Pure curiosity here. Both of my Grandfathers fought in WWII. One was a gunner on a battleship in the South Pacific (1942-1945). The other was a Naval Second Lieutenant who saw time in the Phillipines later during the war (1944-1945). All of my Great Uncle's (5) from both sides of my family were involved in the War in some form (Navy and Air Force).
Tell your Gramps and Uncles thank you from me. No Relatives that I know who fought in WWII. My Grandpa (mom's dad) was in the Air Force in the Early 50's. Also my Dad's brother(uncle) was an Army Reservist.
My father's father was in the war. He was a radar technician. Most of his time was spent in Florida, performing communication functions. But, he did go to Italy at some point. I don't know if my mom's father served or not. She never knew him, and obviously, I never knew him.
Neither of my grandfathers were in the army, however, my Great Uncle (I just found out) was at Pearl Harbor. He was in the Coast Guard and they were there on training during the attack. He and his group actually provided resuce. He and a group of vet's go to Pearl Harbor every year on the anniversary date and have been doing that for something going on 50 years.
behad............. nah i've gotta see it built before i believe it is gonna happen......... jk yeah probably so.. just haven't gotten around to doing it.. i'll think of a new one
Grandfather was in WWI, but too late to see action. Dad was in WWII. Saw lots of action, unfortunately. He took some tests and qualified for engineer training. Survived training for over a year (many flunked-out). Then they needed manpower around the Battle of the Bulge, so they took all of our best engineers and stuck them on the frontline. Many were killed.
My grandmother helped run an Internment Camp during World War II. My grandfather tried to volunteer, but the Army wouldn't take him (he was in his 40s, had a bad heart and some other health problems). He worked in a factory instead. It was just a quirk of timing for him, he was too young for World War I and too old by World War II. My father served in the Air Force during Vietnam, but he was never in country (He was a physician and stayed at Lackland in San Antonio). I don't know about my maternal grandfather. My mother was raised by her aunts, so I don't really know anything about her real parents.
My Maternal Grandfather fought in WW2 , He was in the Battle of the Bulge , He was flown home on emergency because his dad was dying . After the War he sold farm equipment and became a millionaire .
Apparently my father was too young to be in WWII, but flew planes in the Navy from the USS Forestall in the early 60's. This is particularly ironic, because the man is incredibly, overwhelmingly afraid of heights, as in like he starts sweating and grabs onto the rail real tight when he looks out one of those 'scenic rest stops' you find in places like Colorado. He's never been real specific in telling me the details of it, other than he joined, among other reasons, to conquor his fear of heights and it didn't work. At that point I generaly imagine that he probably would like to forget about the rest of the details and I shouldn't probe any further.
Both of my Grandfather's fought in WWII. One was a bazooka soldier who got a purple heart for shrapnal in his leg. The other served in the Pacific and got a Silver Star for valor. As a side not, my Grandmother worked on the Mustang assebly line making the wings. She was a riveter.
My Grandfather, on my Mom's side, fought in France during World War One. He was an artillery gunner. My Dad, however, had the best deal of all. He was in the army from 1946-1947, and he was stationed as part of the occupying force in Osaka Japan. On top of that, he worked in the PX (military store) at the base where he was stationed. All he did for a year, he told me, was cut deals with enlisted men using items from the PX, drink ungodly amounts of sake and beer, and chase Japanese women. Now that's the kind of "tour of duty" I would enjoy!!!
Want to hear something wierd? My grandparents on my Mom's side both met while working on the Atomic Bomb. They didn't know what they were working on at at the time, though. My grandpa on my Dad's side was a glider pilot during WWII. His missions were basically to fly in under radar using primative glider-type airplanes and help support the ground troops. It's incredibly dangerous, basically a suicide mission because they can't take many supplies that would weigh down the glider. My grandpa was scheduled to fly a mission somewhere into Japan, but instead, we dropped the Atomic bombs and won the war. My grandparents on my mom's side probably helped to save the life of my grandpa on my dad's side. Isn't that wierd? AND if it weren't for the dropping of those horribly destructive bombs, and the deaths of those tens of thousands of innocent people, I might not ever have been born because my grandpa would have died. AND if it weren't for the creation of those bombs, my grandparents might never have met and got married, and I might not ever have been born. I don't know what to think about that.
Cool thread. I don't know about my dad's side. I think I'll call him and ask. My maternal great-grandfather fought in WWI for the French army. He was killed in the Miracle on the Marne (where Germany's initial thrust was finally stopped to start 4 years of trench warfare). My maternal grandfather fought in WWII. It was brief of course, because the French surrendered before he could get out of bed. He was put in a Nazi internment camp. He escaped and returned to the farm, but his neighbor turned him in and he went back to the internment camp. He escaped again but was caught again somehow. A third time, he escaped (October 3rd) and this time stayed free. I don't know what happened with the neighbor who turned him in. I'm supposed to drink a toast to him (my grandfather, not the neighbor) every October 3rd, but I always forget.
This is a truly great thread. Both my grandfathers were in the war. My Dad's Dad had his ship shot out from under him in the Pacific and swam to safety. I think they were in the harbor or something like that. I interviewed him about it for a History project in high school, so I should remember more about it than I do. My Mom's Dad drove a flame-thrower tank on the Pacific front. He never talked about the war at all. I think probably because he saw some pretty horrific sights, considering what he drove. About the only time he talked about it was when my parents came back from a vacation in Hawaii. They were talking about their trip and he kept saying he had been to all the places that my parents visited. It kinda upset my Mom because if she had known ahead of time it would have had more signifcance to her. But what's cool is my Grandmother is taking my Mom to Hawaii this summer. My Grandfather died a few years back and my Grandmother still hasn't been over there. In fact my Grandmother's first husband (father of one of my uncles) died in the war. Also, my other uncle has a Japanese rifle that my Grandfather brought back with him.
