Did Your Father/Grandfather Serve In World War II ?

[THUNDER HANDS]

If so, drop in and tell their tale.

My grandfather was in the invasion of Normandy. You know those boats in Saving Private Ryan that open in the front and all the soldiers pour out?

That was what my grandfather was in.

His platoon, or batallion, or whatever it is you call a group of soldiers on one of these boats were all slaughtered as soon as the door came down and they set foot on the beaches. He was the only one of his buddies to survive that day.

He took a bullet right stright in the kneecap - blew it off. He walked with a slight limp until the day he died. When he came back from the war he got addicted to herion (for the pain) and had trouble sleeping at night because the sounds of planes flying overhead from JFK (they lived in Brooklyn) reminded him of war so much that he would cower on the floor under his bed.

My other grandfather was stationed in France. He got shot in the groin (yeah, it was pretty damn painful, he said) but otherwise always enjoyed telling his grandkids of the experience he had in Europe at that time.

So how about you, any relatives in WWII?

[Mikimouse]

1. Father in WWII, Grandfathers (both) in WWI, also

all of the above on the 'other' side. Two in the Hungarian Mounted Cavalry, and one as the regimental Physician/Dentist.

[everythingsxen]

2. Grandfather - Coast Guard

Which in WW2 did a helluvalotmore than they do today.

He served on an icebreaker and transported cargo around. I guess they got into a few scrapes as well.

He never really wanted to talk about actual combat. He would only talk about the good times, like when they got cases of beer and could get drunk. :)

[underpants]

3. In the glider corps and the Battle of the Bulge

He got out of his foxhole to go to uh go to the bathroom and a German mortar round hit killing his three best friends. He spent 2 years at Walter Reed and they had to remove his left pinky finger. Years later he would come home from a hard day of work at the plant and my grandmother would give him a massage, shrapnel would sometimes come out.

My stepfather once asked him, "why would a guy who had been through what you had come home to West Virginia, not use his GI bill, and marry a widow with 4 kids?"

My granfather's response was "because I loved her"

He passed in 1998.

[THUNDER HANDS]

4. he sounds like he was a great man

:)

[underpants]

11. He was

I still geting teary when I hear the national anthem because of him. It reminds me of him.

[Drifter]

5. Yes, but not in the military ...

My father and grandfather were farmers. My dad graduated high school in 1944. I do not believe he was eligible for military service because of his occupation.

Cheers
Drifter

[MaineDem]

6. Father AND Mother!

Dad was a supply sergeant. He said he saved Patten's tanks and therefore won the war. :D

My mother was a Navy nurse. She outranked my father and she never let him forget it! :evilgrin:

I'm very proud of both of them. Thanks veterans!

[Braden]

7. yes all three!

my parents were divorced so I added My stepfather's Dad who was a sub-mariner in the pacific. I never got too much about his role in the war.

My Maternal Grandfather Was a B-24 Pilot in the 453rd Bomb Group of the 733Bomb Squadron, Eight Air Force.

He participated in Raids on Munich, Berlin, Caen, Schweinfurt, Calais and Flew on D-Day. His unit was commanded by Col. James Stewart (the Actor) Based at Norwich AF in East Anglia. He once Told me a story that he never told his wife of 55 years, which I have posted here in the past.

My Paternal Grandfather served in the Fourth Infantry Division as an artillary Spotter. He would basically climb trees or go into higher buildings and tell the Howitzers where to correct their fire. He came ashore on Utah Beach, June 6, 1944, fought in the battle of the Bulge, and ended the war in prague guarding the rail stations until he was shipped home. Never wounded, and damn lucky at that from what I have heard.

[OneBlueSky]

8. my dad was an aerial artillery observer . . .

during the Battle of the Bulge . . . awarded the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters . . . stayed in after the war, and retired with 20 years service in 1964 . . . passed away in 1987 . . . RIP, Major . . .

[rogerashton]

9. But not abroad.

Pop was a pickle-barrel bombardier and a bombardier instructor in SAC. Every time they sent him toward combat, somebody along the way snapped him up as an instructor. It would be interesting to know how many bombs his students dropped for effect.

[ewagner]

10. Yes, My Father did

U.S. Navy, enlisted. PBY's in the Pacific.

He never talked about it but I found five separate citations for Air Medals and one citation for a Distinguished Flying Cross in a box on the floor of his closet. My brothers actually found the medals.

He stayed in the Navy and retired after 20 plus years. His life after the Navy wasn't anything to be too proud of.

At his memorial service, his shipmates had many, many great stories to tell about missions and carrier deployments and efforts to meet mission requirements by missing sleep for 40 hours straight.

My father and I rarely got along, and, in truth, I never realized how totally committed he was to the Navy until long after he retired.

He died ten years ago in October.

[Palacsinta]

12. Father-Waist gunner

on a B-17 with the 482nd bomber group of the Army Air Corps (8th division?........stationed in England.) He received 4 Bronze Stars. He said he always wanted to put a sign in the window of the plane, saying to the Germans, "Don't shoot!!! I'm a Pfannenschmidt!!" (His mother's maiden name.)

His sister, my aunt, was a Lt. in the Army Nurse Corps, as a surgical nurse, stationed in New Guinea.

[trof]

13. Father. In charge of graves registration in S. Pacific.

Stationed in Honolulu.
Fell in love with a Dutch civilian woman working for him.
Came home on furlough and divorced my mother.
Never saw him again.
Casualty of war?
:-(

[psychopomp]

14. Mine was shot

in the arm in a live-fire basic training incident. He was crawling through some mud under barbed-wire while they fired a machine gun over the grunts' heads. Apparently the gunner accidently fired on the grunts elbowing through the muck. A couple died. My gpa was on disability payments for the rest of his life and did not go overseas.

My father-in-law was in North Africa. His complexion allowed him to slip off the base and engage in "cultural exchange" with a certain local woman. He married her, though as to why she did not come back to the U.S. with him, I don't know.

Both, btw, black soldiers. Where were the black regiments in "Private Ryan" or "Patton?"

on edit: remembered the "other wife" story

[tsipple]

15. OK, This One's Interesting...

Here's what my maternal grandfather did:

1. Volunteered for World War I. As a result, they took him down to the courthouse and helped him sign his U.S. citizenship papers. Served in Panama, primarily riding horseback with a rifle to guard the then-new Panama Canal from getting blown up.

He was also "Chief Procurement Officer" for his troop ship. Since he was the only one who spoke Spanish, he'd negotiate with Puerto Rican businesswomen for the ship's entertainment services. (This part he never told my mother but happened to mention to me when I was old enough to hear.)

Lost two toes, one on each foot. He had the same problem I have: second smallest toe curls under the smallest on each foot. (It's in the genes.) That meant he couldn't march as well, so the remedy was simply to lop off the offending toe on each foot. For some reason it doesn't bother me, but I didn't go through late 1910s basic training.

