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Originally Posted by Subwolf
I can't believe you guys, feeling so sorry for the German U-boat crews...
But none of you even mention the heroic civilian men and women who sailed in the merchant fleet during the war, those who gave their lives to save your country from the nazi's, those who sailed for up to five years under a constant threat of getting killed by a torpedo, and could never get a good night's sleep while at sea.
They are the real heroes of the Atlantic war.
Of course it was tough for the Germans too, but remember...they started the war, they wanted it to happen.
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Agreed on that point. The merchant sailors were men of valor and bravery, and no one is taking away from their deeds. But to say that the average U-boat sailor isn't worthy of some measure of respect is wrong, I think.
Perhaps this might express it better than I can. They're the words of USN Captain Edward Beach, from the introduction of Iron Coffins:
"'Madness!' cries Werner, and it was madness. But there were heroes, too, who deserve admiration even though their cause was wrong and, therefore, their sacrifice was worthless. No one can fault the warrior who believes in his country so strongly that he dies for it. This ought to permit these brave spirits to lie in peace, secure in the world's regard for them and their memory. Madness though it was, these were the flower of young German manhood, unfortunately - but not to their own discredit - early imbued with a warped ideal of how to achieve German destiny. They ought not to bear too harsh criticism, considering the Treaty of Versailles is now hardly considered an ideal document. Furthermore, they were a group unsullied by the cancer which afflicted the leading body politic. Beacuase their leaders told them so, they believed that if they fought desperately, they might save their country from the disaster plainly grinding in from every side. They expected death, and most of them found it; but they fought hard all the same, and they carpeted the ocean floor with their bodies."