America has, by far, the best fighting force on the planet. But there are other countries in the world that do not want anyone to believe that. Also, they do not want anyone to believe that the American soldier is a caring, understanding and giving creature. But they are. Ask almost any military person who has served overseas and/or in a battle zone who they feel bad for the most and they will probably say the children who are caught up in the conflict. American GIs always seem to have a soft spot for the kids.

We have many photographs taken during World War II showing soldiers giving candy and other items to the children of Germany and Japan. The same can be seen in photos from Vietnam and the Gulf Wars. In times of war, it's the children who suffer the most. Besides terrible injuries and death, the kids lose parents and other relatives and they lose their homes. Sadly, they lose their childhood.

The American fighting men and women see this daily on the battle front and try to help as they can. Foreign militaries use the children as shields and as targets during battle. In Vietnam they sent children as young as four and five years old into bars and restaurants where Americans were and had them set off hand grenades knowing that the little ones would die also. In Korea farmers sent their daughters into the fields before they sent their cattle so they could check for land mines. It was better to lose a daughter then their cows.

On Saipan, the citizens were told by their leaders not to be taken prisoner by the Americans. They would be raped and slaughters. Many committed suicide before the U.S. arrived. Others hid in holes and other places. When they were found by the Americans, they were shocked to find that the U.S. soldiers took much better care of them than their own people. And we all know how the Americans treated the Jews when the concentration camps in Nazi Germany were liberated.

The American military do not get enough praise for the acts that they do during wartime. This blog displays many photographs of American military men and women interacting with the children of the world. The kids here get excited when the soldiers arrive. With the war in Ukraine taking place right now, so many children of that country have been murdered by Russia's Putin. Too bad the Americans have not been allowed to go there.

The photos on this blog cover from World War II through the present. There are no captions. The pictures say it all.