WW2
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My father loved planes from the time he was a little boy. When the U.S. got into WWII, he volunteered for the Army Air Corps. He went completely through flight school to become a pilot, but failed his final psych evaluation because he had a slight stammer. Heart broken, he decided if he couldn't fly 'em, he'd fix 'em. He became an aircraft mechanic, stationed on Saipan and Tinian.
He maintained and repaired the fighters and bombers stationed on the islands, including one rather famous one. Here are a couple of photos he brought back. He is the man in the pilot's seat of the #54 Avenger.
He maintained and repaired the fighters and bombers stationed on the islands, including one rather famous one. Here are a couple of photos he brought back. He is the man in the pilot's seat of the #54 Avenger.
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gunship
US Veteran
My Dad was in the Navy on a refrigerator ship and my Uncle stormed the beach at Normandy.
I was in an Assault Helicopter Co in Vietnam. We were all lucky enough to come home having served our Country.
I was in an Assault Helicopter Co in Vietnam. We were all lucky enough to come home having served our Country.
BLACKHAWKNJ
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My old man was Quartermaster Corps, my mother said he was in Italy. But he and I never talked. In my mother's family no WWII veterans, wrong birth years. My uncle by marriage had a cousin who enlisted at 17, trained to be a ball turret gunner, he grew so much that by the time he was 18 and eligible for deployment he outgrew the turret.
I got bits from my mother about the home front, the rationing, the shortages, the blackout.She told me how they managed to get hold of some canned apricots, kept them as a treat for the old man when he came home on leave. Then they found at the base he was stationed at
apricots were the only fruit they got.
I knew 2 Coast Guard veterans, one was on the USS Menges when it was torpedoed.
I got bits from my mother about the home front, the rationing, the shortages, the blackout.She told me how they managed to get hold of some canned apricots, kept them as a treat for the old man when he came home on leave. Then they found at the base he was stationed at
apricots were the only fruit they got.
I knew 2 Coast Guard veterans, one was on the USS Menges when it was torpedoed.
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StrawHat
Member
I have a familia connection with WWII, Pop was in the Merchant Fleet, 6 ships blow out under him. He was involved in ALL of the invasions of Europe and North Africa. Mom was U S Navy, so both of my parents were WWII veterans. I heard stories about Pop from his brothers, my Uncles. On Mother's side, I had an Uncle who would say "…I fought with MacAurthur…", and he meant it. He was not a ground pounder but on MacAurther's staff and played Devils Advocate to the Generals plans. He was called back into Service in Korea with a telegram, "I need you. Doug".
Kevin
Kevin
I was 10 YO in 1941. Remember Pearl Harbor attack very well. Dad was too old to serve. No one in my family served in WW2. I was just right for Korea & served 9 years in the National Guard.
I was born 7 years after WWII was over and my dad was only 16 years old when WWII was over. One of my uncles (Mom's brother) served in Europe but I never heard him talk about anything. He brought back a Mauser rifle and I bought it at his estate sale.
As I was growing up, most of the former servicemen I ran into were World War II veterans. To this day, if somebody generically mentions "the war" I still automatically think of World War II.
As I was growing up, most of the former servicemen I ran into were World War II veterans. To this day, if somebody generically mentions "the war" I still automatically think of World War II.
My father loved planes from the time he was a little boy. When the U.S. got into WWII, he volunteered for the Army Air Corps. He went completely through flight school to become a pilot, but failed his final psych evaluation because he had a slight stammer. Heart broken, he decided if he couldn't fly 'em, he'd fix 'em. He became an aircraft mechanic, stationed on Saipan and Tinian.
He maintained and repaired the fighters and bombers stationed on the islands, including one rather famous one. Here are a couple of photos he brought back. He is the man in the pilot's seat of the #54 Avenger.
My dad was a Seabee and served on Saipan and Tinian also. He was a carpenter's mate, and his primary duty was surveying. I did not learn until a few years before he passed that he surveyed the sited for the ramps and pits used to load the atomic bombs at Tinian. He had a photo of the Enola Gay also, but it's lost. I have most of the letters he wrote home during the war as well as his photos and other Seabee stuff. I plan on donating it to the Seabee Museum.
The man who would have been my father-in-law was killed in Germany on December 11, 1944. My wife was born on March 21, 1945. She remembers being frightened when the gun salute fired when her father was buried when she was 4 years old. Her mother was a beautiful girl and never dated again. She never got over his death.
Grayfox
US Veteran
My father was there. he didn't talk about it much. What I know of his service is put together from little bits and pieces he let slip now and then.
He was the gunner on a machine gun crew. He may have served in North Africa for a short time, but I can't confirm that.
I know for a fact that he went all the way through the Sicily and Italian campaigns. He went ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day with the 29th Infantry. A few months later, somewhere on an un-named hill about half way across France, he was damned near blown to pieces by German artillery. Nobody expected him to live, but he did.
