My Grandfather's younger brother, Bernard, enlisted at an early age. He and my Grandfather were the only family members to come to the US from Poland. He also was at Schofield on December 7. He was returned to the US and, as a senior NCO, was involved in the training buildup. He was involved in the invasion of Italy and was killed in house to house fighting there. He was never returned to the US and is interned in a military cemetary there.
All of my uncles except the youngest, fought in WWII. I was able to write down the family history as told by one of my uncles, Ben, when I was in college and have it stored for my son. I have my Uncle Ben's wings from the Army Air Corps. He was not a pilot but a P-47 crew chief and told me that all crew chiefs wore them. He was in one of the few P-47 units that went to the Pacific. He told me about the ground crews flying to an island on transports, sleeping until the fighters arrived. They serviced the planes while the pilots slept then got back on the transports and flew to the next island to do it all over again.
Another uncle was a tanker. He also enlisted before the war and I was told he was on a transport ship on December 7. He also was returned to the US and fought in Africa and later Europe. I handled a high polished blue Walther PP and holster that was a capture/bringback when the tanks overran a German field hospital.
My uncle also told me that one of my Grandfather's Brother's sons was one of the Polish Officers killed in the Katyn Forest. Family members had kept his picture hidden in a barn to prove he existed while the Russians and Germans argued over who committed the war crime and if it actually occurred.
None of my uncles ever talked about their war experiences, just where they were during the war. They each would talk to me about what the others did but not their own experiences. These men were truely part of our greatest generation.
gaf
