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“For What Did We Fight?”: 100-Year-Old WWII Veteran Says Britain Has Betrayed the Sacrifices of His Generation

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A 100-year-old World War II veteran has delivered a stunning rebuke of modern Britain, saying the sacrifices made by his generation “weren’t worth it” given what the country has become today.

During an emotional Remembrance Sunday segment on Good Morning Britain, Alec Penstone — a centenarian who fought for his nation in one of history’s defining conflicts — reflected not with pride, but with sorrow and disillusionment.

“My message is, I can see in my mind’s eye those rows and rows of white stones and all the hundreds of my friends who gave their lives, for what?” Penstone said, his voice trembling. “The country of today? No, I’m sorry — but the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result of what it is now.”

The comment visibly stunned hosts Kate Garraway and Adil Ray, who had expected a message of remembrance and gratitude. Instead, Penstone offered a haunting critique — a sense that the freedoms his generation bled for have eroded.

Pressed by Ray to elaborate, Penstone didn’t back down. “Well, what we fought for was our freedom,” he said. “Even now, it’s downside worse than what it was when I fought for it.”

It was a rare moment of candor — and heartbreak — from one of the last living links to the Second World War. To him, the modern United Kingdom has drifted far from the ideals of liberty and dignity that his generation defended.

Across Britain, concerns about freedom of speech have become increasingly common, with reports suggesting dozens of citizens are arrested each day for so-called “offensive” posts online. For veterans like Penstone, who risked everything to oppose tyranny abroad, the notion of censorship at home feels like a betrayal.

Garraway tried to steer the conversation back to gratitude, assuring Penstone that the younger generations still honor his sacrifice. “All the generations that have come since — including me and my children — are so grateful for your bravery and all that for service personnel,” she said. “It’s our responsibility now to make Britain the country you fought for.”

Penstone nodded in agreement, but the pain in his voice lingered. “Yes, that is it,” he said softly — acknowledging that the burden now lies with those who inherited the freedoms his comrades died to secure.

Photo credit: Screenshot via X

Bomb Dropped During WWII Finally Explodes

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A dormant U.S.-made World War II-era bomb exploded Wednesday morning at an airport in southwestern Japan, prompting a runway closure and multiple flight cancellations, according to reports.

The shell exploded without warning on a taxiway at Miyazaki Airport at about 8 a.m., leaving a crater nearly 23 feet wide and just over three feet deep, Japan’s Kyodo News reported.

The Japanese army’s explosive ordnance disposal unit investigated the site, the outlet added. No injuries were reported. Local firefighters and police also responded, and the police issued a localized evacuation order.

A video of the explosion obtained by Kyodo News from a nearby aviation college shows black debris shooting skyward and a damaged portion of the tarmac. An airplane had passed nearby only two minutes before, the outlet reported.

The bomb was a U.S.-made weapon, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo, according to Kyodo News. (Read more from “Bomb Dropped During WWII Finally Explodes” HERE)

Greatest Generation: WWII Vet Breaks Down, Says This Isn’t ‘Country We Fought For’

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Much of what American soldiers fought for in World War II has “gone down the drain,” according to U.S. Marine Carl Spurlin Dekel, who celebrated his 100th birthday last week.

Dekel says serving his country in WWII was the most important thing he ever did, according to Fox 13. The veteran and Silver Star holder says he wouldn’t hesitate to put his life on the line again, but regrets that the U.S. has slipped away from what he remembers.

“People don’t realize what they have,” Dekel told the outlet. “The things we did and the things we fought for and the boys that died for it, it’s all gone down the drain.”

“We haven’t got the country we had when I was raised, not at all,” he says. “Nobody will have the fun I had. Nobody will have the opportunity I had. It’s just not the same and that’s not what our boys, that’s not what they died for.”

Dekel’s statements came the same day the U.S. lost the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from WWII. Hershel “Woody” Williams died Wednesday at 98 years old, surrounded by his family at a hospital named after him in his home state of West Virginia.

(Read more from “Greatest Generation: WWII Vet Breaks Down, Says This Isn’t ‘Country We Fought For’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Thousands of Missing WWII Soldier Remains to Return to US

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The remains of unknown American soldiers who died in North Africa during World War II will be repatriated back to the U.S. from the sole American cemetery in Africa, the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia said on Monday.

The U.S. and Tunisia signed a memorandum in which the U.S. will be allowed to exhume the remains of unknown soldiers for repatriation to be identified and reunited with their families, according to CNN.

“We owe our fallen heroes and their families a profound debt of gratitude,” Natasha Franceschi, the embassy’s chargé d’affaires said in a statement, according to CNN. “Today’s historic agreement will ensure American service men and women who gave their lives to defend our freedom are recognized and honored for the ultimate sacrifice they gave to our country.”

