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Well I guess we are of a similar generation, whatever that means to other people.
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- My father was a Master Carpenter and Master Fitter (Engineer) - he designed and built a machine that helped build machines that made parts for Spitfires (and other aircraft) so he was in a "reserved occupation" and was not allowed to join up. He ran away and tried to anyway, three times. The third time he managed to get through two weeks of basic before they tracked him down and sent him back. Later, he was blown across a road into a wall during the blitz on Coventry and this affected his eyesight for the rest of his life - and finally stopped him trying to join up again.
- My grandfather started WWII as a Colonel and then became a Brigadier General by the end. He was in logistics moving materials around the country on the railway so never left England during the fighting. He also assisted the Germans to rebuild their railway systems after the war.
He got to be this rank during WWI where he started out as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery being promoted to lieutenant after only two weeks because all the other lieutenants were dead. A couple of months later he was promoted to acting captain because all the other captains were dead. He was then confirmed as a full captain a couple of weeks later because no replacement captains were available. After three months he became an acting major, then a full major for similar reasons. His unit was cut off and surrounded by a German pincer advance and he was under standing orders to kill all the horses, spike the guns and surrender if this happened. Instead he had them limber up and charge forward, unexpectedly jumping over the German trenches and wheeling to the south for a mile or two, then jumping back over the lines to the British side beyond the encircling German pincer movement. He only had one horse and two men injured and brought back all his guns and equipment. He was recommended for a medal but it was turned down as he had "disobeyed orders"! However, he was promoted again to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of four units back in the place he had escaped from after the Germans had been driven back again. He became a reservist at the end of the war, being promoted to Colonel at that time.
Neither he nor my father talked about their wartime experiences, I found out all this from some of their friends over the course of several years.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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 Wonderful stories, Forogar; thanks for sharing !
«One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.» Salvador Dali
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Born 1956 so just a young 'un.
Father too young to fight in the war but an uncle spent some time in North Africa where he was captured, met Rommel (" a REAL gentleman, not like that bugger Montgomery.."), escaped (sort of - an allied armoured column drove in and the Africa Corp left in such a hurry they neglected to take their prisoners..). 
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The definition of a gentleman is one who tries to make all those around him feel comfortable in their presence. So, from what I have heard of both men, he was correct, Rommel was a gentleman and, unfortunately, Montgomery wasn't.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Monty was a brilliant general, but had no real social graces.
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He was also a vegetarian so this will explain why he had a short temper.
In addition to being a brilliant strategist, and unlike Patton, he actually cared enough about his men to try and keep casualties as low as possible. Same as Rommell.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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And here I thought I was the oldest, being born in July 1949...
My Dad was a radioman in the Navy attached to the Marines in the South Pacific. He'd go on shore with the marines and radio back to the battle ships telling them where to aim the big guns.
War is stupid and a tragic waste of lives and resources -Ed Aymami Sr. and Ed Aymami Jr. (Viet Nam).
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Now hear this: "not there you fools!".
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LOL. I suspect my dad had one or more incidents exactly like that!
Yep.
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Makes me feel young - April 1952
My Dad was a maintenance officer in the Marines in the South Pacific. He'd goin when they secured the airfield and take care of the planes
Programmers are creators of universes for which they alone are the lawgivers
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December of '92, so nearly 27.
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As my birth was initiated by allied ground forces crossing the Rhine at Remagen, and thereby firmly indicating that an end of the war was nigh, there cannot be many on the forum who have seen more of life than I. 
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I'm 63, and a few months away from being 64).
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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#realJSOP wrote: I'm 63, and a few months away from being 64).
[Checks math...]
Yep, that's how it works.
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Interesting, I always thought you were 30-ish.
«One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.» Salvador Dali
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I'm too angry to be that young... 
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Well, I'm just slightly older than Arpanet itself.
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I am 40, just in the middle point.
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Am the oldest, my age is 3 digits. All digits are greater than 0.
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Octal or Octogenarian? In the latter case, we forgive you for mixing up '2' digits and '3' digits.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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077 puts you on 3rd place, because there are some of 74 already, so you must be 0113 or above, but that is 4 digits...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Does octal have to have the leading zero? It's early and I skipped coffee this morning.
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