Newbie - Reading and Researching

[travelinbabs]

Hi, everyone -- I'm Babs. My father was a soldier in WWII and, like most vets from that war, would give only the minimum of info whenever my brother or I asked questions about it. So, I'm here, first, to garner some of the tricks of researching WWII. I've already found some new avenues to explore

Secondly, I was a history major at university, so I have a general interest in this site as well. I really appreciate that the membership here includes so many vets and active service personnel -- it's one thing to read archives and documents from an era -- but another thing entirely to get an emotional understanding of what all of that info means in a human's life rather than just on paper.

I look forward to doing a lot of reading, here -- and perhaps some posting, when I have anything worth adding -- Thanks -- Babs

[bigfun]

Wlecome!!
Glad to have you here! I'm looking forward to hearing about your fathers experiences! Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable members here wil be abel to help! I have learned alot at this site, hope you will enjoy it as much as I!

[Joe]

Once again, he steals my post.

[Slipdigit]

Welcome Babs, good to see you here.

[travelinbabs]

Thanks -- nice to be noticed

Unfortunately, my dad wouldn't say much, no matter how often he was asked to... but I do have one or two little tales, I guess.

[bigfun]

Originally Posted by Joe

Once again, he steals my post.

I'm kinda making a habit out of that huh!

[macrusk]

Unfortunately, my dad wouldn't say much, no matter how often he was asked to... but I do have one or two little tales, I guess.[/quote]

Welcome, Babs.

My father was also a WWII Veteran, who didn't say much. I've put together bits he said and now a skeletal version of his military records, combined with research of his regiment and other histories to start to know his story. I wish you good luck. I know its been an eye opening experience for me. I always appreciated what he did - even though he may never have known how much.


Michelle

[travelinbabs]

Thanks, Michelle -- Yeah, it's my oldest brother and myself who are really interested -- interested enough to do the research, that is -- not that my other siblings don't care... just not enough to do the work to find out.

Between the two of us doing the work, some information is coming to light -- we know his story from enlistment in Iowa, 1940, to his arrival in Belfast, Jan 1942. And we know generally where he was until he got back to the US in Oct 1945. There's just that 3-1/2-year gap to fill in -- LOL!

But my dad had some photos -- and a few of them actually have names on them tho usually just "Joe" or "Clyde" -- but one is a pic of a dozen nurses, and their last names (but not first) are listed on the back, so I'm trying to research them to come up with possible contact info. My dad went in with the medical corps but may have come back with the infantry -- or attached to an infantry unit as a corpsman -- this is what I'm trying to find out, among other things.

Yeah... it's really hard wanting to know something about someone when they're not willing to share that something. I always got the impression that my dad felt a lot of guilt about his time in the service/war. The thing for me is this: I can't imagine that anything in my dad's military history is going to make my eyes pop -- I was a history buff from a very young age and majored in it at uni -- I know an awful lot of what happened -- but he just was never able to let anyone in when it came to this subject. He'd give us little bits and pieces from his story, but he clearly was pained recalling it. He sat through "Saving Private Ryan", though he said that it was difficult for him, and we actually got one story from him and some other "unimportant" facts right afterwards. When I was young -- say, 30-40 years ago -- and would ask him questions, he would try to deflect them by slipping into the "elitist" historical aspects of the war -- e.g., general stories of battles, or perhaps the political aspects of the various major players -- and he'd manage to get around my questions every time.

I've known and spoken with many other WWII vets over the years, but my dad is still a mystery. And that's just the way he was. Sad, but what are ya gonna do? I guess I'm doing what's left -- and it's a good thing that I love to do research!

[macrusk]

Rather late in responding again. My apologies.

My Dad also seemed to have a level of guilt, although mostly he (and my Mum) hid behind the fact that they made 25 year and lifetime secrecy oaths - which of course make me very curious as to what they were privy to that they would need to have made those oaths. I think my Dad's was mostly survivor guilt. He shared one story with me on a road trip 6 months after my fiance was killed in a house fire at his parents' home when I was 20; probably, because he knew I was having a similar feeling as I'd been in the same house. His friend was caught under a truck making a repair when it was hit by strafing and exploded in fire. I think he wanted me to know how much worse my memory could have been and how much more helpless I could have felt when I couldn't effect a rescue.

My Dad shared more later when he watched Schindler's List with me. It was one of only 4 times in my life that I know he cried. One of the four was when he was 2,000 miles away from me when he knew I could have been the one killed. Following Schindler's List he told me about being at or perhaps shortly after the liberation of a concentration camp. Based on what I know the 2nd Canadian Divisions movements, my guess right now is that it may have been Westerbroek in Holland.

Like you it is involving a lot of research to learn about what he wouldn't tell, but in the researching I am learning more about the Second World War than I could have learned if I'd only heard his story. I guess he still continues to teach me.

Michelle

[SouthWestPacificVet]

Hello Babs and Michelle,

That's interesting Michelle, you make mention of "secrecy oaths", I had not thought of that for years. Upon my discharge in '45 I was debriefed and required to sign under oath quite a number of documents, violation of which was at the time punishable by trial and federal imprisonment.

[Hawkerace]

Welcome to the website. Good to hear about your farther, and I send my proud salutations to a fellow Prairie Canadian

[Otto]

Welcome aboard babs, I see you've fit right in here. You have some interesting information on survivor guilt.

[travelinbabs]

Thanks, Hawk, Jack, and Otto....

Yes, Michelle, my father was very much one of those "still waters run deep" kinda guys; he seemed to be on an even emotional keel just about all of the time. He shared some info about fighting in the infantry with my sister after watching "Saving Private Ryan" with her, but he was a private for his entire 6 years, so perhaps he had to sign papers upon his discharge stating that he would not divulge state secrets... but, then, as a private, he wouldn't have been privy to too much, would he?

[macrusk]

Hi Babs,

I suspect that when we were kids - especially having no experience of war living in North America (Vietnam coverage not being the same as living through bombings) - our father's didn't really want to give us too much that would be hard to assimilate. That was probably combined with the number of people who didn't want to hear about their experiences after they came back - not unless they were the hero of something spectacular, and even then the average person here would only want to hear about it when they asked for the memory; not when they felt the need to tell it. There is a fine line sometimes between the healing process and the educational telling about ones traumatic experiences and remembering in such detail that it becomes a reliving of the experience which causes psychic pain. Hopefully, we'll all remember when we talk with veterans of WWII, the wars after, and those in which our soldiers are currently fighting.

re Secrecy oaths, I don't know if it was common practice to have all soldiers sign secrecy oaths. Perhaps someone else on the forum knows. Being a private wouldn't necessarily have kept him from being privy to some secrets just as being a civilian sometimes makes people privy to secrets of the government depending on the job they were required to do at a specific time. Actually, when you think about it, the common soldier was the guy who knew he signed a secrecy oath but didn't always know what distinguished something he didn't think he should talk about from the "big" secrets; whereas, the political leaders and very high ranks did.

The higher ranks were the ones who wrote their memoires etc within a few years of the war, which often influenced the way history records the war - and the attitudes and beliefs with which at least a generation still mostly live. We now know that there was so much they didn't or couldn't tell. Generals who said they made certain decisions for contrived reasons, since they couldn't divulge sources of secret information. There is a thread that discussed revisionism, so I won't go on further!

Michelle

PS Hawkerace, I don't know I said thanks for your welcome to me as a fellow Prairie Canadian - so, Thanks!