2. Drafted for World War II. Yup, he was one of the few. He had a family and was in his early 40s by then, but his draft board tapped him. (He helped his 16 year old son join the Army Air Corps a little early, but that's another story.) Why? Because he could shoot. Man, could he shoot. In the 1920s he won lots of contests at all levels. (Unfortunately it was before all the good records were kept, but he did appear in a print advertisement for an ammunition company with a copy of his target.) So he went to New Jersey to teach Army recruits how to shoot. Lost a lot of hearing and caught some awful pneumonia which eventually (in a few years) had the V.A. yank one lung from his chest.

Two toes, bad ears, and one lung = 100% disabled according to the U.S. Government.

A pretty amazing grandfather.

[eileen_d]

16. No, my dad was too young

I think he feels somewhat "left out" for not being a part of it -- he was at a quite impressionable age while it was going on. He donates to the WWII Veterans Memorial regularly; for more info: http://www.wwiimemorial.com/

[Darth_Kitten]

17. My grandfather served in World War I !!!!!!!!!!!!

He was born in 1895 and served in World War I. (he fought for the Austro-Hungarian Empire)

He came to Canada was was in the reserves for World War II. :)

[Padraig18]

Like many Irish, yes.

Intense dislike for the Brits aside, they detested fascism even more, so both my granddaddies fought in WW2.

[Jokerman]

18. Father & Grandfather Both Stationed at Pearl Harbor

Dad was on the Holland and was, fortunately, out to sea during the attack. Grandfather (actually my mom's step dad) was on the Medusa, it can be seen in some of the footage used in Tora Tora Tora, with it's fire hoses pointed towards a burning ship.

Dad's best friend from basic training went down with the Arizona.

Grandfather passed away about fifteen years ago. Dad is 85 and in reasonably good health for his age.

[izzie]

19. Father no but uncles yes. One uncle killed in Battle of the bulge or

wounded and came home and died.My father was a little old and my mother died in '45 so he also had to stay and care for us all. I do not think he would have gone as he hated wars and thought it was a stuped waste of lifes and things and it should be talked out. My mother's father was in WW1 and joined to young and was put out and re-joined. English army.My mother's other brother was a marine and went through all the Islands.

[bif]

20. My Dad flew B-29s in the Pacific

He spent time on guam and flew overthe battleship when Hirohito signed the treaty ending the war. He was a crack navigator but missed the actual fighting.

[eyesroll]

21. Both grandfathers

My maternal grandfather died when I was 8, so I don't have a lot of information about his service.

My paternal grandfather served in the Navy on a ship in the Pacific. He's got the tattoo from when he crossed the equator. He's got stories he loves to tell, and stories he just can't tell, same as any service member, I suppose.

He's got a bit of hearing loss from a shell exploding nearby, but he's otherwise in excellent physical shape. (He'll be 80 in a couple of months.)

[markus]

22. Yes, but only briefly in France

He was assigned to a special unit training in West Virginia for the reconstruction of Europe. He was trained as a sign-painter, and had been in architecture school.

But at some point, they decided they needed boots more, so they issues in a Browning Automatic Rifle and sent them to Europe. He just missed the Battle of the Bulge. His company was pinned down in a beet field by artillery and machine guns. Most of them didn't come out. He was there for a day and a half, and ended up with very severe trench foot.

Otherwise, we would have been in the Bulge.

I know, by the way, that my one of my Uncles also served, altho' I don't know the details. I do know that he is gay.

[moz4prez]

36. my grandfather

served the Indian army as a law clerk during WWII . . . he was a member of the ICS (Indian Civil Service, quite a prestigious, fancypants institution and if my dad had his way he'd have been an Indian Civil Servant too — alas, circumstance can't be kind to everyone) . . . anyway, my grandfather worked under the British, and after receiving notice of the Japanese advance, he shipped his wife and children back to Kannada (a state in S. India) and promptly got swept up in the Bataan Death March. He barely slipped away with a few of his colleagues, wading on foot through jungles and various topographical abberations . . . most of his friends weren't so lucky, but he made his way to Kannada totally emaciated, and with a nasty case of cholera from which he eventually recovered. And this was late in '43/early '44.

they say I inherited his gait.

[Lindsay]

23. My dad served in Florida

due to a weak heart and flat feet. He was a warrant officer.

My grandfather spent WWII in Washington, DC, on the War Labor Board. He was apparently well-connected enough to be able to get my dad out of service, but my dad enlisted anyway.

[OKNancy]

24. My father was shot down over Germany and was a POW

My father was a radio operator in the Army Air Force.

As with so many who see combat, it was hard to get him to tell us all about his war experiences. My three sisters would sometimes climb in bed with Mom and Dad and go " what's that" as we pointed to a scar on his leg. He would tell us about how he got wounded as he jumped from the burning airplane..( it was a B-17 , I think, like the Memphis Belle).

When he jumped, he felt the impact of a bomb, but was to afraid to look down. He said, " I thought if I looked down at my body, that my guts would be hanging out." So he got a shot of morphine out of his pack, injected himself in his thigh, and floated on down. When he was captured he realized he was just hit in the knee, but the morphine was doing it's job. The townspeople that got him had him strip to his underwear, and marched him to the Germans. He said he didn't care because he was so high.

He had a lot of interesting stories about the POW camp, that I won't write down, but in general I think he lost his religion. He did tell us that he learned how to knit, and knitted caps and scarves for the prisoners. They also took great pleasure in fermenting rutebages in the latrines so the latrine would blow up.

When he was liberated he said that the Germans just left. The guys woke up one morning and all the Germans were gone. They all started walking. Dad said they connected with a Red Cross truck and they ate and ate. One sad-funny story is that one of the men ate two dozen doughnuts and he got "impacted" and he died.

He came back to Oklahoma and finished school and became a social worker, found it too depressing and worked as an airplane mechanic. Then at age 40 he went to night school and go his law degree. He did criminal law mostly and loved getting marijuana smokers off. Then he was a county attorney and a judge. He died in 1998.

[ironflange]

116. Wow. What an interesting life he had.

[demsrule4life]

25. Both served in WW11

Mothers father in Europe
Fathers father in the Pacific

[Swede]

26. My dad was in the Canadian army from 1939-1946

The day Canada declared war on Germany my dad and his brother volunteered to serve their country. Dad was twenty years old. During the war dad served with the Royal Canadian Signal Corps in England, and once in Europe it was attached to the British 21st Army Group under Field Marshall Montgomery. They slogged through France,Belgium,Holland and into Germany.
My grama told me that dad was a changed man when he got back. The fun loving,outgoing kid came home quiet and sad. He never was the same.
Dad never talked about the war,he just said it was too rough to bring those memories up. I never heard a single war story from him. Dad died in 2002 taking those terrible memories with him.