The North African American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia, is currently the resting site for 2,841 U.S. service members, the outlet reported. It is not immediately clear how many remains will be returned to the U.S. (Read more from “Thousands of Missing WWII Soldier Remains to Return to US” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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95-Year-Old WWII Veteran Receives High School Diploma (VIDEO)

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A graduation, 74 years in the making was held in Oklahoma Thursday for a 95-year-old veteran who fought in WWII instead of graduating high school.

Corporal Lewie Shaw became an orphan when he was only 12 years old. He dropped out of high school at 17 and worked as a school bus driver and janitor. . .

Cpl. Shaw enlisted in the Marines in 1943. He fought in Tinian, Saipan and Iwo Jima. He was wounded fighting for his country.

“One come out with a phosphorus grenade got me across the backside,” he said. “And I didn’t want to tell anybody. A good Marine doesn’t get shot in the back.”

Cpl. Shaw said he’s lived a dull life after the war. He worked for a lumber company for 30 years then went into business with his son. All without his high school diploma. But Thursday, at 95 years old, he had his graduation ceremony.

(Read more from “95-Year-Old WWII Veteran Receives High School Diploma” HERE)

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Military Specialists Destroy Live WWII-Era Mortar Shell Found at Alaska Museum

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Military explosive specialists destroyed a World War II-era mortar round found at an Alaska museum after determining the munition was live.

The device was destroyed by detonating it at a safe place, said Capt. Brandon Browning of the 716th Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

A staff member found the Japanese mortar round last week while sorting through the collections vault at the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center in Haines, the Anchorage Daily News reported Thursday. . .

Explosives specialists from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage later determined the device was still live, the newspaper said.

The museum was considering using the shell in an upcoming exhibit featuring World War II battle art, but the item’s donation paperwork did not indicate if it had been deactivated, said Helen Alten, the museum’s director. (Read more from “Military Specialists Destroy Live WWII-Era Mortar Shell Found at Alaska Museum” HERE)

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MI Man’s WWII Dog Tag Found in Alaska

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earl-vogelarWhen Mario Gandolfo went for a walk along the Pacific Ocean shoreline in Nome, Alaska on Nov. 4, he was looking for sea glass. But he found something quite different: A World War II military dog tag washed into his hand.

“I was just kind of taken aback,” Gandolfo told 24 Hour News 8 Sunday via Skype.

The dog tag, which is about 70 years old, belonged to an Earl L. Vogelar. It had a Grand Rapids, Mich. address stamped on it.

Gandolfo decided he had to know more about Vogelar and wanted to find his family to give them the ocean-battered piece of metal.

“This was someone’s life in World War II,” he said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Maher Mocks WWII Vets Visiting Closed Memorial: ‘Nobody Said They Were the Brightest Generation’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: APLiberal comedian Bill Maher ridiculed the group of World War II veterans for visiting the barricaded World War II memorial, telling his audience that the Greatest Generation wasn’t the “brightest generation.”

“The other that was apparently so important for the Republicans to keep open was the World War II Memorial in Washington. That was closed, so a bunch of the World War II vets knocked down the barriers and stormed it,” Maher said on his Friday HBO “Real Time” program, making a sardonic face at the audience.

Read more from this story HERE.

Showdown Expected at WWII Memorial, Arrest Threats

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Screen shot 2013-10-02 at 1.06.57 AMAfter a group of veterans “stormed” the barricaded World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, other WWII veterans groups are planning to visit the same site on Wednesday — which only exists because of their service. Meanwhile, another Honor Flight group in Ohio is claiming that the Park Service threatened to arrest its members if they entered the closed memorial during their planned visit on Oct. 9 (assuming the government is still “shut down”).

Andrea Plunkett, a volunteer with the Kansas City-area Heartland Honor Flight, told TheBlaze the group plans to bring about 90 veterans to the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. She said the WWII veterans would arrive at around 11 a.m. with a delegation about about 12 U.S. senators and representatives. The group plans to breach the barricades…

“When we heard the news this morning about the barricades being erected at the memorials, dozens of people started helping us try to find a solution,” she told TheBlaze. “Both Kansas and Missouri officials have been incredibly responsive– we heard back from Senator [Roy] Blunt, [Claire] McCaskill, [Pat] Roberts and [Jerry] Moran’s offices right away. Several members of Congress have been involved as well…”

“Our next flight isn’t until Spring of 2014, and waiting is not an option for many of these vets. Between 600-900 WWII vets die each day, so when it comes to Honor Flights, time is of the essence,” she said. “These veterans can’t wait on the government.”

Lawmakers from Kansas and Missouri plan to be on hand tomorrow to help the veterans gain access.

Read more from this story HERE.