He spent a year and a half in an Army hospital in Waco, Texas. He never did completely recover from his wounds. They troubled him for the rest of his days. In the late 1960s the lower half of his right leg had to be removed.
He was one hell of a man. He took it all in stride. Never complained and never regretted his service.
He was my hero.
He was the gunner on a machine gun crew. He may have served in North Africa for a short time, but I can't confirm that.
I know for a fact that he went all the way through the Sicily and Italian campaigns. He went ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day with the 29th Infantry. A few months later, somewhere on an un-named hill about half way across France, he was damned near blown to pieces by German artillery. Nobody expected him to live, but he did.
He spent a year and a half in an Army hospital in Waco, Texas. He never did completely recover from his wounds. They troubled him for the rest of his days. In the late 1960s the lower half of his right leg had to be removed.
He was one hell of a man. He took it all in stride. Never complained and never regretted his service.
He was my hero.
My dad and his 5 brothers were all in WWII. One was lost over Papua New Guinea May 11, 1944. The plane was found in 2019. Others came home.
A cousin was killed in the Hürtgen Forest. He died on November 27, 1944. He was in the Big Red 1.
wyo-man
A cousin was killed in the Hürtgen Forest. He died on November 27, 1944. He was in the Big Red 1.
wyo-man
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Had the great pleasure of meeting both these Gentlemen, truly
the Greatest Generation.
the Greatest Generation.
My father was on a Jeep carrier during the Battle Of Leyte Gulf. His ship served as support during four other major landings. At the end of the war they turned his ship into a hospital ship and brought US POW's home.
He never talked about the war until he was on his death bed. The war was bad for him but liberating the POW camps was the worse part.
He never talked about the war until he was on his death bed. The war was bad for him but liberating the POW camps was the worse part.
My Grandfather, Mexican Expedition. Maternal Grandfather, Canadian Army, WWI. Father, WWII. Me, Vietnam. My Son, 4 combat tours, (3 Iraq, 1 Afghanistan). So yeah, we've gotten our hands dirty, before and after WWII.
AJ
US Veteran
My Step-Father was in the Corps from 1938 to 1947. He fought at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Iwo Jima. He never talked about it with us. We had a friend who had been in the 4th Marines and was captured at Corregidor. When the two were together and had a few beers they would talk and cry. The Corps was small back in the pre war period and they knew a lot of the same people........a lot of them never got to come home. We had to separate them to get them to calm down.
A friend's Father was trained as a photographer in the Corps. He flew in PBJ's over the South Pacific. He came home from the war with negative and pictures by the box load. His flying suit and uniforms and the photos were stored in the basement. They moved after they bought a bigger house with more land. In the process of moving a lot of nonessential items went to the burn pile. You guessed it most of the pictures and all the clothing went to the pile to burn. He also never talked about the war.
A friend's Father was trained as a photographer in the Corps. He flew in PBJ's over the South Pacific. He came home from the war with negative and pictures by the box load. His flying suit and uniforms and the photos were stored in the basement. They moved after they bought a bigger house with more land. In the process of moving a lot of nonessential items went to the burn pile. You guessed it most of the pictures and all the clothing went to the pile to burn. He also never talked about the war.
Yaworski
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I know of WW II but I don't remember it because it ended over a decade before I was born. Many uncles and cousins went, fortunately all came back.
When "Saving Private Ryan" came out and all the talk was of how realistic it was, my father-in-law asked us to not see the movie because, "I went through that so you wouldn't have to." I've never seen the movie.
When "Saving Private Ryan" came out and all the talk was of how realistic it was, my father-in-law asked us to not see the movie because, "I went through that so you wouldn't have to." I've never seen the movie.
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Remember? No. But I grew up in a neighborhood that was built for returning service members to raise families after the war. My father and every single kid I grew up with father's were WWII vets. Some fathers had war wounds; one leg, one eye, one hand. We asked them foolish childhood questions about the warbled on what we saw in the movies. We children played war; war in the snow, war at the beach...
When I was an altar boy I would see many of these fathers, including my own, at the very early Mass. Later in life I wondered if somewhere in their past these men had prayed that: "if You let me live through this..."
The only things my father kept from the war was his hunting knife and a pair of galoshes. "Without these I would have died". Other than that, the only thing my father said about the war was, "There are too many horrible ways to die."
When I was an altar boy I would see many of these fathers, including my own, at the very early Mass. Later in life I wondered if somewhere in their past these men had prayed that: "if You let me live through this..."
The only things my father kept from the war was his hunting knife and a pair of galoshes. "Without these I would have died". Other than that, the only thing my father said about the war was, "There are too many horrible ways to die."
eveled
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A few years ago I met a WWII Merchant Marine. I thanked him for his service, and he burst into tears. He said I was the first person to thank him.
My grandmother worked in aircraft gauges for the war effort. I consider her to be a "Rosie Riveter"
My grandmother worked in aircraft gauges for the war effort. I consider her to be a "Rosie Riveter"
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