I also posted this here:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=389372

[supernova]

27. Father and his brother

Dad - caught TB in MS and was never sent overseas. Did run the Biloxi movie theatre, playing DJ by spinning records before the movie. ;-) Carried with him a life-long fascination with popular music.

One Uncle was shipped to North Africa as a fuel supply person (don't know what the term is.) Ended up chasing Patton aroun NA and on into Anzio, Italy. Picked up hookers in the beauty parlor there. :evilgrin: And made tons of $$ to send home by rolling dice. :crazy: ;-)

One cousin of my mom's was at Pearl Harbor. Just happened to be at mass that morning instead of aboard ship.

[Zolok]

28. The Supreme Leader...

The All Highest
The Son of Destiny
The Boss of Bosses
(aka "Dad")
Is a disabled veteran of WWII....shelled and shot crossing the Rhine.

[Scurrilous]

29. My father served in the US Army during WW2.

He fought in North Africa and France, was severely injured, and returned home 85% deaf. His brother served in the US Navy aboard the submarine Trigger, which was lost with all hands sometime in March 1945 (I thought I'd mention him because he never lived long enough to have any children to remember him by). My father died 5 years ago and is buried in the National Cemetary in Bushnell, Florida.

[CO Liberal]

30. My Dad Was a Photographer/Tail Gunner

He was in the Marines, and was stationed at Kwajelein in the South Pacific. He did reconnaisance photography and also documented bombing runs. That's about all I know about it, because he didn't talk about it much and he's been gone for 12 years now.

One of my uncles served in the Navy during WWII. Another served in the Navy during WWII and Korea.

My grandfather served in World War I. He used to talk vaguely about it - "Back during the big war when I was in France......"

Me? I was medically deferred (4F) during the Vietnam War.

[Darwin2002]

31. my father went to normandy about 2 weeks after the initial invasion

he drove a tank. He died when I was sixteen, but when I was little he used to tell me all his war stories, but I was too young to realize what he was talking about.
Also my brother lost an eye and part of a leg in Vietnam. and
BUSH IS A SOB

[Red State Rebel]

32. Two Great Uncles Killed in WWII - One at Guadalcanal and One at Leyte

[REP]

33. Grandfather, WWI; Uncle WW2

My Grandfather was in the Rainbow Division (infantry). He had some horrific stories, and one funny one about when he and his friend went AWOL for R&R, and when they were returning on foot through France to their unit, stopping at a farmhouse and trying to get a bucket. "Havez-vous un booket?" his friend asked to the uncomprehending farmwife. After trying this phrase a few times, the friend said, "Well, dammit, don't you even understand your own language?" My Grandfather also served in the Mexican-American War, and while he didn't have lunch with Pancho Villa (if you know that joke), he did chase him.

My Uncle was 17 when he flew with the Heaven's Devils, sister to the more famous Hell's Angels. He was a navigator. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Clusters and refused his Purple Heart, as most did in those days, as they thought being injured wasn't worth a medal. My uncle was injured when his plane went down in Wales - not far from where my family emigrated from way back when. His plane had Bugs Bunny painted on it, and they counted their missions with carrots (it was a bomber).

My father's family came to America in 1917 to avoid the older members being conscripted into the Tsar's army, and my father wasn't born until 1937. He was 4F when Korea came around.

[tekriter]

34. My dad and EIGHT uncles between WW2 and Korea...

I come from a pair of big families. Two of the uncles were career military, one of them was even in Vietnam in 1962 when all we had were "observers" - he was an instructor pilot. Both of my brothers are vets, as am I, my oldest brother was in Vietnam, the other two of us missed that one.

We got word yesterday that my cousin Jon will come home on leave from Iraq on Dec 9th, and have to return on Dec 24th. At least he gets to come home for a while. By the way, he is in Transportation, which means convoy duty, which means he is in the kind of vehicles that "improvised explosive devices" can blow up.

My dad was a cook on a troop ship in the Pacific, ferrying fresh troops across to the South Pacific, bringing wounded and dead back.

Two of my brothers-in-law are vets, one retired career Navy but we don't hold that against him.

[Samurai_Writer]

35. My father served in the Phillippines...

He was 18 in 1944. What is unusual about my dad's story, is that he enlisted with a conscientious objector status. He served until the end of the war, as an orderly in the section 8 ward of the army hospital in the Phillippines, and as an ambulance driver. He never rose above a private first class (PFC), because, my mom told me much later, that he had a problem carrying out orders he found morally objectionable. He told me that while he wanted to serve his country and help with the war, he could not bear the thought of killing another human being. You can imagine that was a VERY unpopular stance to take in WWII, when all the young men were gung-ho to get rid of the 'dirty' Japanese and Germans.

My dad never talked about his experiences during the War. I think he saw some pretty awful things, how the war affected the soldiers who fought and were brought to his hospital. After my sister was diagnosed with schitzophrenia in 1985, he because an outspoken advocate for the mentally ill.

I always admired my dad for standing up for his beliefs. Guess my activism and my quest for peace comes by naturally. He died in 1992 of a sudden heart attack, and is greatly missed to this day.

You can view his Virtual Memorial at: http://virtual-memorials.com/servlet/ViewMemorials?memid=3164&pageno=1

[cmd]

37. Dad was in the Navy in WWII

He was a gunner on a Liberty ship crossing the Atlantic one time and the Pacific many more. He doesn't talk much about his experiences, just the men he served with.

When I was growing up Dad was the only male I knew with a pierced ear. He never wore an earring after he was discharged, but I was alway fascinated by the hole in his ear.

Mom wore a ring made from a sapphire he won in a poker game in Ceylon. She always regretted that it was not a diamond. I thought that ring was the most beautiful one in the world.

In the '70's I did a lot of macrame' crafting. Dad dropped by one day and helped out with the knots and said he spent hours doing stuff like that on ship.

Have a good day, coalminer. I love you.

[mgc1961]

38. Four uncles...

served in WWII.

Charles and Don served in England, attached to the 8th Air Force.

Paul was in the Navy, but didn't see any action due to VJ day arriving before he did. No cambat, but he did have a little excitment when his ship collided with another one in their convoy. He said he wasn't sure the ship was sea worthy after that little incident. When he arrived in Asia he spent several months patroling the Yangtze River and a little time in Shanghai.

Tony, who left a Hawaiian wife and little girl, was a combat death in the Phillipines (Panay Island). Posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

Two other uncles (Alfred and Layton) and my father were too young at the time, but served during and after Korea. My father was in for 20 years, retiring just after the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam.

One grandfather has flat feet so he stayed here and built airplanes for the U.S. and British Air Forces. The other grandfather was too old to serve.

