Latigo Morgan on Nostr: I met an American in Germany, and old greybeard who sat down next to me on the bus. ...

I met an American in Germany, and old greybeard who sat down next to me on the bus. He started talking in English and telling me how he came in with Patton's Army. Then he started in on how, after what he saw, and how the Germans were treated after the war, that it made him ashamed to go back to the US and receive a hero's welcome because he knew the truth. I wish 20 yr. old me had paid more attention to that guy. In a way, I did. I found a little cafe around the corner from the Kaserne I was based in that pretty much no GIs knew about. In that cafe, I met several German WWII veterans. When I was in there, my money was no good as long as I sat and listened to their stories. I learned just how badly I'd been lied to about the Germans and the war.

I'll never know for sure, but I suspect that is why my Grandpa never talked about the war. I didn't even know he was at the Battle of the Bulge until about 4 years ago, when my uncle told me. He arrived in time for that, then marched across Europe to the end.