Grandfather (who was a Seabee in WWII in the Pacific) on a Tiger Cruise when I was stationed on the USS Lexington, he was in 7th heaven since he helped repair the ship after it was damaged in an attack. He disappeared soon after we went aboard and I didn't see him again until we returned to port. He had a blast walking around exploring the ship and talking to sailors. A great generation.

nochain wrote:

I remember taking my Grandfather (who was a Seabee in WWII in the Pacific) on a Tiger Cruise when I was stationed on the USS Lexington, he was in 7th heaven since he helped repair the ship after it was damaged in an attack. He disappeared soon after we went aboard and I didn't see him again until we returned to port. He had a blast walking around exploring the ship and talking to sailors. A great generation.

Sadly, the Greatest Generation has and is dwindling in numbers...but they must never be forgotten and appreciated for their sacrifices.

We owe everything to those brave men and women.

Eric you do remember Henry Ford wanted to stay out of WWII along with Charles Lindbergh...

TEOTWAWKI wrote:

Eric you do remember Henry Ford wanted to stay out of WWII along with Charles Lindbergh...

Joseph Kennedy and many others too...But when the war came to our backyard the Greatest Generation both confronted and defeated pure evil not just on the battlefields around the world but at home also...They deserve only our respect and admiration for their sacrifices...

TEOTWAWKI wrote:

Eric you do remember Henry Ford wanted to stay out of WWII along with Charles Lindbergh...

There were a lot of Americans that wanted to stay out of the war before Pearl Harbor.

I don't think it's any more fair to judge them in hindsight than it would be to judge anyone in hindsight. The depression was still going on and men were trying to feed their families. Going into a war way over in Europe was the last thing from their minds. We had some pretty strong economic ties with Germany at the time as well, so many American businessmen didn't want to rock the boat.
It's understandable to me that there was more than one side to the issue back then just like there is everytime some POTUS wants us to send our troops out to risk their lives.

When the issue was settled by our being attacked, that generation responded in droves. A lot of men who had already finished military service and gone home to raise families decided to go back and serve in some way or the other. My dad was one of those-he had already served in the Army for several years and mustered out 2 years before WWII. When the war started, he answered the call again. When you  realize how short life really is, you realize that WWII just wasn't all that long ago.


Here's a thought though. If America were actually attacked as we were at Pearl Harbor, and we had an enemy we could name and identify as we did Japan and Germany back then, I think a lot of the young people we have around today might respond just like their grandparents did.
Our generation and the younger generation have had confusing wars like Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan to fight and a lot of people have never understood then or now why we were fighting those wars. I think if Americans, even the kids today, actually KNEW they were defending this country, they would be there to do it. I think it's a matter of knowing what you are defending and that your are engaging someone who is an imminent threat to your homeland.
What do you guys think?

Otter, the only thing the media reports is the bad things our military does and very little of the bad the enemy does.. Seriously, would YOU want to be serving in war with most of the 17-25 yr olds today?? Would YOU want them standing behind you shooting over your shoulder or head at the enemy?? Would YOU trust them with your life of the life of one of your children??

Jake92 wrote:

Otter, the only thing the media reports is the bad things our military does and very little of the bad the enemy does..  Seriously, would YOU want to be serving in war with most of the 17-25 yr olds today??  Would YOU want them standing behind you shooting over your shoulder or head at the enemy??  Would YOU trust them with your life of the life of one of your children??

Well, I would have to assume that if we were attacked and they were volunteers that they would have been trained by our military to know how to shoot over my head or shoulder at the enemy.  I don't have the same opinion of 17-25 year olds as you do, I guess.
I don't think human beings are any better or worse then they were 60 years ago. Back before WWII a lot of men (and to be honest, that's mostly what we're talking about in WWII. I know there were women in the military too, but they did not have the same roles),a  lot of men had had some pretty tough lives. They had been through the depression and had matured, perhaps, beyond what our kids have today. But it's because they had to mature, not because they were inherently a better generation. They had a choice of growing up and working or sitting on their backsides and starving.


The military has a way of "growing up" kids very quickly who join in their ranks, and I suspect that the 17-25 year olds today would be subject to the same quick learning as anyone who joins the service today. Going into war and seeing death matures people very quickly.
I think this generation would be up to the task.  I think they would just need to absolutely, positively know why they were fighting and that they were defending their own homes and family and you'd see how fast they could change from gamers and slackers into mature fighting men.

Some of those gamers would be great shots and have very quick reflexes too. They say the best pilots have a history of being big video gamers.

Teo, lots of people didn't want us to enter WWII. I probably would have been against it... until Pearl Harbor, that is.

Yeah, my signature uses a Ford quote, mainly because I like that message. Henry Ford was a bit of a tyrant. He left his son in charge when he went overseas for something, I believe. His son started an addition that they had been planning and Henry came back and was incensed that his son had started the addition without his direct approval. He had them stop the construction and, for years, left a huge hole in the ground where construction was started... as a reminder to his son and everybody else... that he was the boss (and a jerk).

He may have been a good tinkerer and micromanager, but he was close to being illiterate. A newspaper reported this and Ford sued the paper. Ford lost. The newspaper's lawyers made a fool out of him in court. Somehow, the public felt Ford was being picked upon and he didn't lose any popularity.

Otter, I agree with you. WWII was a war against countries that wanted to kick our butts and conquer our country and subjugate our people.

Later generations fought in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan... wars that were not exactly the same motivation for the troops.

Eric, a lot of mechanically inclined people aren't too interested in reading or in being highly literate. I'm sure you know that. It seems that people are either inclined towards verbal skills and writing skills or towards mathematics and mechanics.
I guess Henry Ford was just the second kind of person.

Those folks are sometimes the ones that make the machinery that keeps the world going.
And certainly a lot of them are the ones that repair the machines.