:grouphug:

[Ellen Forradalom]

39. Grandfather WWI.

Father 4F for WWII.

[kodi]

40. grandpop, 3 uncles two great uncles..all democrats by the way

grandpop medal for valor in the navy in the south pacific

one great uncle killed as an airman over germany in '44

one great uncle shot down over germany and captured, spent 2 years in pow camp

one uncle marine in south pacific, nearly a dozen beach landings, aive today, on dialysis and wants to spit in bush's face.

one uncle army stationed state-side

one uncle army fought in italy

dad a korean war vet

step dad nam vet

one uncle killed in viet man

brother currently seving in air force, was in afghanistan

all democrats, all liberals, all served their country with honor

anytime i hear about democrats and liberal being pussys i want to go postal

[youngred]

41. One was a Black Beret serving in Europe

and I have his beret actually with the gold U.S. pin.

The other served in the corps of engineers on Christmas Island in the Pacific.

I don't know any of their stories but both served with honor and distinction.

[THUNDER HANDS]

45. is a black beret like a green beret?

And how many different beret colors are there?

[youngred]

103. d'oh

Brain fart. My mind said Green but I wrote Black, sorry.

x(

[Avalux]

42. Both of my grandfathers

WWII. One served in Germany with the Army - engineer; he's still with us at 86, lives in a VA home suffering from Alzheimer's. They do treat him well there. He brought back a few mementos from the war including a swastika flag, metal helmet and a bayonet. My mom has them.

My other grandfather was a Marine, fought in the Pacific; Tarawa.
Unbelievably, he survived without even being injured but never ever talked to anyone about it, including my Dad.

[MSchreader]

43. You know the photo of Ike talking to the soldier

Taken, IIRC, just before Normandy? If you look two (or three) down from the man's left, that's my grandfather. They were both Saginaw kids and ended up in the same outfit.

My other grandfather served in the Pacific; he lost hearing in his right ear when a machine gun backfired right next to him.

Martin

[Howardx]

50. wow!

n/t

[5thGenDemocrat]

62. Right -- Wally Stroebel was the soldier Ike was chatting with

After the war, Stroebel owned and operated a china and gift shop here in Saginaw. He was one of the kindest, nicest people you'd ever want to meet. Ike asked him where he was from and Wally said "Michigan." Ike replied "Lots of good fishing in Michigan."
John
Marty -- check my post below re: Annie's dad and PM ME regarding what all happened in Chicago. Several of us up here in the old hometown are curious about it.

[Insider]

44. Grandfather was Navy in WWII

a cook, as were many black sailors in WWII

father did two years during korean conflict, playing b-ball at fort monmouth (6'5"). left college, and returned after.

[DemExpat]

46. My Dad was bombardier in the Air Force stationed in Sicily

during WWII.

During training in Texas, his squadron was at the point to be sent to the South Pacific when Dad got a spinal cyst which had to be operated on, so he had to be transferred.

Every one of his friends was killed, and Dad became a believer in pre-destination at that time.

DemEx

47. father (and grandfather)

My father was stateside because he had malaria as a kid and they couldn't ship him to the South Pacific. He did not enter army until after V-E day. He was a conscientious objector on religious reasons so was not imprisoned.
My father's father was a conscientious objector in WWI and since he was a minister also was not imprisoned.
My mother's father served in WWI and was gassed (mustard gas). He died relatively young (in his mid 50s) which my mother and grandmother believe may have been because of being gassed.

[lpbk2713]

48. My old man had five kids at the time.

Worked at a shipyard (Quincy, Mass) during WW II. Died before his time of asbestosis as a result.

[sexybomber]

49. My paternal grandfather was a medic

I think he got a Purple Heart, but I can't remember other details... I'd have to ask my dad.

[Aristus]

51. My mother's father was a bomber mechanic.

My father's father was in the Coast Guard. What they did was not glamorous or high profile, but they did their part.

[curse10]

52. Both of them... on opposite sides

:-)

[SiobhanClancy]

53. My dad was a battalion surgeon in WWII....

in Europe. He was just finished with his residency,so it was essentially his first job,starting in early 1943. Near the end of the war,he was with the liberators of the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. After the war,he volunteered in a DP camp for nearly a year. A few years later,he signed up for Korea and went back into the army. He was injured when the jeep he was riding in ran over a land mine. Although he always had a pretty good golf swing,he was never again able to hold his arm steady enough for surgery,so after Korea he went for a residency in psychiatry,which he said was inspired mostly by his work with camp survivors. He wanted to try to help people find a way to go on with their lives,after unimaginable horrors. My father was a hero to me,and I was always so proud of him. He was against the Vietnam war,and I know he would be against this one,too. He was killed by a drunk driver when I was 19,but there is a place in my heart where he will always live.

[PVnRT]

54. My grandfather did

And narrowly escaped being picked as a paratrooper at the end of boot camp - they were yanking every other person in line to become Targets-In-The-Sky. Instead, he got into the Engineer's Corp and went to mostly Guam, digging ditches and building landing strips.

He has a bunch of great old pictures, including one of an illegal still that the commanding officer never seemed to notice.

[donotpassgo]

55. No....Korea.

He was a paratrooper. Don't know much about his service, though.

[kcwayne]

56. WW1/Battle of the Bulge/POW in Russia

My wife's grandfather fought in France during WW1, and died in a car wreck in 1936.

My uncle fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and throughout Germany until the end of the war. He came back an alcoholic, and never recovered.

I have a friend whose Dad was in the German army, captured in the battle of Stalingrad. He spent 7 years in a Russian POW camp, and then came to Texas. He went to the bank in the late 50's to apply for home loan, they asked him if was in the army, and he said yes.
They didn't ask him which side he fought for, so he got a VA loan!

[Devil Dog Dem]

57. My Uncle/Godfather was a Marine at Iwo Jima. I was very close to him.

His batallion took 90% casualties (I got a copy of the Muster Rolls from the National Archives and counted the casualties myself).

I lived with him and my aunt for several years. I gave his eulogy when he died two years ago. Among other things I quoted Nimitz who said about my Uncle and his comrades at Iwo Jima, that for them "Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue." I tied that in to about how my Uncle was a most uncommon man of great virtue, compassion, generosity, faith, and -- of course -- courage.


On my office wall I have a framed orginal 1945 Detroit News front page with a colorized photo of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. His parents had saved it for him and he gave to me a few years before he died. It is priceless to me and I am looking at it and thinking of him as I write these words. He is, of course, the reason I joined the Marines.

Yesterday was the Marine Corps' birthday, so I wish him, and all my brother Marines, Happy Birthday and Semper Fi.


Devil Dog Dem

on edit: He was a registered Dem until the day he died!

