who all here has friends who served in ww2

[IDFireLass]

FIL was in WWII. Friend of the family was on Pearl when it was bombed. My dad was in for 30 days then the let him go. Doctor said he wouldn't live to see 25. It bothered him until they day he passed. I bet he out lived the doctor. I told him not to feel bad. He may have missed raising the family and never having all that he had. Dad lived to 86. I'm glad they let him go he may have never lived long being in the war.

 

[steveshuntn1]

My grandpa was in the Navy as a diesel mechanic. That’s all we were ever told. I asked Mom when I was in Jr. High if I could do a report on his time in the Navy and if he would tell me about it. She said absolutely not! Don’t ever ask him about it. He had only told his family he was a mechanic and that was it! He loved to fish..hunted a little, and was a hard man to deal with. Mom told me once that grandma had said the man that left for the war never came back. As far as I know he never spoke of it and after he died in 2002 at the age of 81 I thought about looking into it and trying to find out all I could about his service during the war.
I never have though. I feel like it would be disrespectful to the man.

 

[JustinsDad]

My Dad quit college and joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor. He was a radio operator on the USS Rosemond in the South Pacific, then on a carrier around the Alusion Islands. He was a great hunter, dedicated father to me and respected by everyone in our town. He was a true badash nobody wanted to mess with. I wish my son had been able to meet him.

 

[timberman56]

Dad's brother was KIA in Licata in Sicily. Before he left home, he asked Dad to take care of his dog and his Remington Model 6 .22. I still get the .22 out of the safe and let my grandkids shoot it. sure wish I had known Uncle E.J.

 

[thusby]

I’d encourage anyone to head down to their local American Legion. I’ve had the chance to meet many vets, including quite a few that served in WW2. They’ve got some great stories.

 

[hank4elk]

I spent a week in DC once and found out tons on my folks I never knew. Even had info on my grandpas and before.
It was a tough trip that included a visit to the Wall.

 

[Jamen]

My great uncle was in the war. I wish i had the privilege to meet him. My father said he never talked about his time over there much. He was on the beach of Normandy on D day and in the battle of the bulge. He was a recipient of the bronze star. The story of how he got that is about the only one i know. He volunteered for any job or task. One night he volunteered to direct the American troops which way to go. The last truck in the convoy was supposed to tell him they were the last truck, and he was to hop in. They failed to tell him they were the last truck. Time went on and soon the Germany army was coming down the road. He laid in the dark ditch until they had passed and ran through the dark of night and caught back up with his troops and informed them.

Not to stray off topic or try to get political but i wish our country had an ounce of unity that it had back then.

 

[Dust Rider]

Grandfather enlisted in the USN in WW2.
Wife’s Grandfather was in the Army in Europe WW2

 

[BackofBeyond]

Grandpa Roy left home in Minnesota when he was 12. Bounced around a bit, then landed in the CCCCs until Pearl Harbor. He went back to Minnesota and got his dad to lie about his age and he joined the Navy at the age of 16. His first gig was operating a landing craft, matter of fact @Dakotakid there's a chance my grandpa gave your uncle a ride at Tarawa. He stayed in the Navy for 4 years, returned home and hardly ever talked about his time in the Navy.
I graduated high school a year before he died, he and granny made the trip to ID for my graduation, and one day Grandpa and I spent the afternoon up at a mountain lake close to my folk's place - just he and I and a 12 pack of Heidelberg. Grandpa got some beers into him and I started asking questions about his time in the Navy. The stories started out as "I was just a 16 year old kid playing with big toys" then ranged into him telling me about Tarawa, and what happened after he got to the beach, and Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The thing that he really slowed down and told me every little detail about was being in Hiroshima and the destruction after the war.

He was a hell of a man and I miss him everyday, even though he's been gone 23 years. I have his .30-30, his Navy Dress Blues, and have been told by many that I have his sense of humor and his temper both.

 

[gouch]

My dad served in the Pacific and his brother served in Europe. My mom's two brothers served but I never got to know them. When I was stationed in Germany, I became friends with a guy who served on the other side during the war. As well as a woman who, as a teenager worked as a cook at an air base. She still cried when talking about how everyday fewer and fewer of her friends returned from their missions. Growing up as Boomers, pretty much every adult we knew was involved in WWII in one way or another.

