dataz

15 hours later and OP still answers, talk about delivering.

This is the best answer I have ever heard to this question (which always gets asked of any WW2 veteran). I never took into consideration how much the great depression affected the troops that went into the war and their resilience and determination.

I completely agree. Alot of these answers are very basic and alot of the 'crazy facts' he throws out are very commonly known. When asked about any historical findings that are not that publically known and would shock most of us, he answered

Oh, goodness, yes. Ever hear of Cyrus the Great?

...really? Cyrus is a very well known and researched figure in history, he created the first Persian Empire. And the wall paintings in France?? Type 'Cave Paintings' in wikipedia and you'll find them. And you did your PHD dissertion on such a broad topic as the Neolithic revolution? You (and many people have) could spend DECADES studying the Neolithic revolution and you are doing it for your dissertion? Because you love ancient history on account of your history teacher in highschool? Riiiight, maybe if their name was Wikipedia...

Edit: Punctuation

Just wanted to say thank you for all for your service and thanks to your son and grandson for doing this, there has been an influx of WW2 veterans doing AMAs recently that has made me so happy as they are becoming the last survivors still alive and it's high time we get all the cool war stories. Also, the picture of you on the airplane looks unbelievably boss, you usually only see pilots/flight crews standing around their planes or in the cockpit, never on the wing!

Edit: Grammar

You are the man. I was so bored with music until I heard you randomly, thank you. Also, what kind of sauce do you sauce your pasta with?