[politicat]

115. Hear, Hear for the Pacific Theater!!

My grandfather was on one of the ships at Iwo Jima - He was Navy. He didn't talk about it because the experience was not one he wanted to remember, and because after victory, he re-enlisted in the Army, and went to Europe to assist with the mop up.

He served from January 1941 until March of 1949, coming home long enough to marry my WAC (Europe) grandmother, and have their three sons on furloughs.

We lost him 7 years ago today.

RIP,

Murrell "Ed" Edwards


Politicat

[LWolf]

58. Other:

No clue.

I don't know much about my paternal grandfather's history. I didn't know my dad well. I know nothing at all about my maternal grandfather...not even a real name.

[AlienGirl]

59. Pacific Theater

My grandpa was in the Pacific Theater in the Navy. His group was called the Black Cats because their designation had a 13 in it. His job was to spot incoming kamikaze planes. I don't know much more about his war years than that, unfortunately.

Tucker

[slinkerwink]

60. my grandfather was an army medical doctor

and he served in Japan for a while----I took out his old Kodachrome slides from the library, and ran them through the projector. It's amazing how young he looked back then compared to the sweet old man he is today :-) FYI, here's a picture of my grandparents.

[THUNDER HANDS]

65. your grandpa is absolutely adorable

I usually don't say that about senior citizens. But he's so....gee....cute.

lol

:)

[slinkerwink]

84. haha, thanks

Hard to believe he was 30 when he married my grandmother who was 17 at the time. They had ten children together, five boys and five girls. I love how that ratio of boys to girls is perfect....anyways, they now have 31 grandchildren. The holidays is so much fun to spend at their house....can't wait to spend christmas and new year's there!

[5thGenDemocrat]

61. Grandpa Bill (3rdGenDemocrat) served in both WW I and II

In WWI, he served with the Third Infantry Division and was mustard-gassed at Chateau-Thierry.
He and Grandma divorced in 1940 and he joined the Canadian Army (probably no big shakes after 12 years of marriage to Gram). He served with the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry until mid-1942, was repatriated to the American Army and spent the rest of the war driving a jeep for SHAEF HQ in London.
John
Since it's Veterans Day, I would refer you to www.warchronicle.com/16th_infantry/soldierstories_wwii/finke.htm (I hope I linked that right). Capt. (later Colonel) Finke was among the first couple of dozen officers on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 and also the father of one of my best friends in the world.
I am slowly compiling information about the Colonel in order to write his biography -- more for Annie than for any other reason. You can only imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this site, and awe when I read what Col. Finke actually went through that morning (he hit the beach about 0630 and was shot in the head just after noon).
Of course, the Colonel never mentions most of this -- you have to read the Wozenski interview to get the other half of the story. Listen to the interview clips, too -- Finke sounds like Sean Connery with a Virginia accent.

[Skittles]

63. my grandfather was trapped in Dunkirk

hammered by air land and sea!

[THUNDER HANDS]

66. did he fight off the enemy himself?

Any cool tales to tell?

[Skittles]

125. he never talked about it much

except to say I COULD DIVE UNDER A JEEP FASTER THAN ANYONE. Years after his death his only child (my mum) and I watched a Discovery special on Dunkirk - OMG, it was brutal. They were trapped and big boats trying to rescue them would get bombed so Churchill called for anyone with a small boat to go accross the channel to get the men. My grandfather was picked up in a tiny fishing boat.

[bikebloke]

64. Grandfather in the Great War

I saw his papers years ago, saying he was in the Ardennes. There he was gassed and shot. He survived the bullet, recovering to win local foot races. But the gas took him out young, not long after my father was born.

A great-uncle was in WWII.

[Character Assassin]

67. Maternal GF: wrote the Seabees Hymn/theme. Paternal: Quartermaster in UT

Never met the maternal one. A drunken asshole, apparantly.

[northzax]

68. maternal gf

trained in subs, ended up as ca coastie reservist since he had two children and was a teacher. Paternal gf took a medical exemption (bum knees) facilitated by some grease. His beloved younger brother volunteered, amde captain and was killed at the Bulge. GF never forgave himself.

[spinbaby]

69. You forgot to ask which army

Yes, my father served in WWII. No, he wasn't an American.

[monkeyboy]

70. My Dad lied about his age and joined the Navy at 15

He was in the invasion fleet when the bomb was dropped. He said the entire fleet turning around in the middle of the Pacific was the second most amazing site he ever saw, second only to the dropping of the test bomb on Bikini atol. You've seen pictures of the men that were standing on the decks of the ships wearing sunglasses? My old man was one of them. Makes me wonder about all the weird things I've got: type I diabetes with no family history, strange vision problems, wierd pallette anomolies, etc.

[Maine-i-acs]

71. Grandfather died Christmas '43.

Strafed by a Japanese fighter-bomber that had just bombed their fuel installation in the Philippines.

Lt. Proctor was an officer who ran outside to shut off the fuel pumps when the planes came in, so the enlisted men could eat their Christmas turkey.

My mother was 5 months old at the time, and grew up without a father.

[FlaGranny]

72. Father in WW I served in France.

Brother-in-law in WW II, Pacific theater. Brother - Navy but not wartime. Husband - Vietnam (but luckily served his time in Germany as a medic). Grandfather - Civil War (Union Army).

[TacticalPeek]

73. Father in Battle of the Bulge.

Army staff Sgt in a rifle company. December '41, for the duration.

The night before the Germans counter-attacked, he led a patrol out where they heard the noises of preparation: clanking mortar plates, tanks warming up, etc., something big cooking. Reported it back, supposedly the info went up the chain.

Grand chaos ensued. Units scattered to hell. He carried the carbine which could take a grenade launcher. At one point, he and some others were pinned down by fire they thought was coming from a very near-by farmhouse. He worked himself into position to launch grenades, but he would have had to bounce it into a low window, and was afraid if he missed it would bounce back onto him and his men, so he held off, just barely. The next day scattered remnants of our guys were sort of wandering back together, and telling each other what they'd been doing. He heard one group tell how they'd survived some bad crossfire by holeing up in the basement of the farmhouse. He decided not to tell them how close he'd come to ruining their afternoon.

They continued falling back, but doing better at it. At one point they were in a forest taking artillery fire. They needed to call in counter-battery fire, but the radio operator was dead, so my father grabbed the radio but could not find the code book. The Lt on the radio ordered him to give his position in the clear. After some heated discussion of the Lt's wisdom, he gave the coordinates. Less than a minute later, a German 88 shell explodes in the treetops above them. He only got a little shrapnel in the hand and a bunch of pine splinters, luckier than some others. He also got bad trenchfoot from the conditions, and was sent back to hospital for a while.

Also, an uncle with Navy Seabees on D-Day (tough duty), and two uncles in the Pacific (Marines).

We owe that generation beaucoup.