 

[mrcowboy]

Grandfather was Navy. Two uncles were army (truck driver in Europe and aerial photographer in the south Pacific). One uncle was USMC in south Pacific. Other uncles had passed before I was born and never knew them. Only photos at grandfathers house.

 

[CorkyM]

My dad was a Captain in the 29th Infantry Division and I still have his coat. Before that he was a Sargent in the tank destroyers. I have a few of his patches also. He served from 1941 until 1945. He never talked about it much.

 

[sneakypete]

Good friend who passed a few years ago. Wally was a bombidere on a B24. Made 10 missions over Germany and was shot down in consecutive missions within 5 miles of each other. The planes name did it “ Klunker”
The Great Generation!

 

[TOGIE]

My great uncle was a flying ace, P-38 Pilot, 474th fighter group.

That side of my family is where all my wyoming roots come from.

SWAT



boy it was fun growing up listening to his stories.

 

[nastynate]

Grandpa and one of his brothers served in pacific theatre- grandpa a navigator, great uncle was a pilot. They are pictured below with a pheasant.
The other grandpa fled Germany in the later 1930s to avoid persecution, and later did a stint in the army after the war.

 

[nastynate]

If you ever get sick of BigFin's podcast, check out Warriors in their own words. Each episode is an interview with a different veteran talking about their experiences. Many were recorded a while back, so there are WW1 up through present day vets. Fascinating.

 

[CorkyM]

Grandpa and one of his brothers served in pacific theatre- grandpa a navigator, great uncle was a pilot. They are pictured below with a pheasant.
The other grandpa fled Germany in the later 1930s to avoid persecution, and later did a stint in the army after the war.

View attachment 254333

Wonderful old photo

 

[CorkyM]

My great uncle was a flying ace, P-38 Pilot, 474th fighter group.

That side of my family is where all my wyoming roots come from.

SWAT

View attachment 254329

boy it was fun growing up listening to his stories.

Great photo!

 

[Beignet]

My paternal grandfather enlisted in the Navy at 17 from the post office/feed store in his little Ohio crossroads “town” of 15 or so people. He saw a lot of action in the Pacific theater on a destroyer.

The only stories I heard from him were about the friends he made and the ports he visited. None of the bad stuff, really. The best one was that someone snuck a little barky breed of dog back onto the ship from one of their port stops. Throwing it over would’ve been bad for morale so it got to stay on. Apparently the thing could hear incoming planes and would go nuts before an attack.

Ship was ultimately sunk by a kamikaze pilot (not sure where the dog was). As a kid I got to attend a ceremony to commemorate the sinking of the destroyer on an aircraft carrier sailing around San Diego Bay. Was pretty special in retrospect though I didn’t realize the magnitude at the time.

Gramps died suddenly on Christmas morning in 1994, and I wish he were still around to expand on some of those stories. He’d be happy to know that the fishing he tried to get me excited about at young age eventually took in a way that nearly equaled his own love for the pastime.

 

[brymoore]

Grandfather was a Staff Sergeant. He bombed Germany 35 times. He saw some heavy combat as a tail gunner. His Bomber Group led the largest WWII raid on Germany. Christmas Eve 1944. A General came to ride in the lead B-17. Fighter escort was late, German fighters jumped them and 13 bombers in his group were shot down. He watched the general ride his bomber into the ground and a MOH. Christmas dinner was missing 130 men.

His initial bomber was shot up on the 15th mission. It was totaled. They used other crew’s bombers on their days off. 65% of the bombers he flew in were shot down during the war.

Army wanted him to go fly in B29s over Japan. He declined.

After his tour he went to the 8th Air Force training facility in Florida. He became the PT instructor for the base because he wouldn’t take his parachute off during training. Combat experience plus he watched 3 trainees get sucked out one day. He’d lead PT in the morning, drive the jeep he stole to the officer club and drink the afternoon. The officers let him hang due to his combat experience.

Army offered to make him a pilot after the war. He laughed and said No thanks.

I have a wide array of G uncles who served in the Army and Marines. One was killed on Iwo.