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Bluebag Media
WWII vet:
You're trained to take a life or he'll take yours
GREENVILLE – “I’ve been to hell and back,” said 95-year-old Joe
Bredeson repeatedly, sometimes in tears, as he recalled his role as a
paratrooper during World War II. Bredeson told a packed room,
overflowing to the adjoining room in Greenville Public Library Dec. 5,
about his experiences during the war. He said he witnessed men and
women being starved to death, children being killed for no reason… his
own friends being killed in front of him.
He told the audience that people who have never been to war don’t
understand the true experiences soldiers face. “A soldier doesn’t have
to think about fear,” he said, “until they’re getting shot at, and
watching other soldiers die around him.”
As a member of the 101st Airborne he was part of the Normandy Invasion
on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Out of the 143 men in his unit who jumped he
was one of only 10 to survive.
“I was trained to kill a man,” Bredeson said. “I’m not proud of that.”
He noted at one point they had flame throwers but said he refused to
kill a man with fire. Later, as he was showing photos in a slide show
to about 60 attendees, he said “Look at these guys. They’re 15, 16. I’m
trained to take a life or he’ll take mine. You don’t have a choice.” He
looked at the audience. “I want you to think about this...
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