:toast:

[scarlet_owl]

74. My great uncle died in the Battle of the Bulge.

Not sure on any of the details, though. Maybe I should ask my dad sometime.

[SOteric]

75. Sure, both grandfathers. But dude, we're Italian.

[JeniB]

78. We're Italian too.

My father is constantly telling people about the Italians being the biggest group of immigrants fighting in WW II. My father and his brother changed their name to english as they entered the army at the request of the higher-ups so that it could be pronounced. I always regretted that they did that. They had another brother who was too young and snuck in to the army. Unfortuantely he died in France. He was the only one to keep the family name and he died with it.

[SOteric]

93. My grandfathers fought for *Italy* in the war.

My parents didn't immigrate until the early 60's.

[jenm]

76. my father

taught pilots to fly, stationed in Hawaii but after the Pearl Harbor attack. My uncle was killed on August 14 in Europe, also flying I believe. It was the same day that my brother was born, so my father lost a brother and gained a son on the same day.

[alwynsw]

77. Ut oh

Pop was a B-17 pilot in Europe WWII, Pop-In-Law, Step-Pop were on PT boats in the South Pacific WWII, 3 great uncles were doughboys in WWI, Grandpop was a chaplin in the Spanish American war, Great grandpop infantry, Hilliard's Legion - later 59th Alabama Civil War (can't win 'em all) and was with Lee when he surrendered at Appomattox, Gggreat uncle was a Confederate general, who shall remain nameless because of his relatively poor performance at Gettysburg (which worked out for the best in the long run) (What can I say? I have no relatives born north of the Mason-Dixon Line.), Ggreat grandpop did the Mexican War, Gggreat Grandpop did 1812. Finally, his Pop, my Ggggreat grandpop was in the Revolution, mustered from Virginia.

Before all that, the family generally pissed off the Brits in Ireland.

I know. You only asked about WWII. Sorry.

[MSchreader]

79. Aw, c'mon!

"poor performance at Gettysburg"?! That could be a few different CSA generals:

Stuart -- not staying in contact with Lee, letting the latter be engaged in an area in which he wasn't familiar and against a force of unknown size.

Heth -- not waiting to engage Buford's dismounted cavalry on the first day, and forcing Lee into a fight.

Ewell -- failing to take Culp's Hill on the first day, allowing the AoP to entrench and use it as its right flank.

Longstreet -- taking most of the day to get Hood's and McClaw's divisions in line for the assault on the Devil's Den and the Round Tops, allowing the Round Tops to be held.

Lee -- ordering Longstreet to send Pickett's division, and ordering A.P. Hill to send Pettigrew's and Trimble's divisions, across the open field to engage the AoP on Cemetary Ridge.

Longstreet (again!) -- procrastinating on getting his troops into line of battle for Pickett's Charge.

Garnett -- riding his horse forward toward Cemetary Ridge.

Kemper -- same.

Ewell (again!) -- failing to commit the troops necessary to take Culp's Hill, and thus keep the AoP from being able to reinforce Cemetary Ridge.

Stuart (again!) -- getting tangled in a cavalry battle far away from infantry support.

Lee (again!) -- ordering the assaults on Devil's Den, the Round Tops and Cemetary Ridge.

... but I'm guessing you mean Pickett. I think he did the best he could under the conditions. I don't blame him for the disaster at Gettysburg.

Martin

[alwynsw]

82. Actually, you missed

Ashby. Sat his butt at Aldie and never got into the fight.

On edit: Actually, he was killed in 1862, I checked the family genealogy. His unit sat in Aldie. Mea Culpa.

[LTR]

80. My grandfather fought in the Battle Of the Bulge

Never saw Normandy. Said if he was fighting in D-Day, he wouldn't be around afterward, and neither would I.

He refused to see "Saving Private Ryan" to the day of his death, saying, "I lived that movie, and wouldn't want to again".

Also had a funny story about Patton calling him a "son of a bitch".

My grandmother's brother was killed when his plane was shot down over North Africa in 1942.

[pmbryant]

81. Grandfather was in WWII

I never knew him, as he died in 1970 from leukemia when I was less tha 2 years old, but from what I've been told, he was an engineer in the Army (a career officer) and arrived at the Normandy beach the day after D-Day and was involved in the fighting in France in 1944-45. He was in his mid 30s at the time.

After the war, he was stationed in Japan for 3 or 4 years and my father, who was born in 1943, spent some of his formative years in Japan.

--Peter

[NoPasaran]

83. My father

My father joined the Army during WW 2. He spent a year in Iceland and then over to Europe for the Liberation. He has a Purple Heart for being wounded near Metz. After the war he went into business with some of his army buddies; that failed so he ended up going back into the service and retired in 1971.

His brother was on a supply ship in the Pacific.

On my mother's side, both of my uncles served although I'm hazy on the details. One cousin was killed on D-Day.

I am grateful for everything they did and hope it never has to be repeated.

[Gephard]

85. Gr-Gr Uncle-CIVIL WAR

Grandfather WW I

Father and 2 Uncles WW II

[LynneSin]

86. My Grandfather served on a PT Boat in the South Pacific

and NO, it wasn't that PTBoat. He would growl when anyone ask him if he was on the same boat as JFK.

He was there when the Japanese surrendered. While my grandfather was still alive I would only buy American cars so I wouldn't have to deal with his gruff. However, now that he is gone I drive a Toyota.

When cleaning out the attic we found a box full of letters he sent to my grandmother. He sent one about everyday. It's an amazing history to read these letters

[absyntheNsugar]

87. My Grandfather was a Chaplain in the Army

Can't tell you any good war stories since they didn't carry guns :(

[bushisanidiot]

88. He Was A Pilot. Crashed & Died When My mom was 10 or 11

wish i could have met him. he sounds like he was a great guy.

[Ramsey]

89. Grandfathers

Both of them actually, served in WWII. My dad served in the Korean War. My brother was in the Navy, but in the years between the two Bush Wars for Oil, so he never had to fight anywhere.

[Bridget Burke]

90. My father was shot down over France in 1943

He was a navigator with the 8th Air Force. The Resistance smuggled him over the Pyranees to the British Embassy in Madrid. From there, back to Britain through Gibraltar, then home. Trained cadets in Texas, then flew missions in B-29's, bringing bodies back from the Pacific Theater. He was called back to active duty as the Cold War heated up, joined SAC & died in a plane crash 50 years ago.

Two uncles also served in the Mighty 8th & made their careers in the Air Force.

[UrbScotty]

91. Both of my grandfathers

My dad's dad was in the Philippines, but I don't know where my mom's dad went. My dad's mom was an Army nurse.

[DemExpat]

92. What an interesting and sobering thread!

So many families with wartime experiences!

