Another of the Greatest Generation passes at age 100
Col John Waddy OBE, celebrating his 100th birthday with gifts from the Parachute Regiment
Jeff LPH 3 forwarded this extensive obituary posted about a pretty amazing warrior. John Waddy was an officer in the British Army beginning in WWII. Trained as a parachutist he spent 3 days in a coma after a training accident and then joined the war in North Africa. After fighting his way across the desert, he parachuted into Arnhem as part of Operation Market Garden where he was seriously wounded.
After the war he rose to the rank of Colonel and would command the Special Air Service as well as serve in advisory roles in Washington, D.C., Vietnam, and Fort Benning. After retiring in 1974 he worked for Westland Helicopters and was an advisor on the movie A Bridge Too Far, even scoring a supporting role next to Sean Connery.
Read much more at the source; Telegraph.co.uk
Category: Guest Link, Historical, Real Soldiers
Godspeed and Rest Well Colonel John Waddy! I’m sure that your Warrior Brethren Welcomed you into Valhalla with toasts of mead in cups made from the skulls of your enemies. Maybe I’ll get a chance to meet you…on the other side. SALUTE!!!
Watched “A Bridge Too Far” on the ‘putor utube thingie a week or so back. Gonna have to go back and look for Colonel Waddy.
Somebody needs to tell me how to get around those pesky “subscribe to continue reading” things. Couldn’t access the article.
5th/77th FA;
I got the whole shebang while I was scrolling down all the news stuff on my home page which was very long and worth reading. Try doing what I did. I had to scroll down a bit to find it. Got it the day before I sent it in which was further up on the screen then the next day I decided to find the article and send it in to Mason.
Rest in peace Sir.
May the road rise to meet him, and the wind be always at his back, the hunting plentiful, and then meet up at the fire with old friends.
More about him (free) on Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Waddy_(British_Army_officer)
Hardcore dude.
Please enjoy the best war movie ever made.
No actors, filmed in the ruins of Arnhem by the men who fought there barely a year after the battle.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fiFeYxlPYy4
“Battleground” would be the closest US effort.