DemEx

[qwertyMike]

94. I voted NO

cos my Grandfather was to OLD for WWI
He was born in 1866

But he spent 8 years in the Endineers in Africa, Khartoum, S. Africa Boer War

My Dad wasn't called up in WWII cos he worked in the Belfast shipyards building 'strategic' ships.
He had the Hell bombed out of him there as you can imagine. Along with Glasgow, Liverpool, London and other industrial cities.

[Chovexani]

95. I come from a military family

My paternal grandfather I don't know much about, since he died not too long after I was born, but my maternal grandfather was in the Navy and served in the Pacific. He lost both his legs.

Dad was a medic in the Korean war and Mom served as a peacetime Army nurse. My late uncle was also in the Air Force during peacetime.

And I just found out yesterday I have two cousins who are about to be shipped out to Iraq. :(

[jumptheshadow]

96. WWI and WWII

Both grandfathers served in WWI. My Dad's family was Navy; Mom's family was Army, then Army Air Force, then Air Force.

During WWII, one uncle was killed on a combat mission just a couple of months after his wife, my aunt, died in childbirth.

Another uncle served as one of Ike's pilots, was shot down in the Pacific, stayed in, and retired as a Colonel.

A third uncle left home as a gentle, carefree boy. He was a bombardier in Europe and reportedly was one of the untapped backups for the Japanese A-Bomb runs. Thank God he wasn't called upon to do that.

When he came home he slept with his gun under the pillow and Mom's family was afraid for months to walk near his room while he was sleeping.

A few years ago he was awarded a medal by Poland for dropping supplies to the Warsaw ghetto.

[proud patriot]

97. My Grandfather was a Captain in the Navy

He caught the tail end of WWII and fought the entirety
of the Korean war . There is a photo album at his house
full of pictures of Nagasaki after the bomb . Ones you've
never seen of the entire harbor filled with giant war ships
and the destruction of the city .

In the Korean war his best story is when an enemy plane
appeared on the horizon . My grandfather directed the gunners
coordinates (sp?)and blew the plane out of the sky .

[JohnKleeb]

98. No but he was in Korea

I just talked to him now actually, hes a lifelong democrat, and as mad at Bush as all of us are. He just told me that he thinks Harry S Truman was probably the last people's president and his candiate of choice is Gephardt. I had other relatives in WWII though.

[populistmom]

99. One grandpa and my grandma

My mom's parents were born in 1928, so they were both just a little too young. But on my dad's side, my grandfather was in the Pacific and dealt with the aftereffects of malaria for years. He just passed away last year. My grandma was a WAC (Women's Army Corps) and actually was engaged to soemone else who died in the war. They met on a train coming home, married shorty after, my dad came within a year. Married for 57 years.

[Yaoi_Huntress_Earth]

100. Yes and No

The one on my father's side didn't serve because he was a farmer, but my mom's father did.
Love,
Yaoi Huntress Earth

[Lars39]

101. Dad joined when he was 17,

trained as MP, and made it to Japan as the ship that brought McArthur was leaving the harbor. He really only started speaking of his experiences the last few years. Saw absolutely horrible things. :( There's still a lot that he won't speak of.

My maternal grandfather served in WWI. I remember playing with his helmet when I was about 5 or 6.

[Wickerman]

102. Step Grandfather

Was a young German immigrant, had left Germany in the late 30's and made his way to America. Lived with family in the East, then came to the Midwest and took up landscaping. When the war came he enlisted. His english was horrible but his German was great so he worked intelligence. In his personal effects my uncle showed me papers of dead German soldiers that he kept - all from his home town. I understand he tried to get in touch with those famly members but got no response. Kind of a Civil War for him, I imagine, brother against brother. He loved Germany but not what it became. He was a Democrat.

[corarose]

104. My Dad is OLD he served in WW2 in the Air force

He was a cook and I wouldn't eat his food for all of the money in the world. I don't know how he got a sanitation license either.

He is a DEMOCRAT and they are full of shit about all of them being Republicans.

[proud patriot]

105. My Husbands GrandFather was a para Trooper in WWII

he was a bad ass dude .

[Zero Division]

106. One in the Pacific, the other almost served in Europe

My maternal grandfather was a machine gunner in the Pacific. My uncle still has the katana my grandfather got when he shot a Japanese sergeant who was trying to kill him in a drunken stupor. The drunk sergeant managed to chop my grandfather's belt in half, so it was a pretty close call. Unfortunately I can't remember what island he was on at the time.

My paternal grandfather was on a ship to Europe when the war ended.

[bleedingheart]

107. My Dad served with the Wolfhounds in World War II

Received two bronze stars for service in Luzon and Guadalcanal.


His unit had the record for the longest period of time in continuous combat..over 5 MONTHS! Imagine five months of constant combat...and he made it out without a scratch. However...he did get really bad malaria which caused him health problems later.

He told my mom that he had eaten raw fish and some sort of yams they dug out of the ground to survive because their supply lines got cut off. When he finally did get to eat real food he got sick to his stomach.

He also recalled a time when he almost shot a fellow soldier because the fellow was going insane and his erratic behavior was endangering everyone else in their foxhole. Supposedly my dad pointed his rifle at him and told him that if he carried on anymore that he would shoot him rather than have him expose them to Japanese with his carrying on...

He died 24 years ago when I was 10 but I still miss him very much.

My one grandfather served in the Czar's Army and my other grandpa served in the Austro-Hungarian Army but never saw any active duty.

[Piperay]

108. Father in WW2, stationed in South Pacific

fought in New Guina and the Philipines, later was with the occupation forces under Gen MacArthur in Japan. My father hated being in the military, remembers it with anything but fond memories and refuses to talk much about it. Once when I was a kid I asked if he killed anyone when he was in the Army (which was stupid thing to ask but I was just a kid and didn't know better) and my mother got real upset and said to never ask him something like that again.

[thebeaglehaslanded]

109. My father fought in World War I.

Left University of California at Berkeley as a teenager and signed up with several buddies. They ended up in the ambulance corps stationed in Paris. Pretty good assignment, except when it came to cleaning up the battlefields. He didn't talk much about the experience on the field, but he sure loved Paris.

He's been gone now for over 30 years, but I still have his diaries from those war years.

[VOX]

110. My Dad was in the Army Air Corps in WWII -- served as a test pilot...

In the Technical and Training Command on the West Coast. He didn't get shot at, but more than a few of these brave souls "bought the farm."

Later, he was assigned as a AAF Captain to test off the line at Douglas Aircraft, That's where he met my mom -- she was in charge of finding housing for the servicemen.

[Philostopher]

111. Pop was a linotype operator at Pensacola, in the Navy.

He was technically considered a WWII vet, though he didn't enlist until less than a year before the armistice was signed, and most of the big fighting was over. He was born in '28, and fought like hell with my granddad between age 16 and his high school graduation to let him enlist; finally, after he graduated, there wasn't much they could do to keep him there. He was the big wage-earner in the family, back then. He wanted to do something other than blue-collar work -- he was pretty deft with his hands, he figured he could do better with military training.

Even if he he'd enlisted earlier, though, or been old enough to be drafted, I'd imagine there's a good chance they'd have kept him in Pensacola -- it was a major communications installation, and Dad could type like a MFer, I think I remember him saying he went around 100 wpm on a lino (I inherited it from him -- I can type over 80 wpm on a computer; he never could type quite as fast on a standard keyboard, either). They needed people stateside to do that, too, so I imagine he'd have been at Pensacola either way.

I remember a few stories -- his favorites had to do with his basic training at Great Lakes (which even they called 'Great Mistakes,' and Navy guys still do). He said he went through basic training in the dead of winter, and that they woke him up at five a.m., broke the ice off the surface and then threw him (and all the other recruits, of course) off a three-meter diving board, stark naked, into the swimming pool. He also said once he got to Pensacola, the CO told them that everybody had to make coffee. Dad didn't drink coffee, and he told the CO that. Didn't even know how to make coffee. 'Everybody has to make coffee,' he was told. So Dad followed his orders and made the coffee -- badly. He was relieved of coffee duty, after that.

I also have an uncle who served in the Marines in the Pacific during World War II. He was assigned to an aircraft carrier, though I don't recall ever hearing which one. I don't think they saw a lot of really nasty action, though -- he never told any stories about it, if they did, and didn't have any action-based disabilities that I recall. Interestingly enough, though, Huntz Hall, of the Dead End Kids/Bowery Boys, was assigned to his carrier.

(edit - typo)

[Lady President]

112. Grandfather in Japan

My grandfather was in counter-intelligence in Japan, so he didn't have too many stories he was allowed to tell.

I think my grandmother deserves a nod too because even though she didn't serve in the military, she worked in a steel mill during the war~ a real Rosie the Rivoter.

[bloom]

113. My Grandfather was in WWI

He went over before the USA got in it and drove ambulances for the French.

[ironflange]

114. My dad was in the RCAF

He was a mechanic in a training squadron in Ontario for the duration. Pretty safe gig, keep 'em flying all week then raise hell in town on the weekends. He spent the whole time wishing he could go to a front-line squadron, but it never happened. Probably all that carousing. He had a great time, and loved to tell stories. One time, he said, he laughed so hard they had to take him to the hospital, but couldn't remember what the hell was so funny.

My uncle (Dad's brother) was a navigator on Lancasters. He made it through, but never wanted to talk about it.

A friend's dad was one of the few Americans to be in on the Dieppe raid, spent the rest of the war as a POW.

Edit:

Mrs. Ironflange just reminded me that her one grandfather was in the trenches in WWI, made it back. Her other GF (and his brother) were flyboys in the same war, both survived. Would have liked to hear their stories, but I never knew them.

[politicat]

117. THWWWTH!! Sexist.... My GRANDMOTHER served, too. *grin*

:P European WAC command.

She actually had a higher rank than my Grandfather, since she had some college at the time and he only had his training through the union as a journeyman electrician.

She served 1942 to 1945, and still alive, kicking and a Democrat. (Unlike her son my father who is a Freeper. I take after her.)

Politicat.

[Redneck Socialist]

118. Dad was a Coastie in WWII

He sailed the Caribbean and the Atlantic coast hunting German U Boats. I know sailing the Caribbean sounds pretty cushy but there were a lot of German subs operating all up and down the Eastern seaboard. He signed up right after Pearl Harbor.

[ScreamingMeemie]

119. My Grandfather had polio as a child so no go there. My father was

all set to go to Vietnam-1A, going away party and the whole bit. Then they found out my mother was with child and booted him. So I guess that would make him a draft dodger...if he were running for president that is. ;)

[fearsidhe]

120. We are a bellicose bunch,,,,,,

Our family has been in every major conflict since the American revolution.

Recently, Granddad =Captain= in the Army Artillery in WWI in France
Dad was a Captain in the 3rd Army in WWII in North Africa and Europe.
My brother and I were in Vietnam... he in the Air Force =Combat Control Team= and I was in the Navy flying A1Hs.

Neither Granddad or dad would talk about their war experiences, but I found a lot of stuff after he died.

The real family stories are the ones from the Civil War. We had family on both sides and numerous letters from the front. We took Grandma to Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga to see where her Grandfather's Confederate artillery battery was marked with his name on the roster. She lived to be over 100 and was a neat old southern lady.

fearsidhe

[HEyHEY]

121. Yes

My Grandpa did....but he didn't serve overseas. THe army tried not to send men with families over. So, he guarded english bay in Vancouver. He said he didn't even have bullets.

But his dad was killed at Vimy ridge. And my Uncle Herb stormed Normandy.

[Mr. McD]

122. No, my father served in WW 1

Army Engineers. I don't have any stories he died 50 years ago.

[RetroLounge]

123. Not really, but sort of, and uncles too

My Dad was too young. He was 10 when WWII started. His older brother was in Korea.

My Grandfather was too old. But he was asked by the Government to leave Chicago and go to NY City to help run a German Ink factory that was taken in the war reparations act. He lived with his aunt in Jersey City and worked in NY for a year during the war while my Grandmother was in Chicago.

His twin younger brothers were both in the war. One was in Naval Intelligence, but I don't know anymore than that. The other was in Peking in the Marine Band when the war broke, and was assigned to the Phillipines at age 17. He was captured once, on Corregidor, then escaped, then captured again on Bataan (or vice versa). He survived the Death March, 42 months in a POW camp, where he was severly beaten and tortured, and then as a slave laborer in Japan. He was near Hiroshima and was severly burned from the atomic bomb. He came home a broken man, drank too much, left his family and disappeared from our family for years. He eventually got sober, remarried, and lived a good life. He died of cancer in 1991, which he attributed to his time as a POW. He had the first POW license plate in Missouri (POW 1) and is buried in Ft. Scott military cemetary in Ks.

I wish I had gotten to meet him, but I found all this out from his widow while doing genealogy.

[CanuckAmok]

124. Granddads...

Was British Intelligence, and was smuggled into Denmark via ship to help organize the resistance. He wrote a long-out of print book about the Nazi occupation of Denmark. I have a tattered copy, and it's a great read. It's more about the people he met than about his exploits.

Paternal Grandfather was career Royal Flying Corps in WW1, later RAF. He was crew on Wellington and Mosquito bombers in WW2.

Mrs. Amok's dad was RAF Ground Crew. He never met my Grandfather.

My maternal great-uncle was an RAF fighter pilot, and retired to Italy after WW2, where he lived on his wife's family's villa until his death in 1985. He sired 9 children with his wife, who was 20 years his junior!