Hello

[James777]

Hi , im James ..or i was..until i moved from Scotland to the US , now im called Jake...so whatever you prefer.
Since coming to the US one year ago at the end of this month ive become interested in WW2 as i was friends with a guy who served in early landings prior to D dAY.
To make matters clear he was much older than myself and lived on the next farm over , kinda friends by default..real nice guy tho.
Ive been shown many artifacts from that time and the interest began.

Sadly he passed away over the summer and im left with the interest but no conversations or pleasant evenings under the maple tree drinking beer looking through old pictures from that time.
Hopefully i'll find that here in a way.Regards to all servicemen past and present.

Oh..for the record although im Scottish i served with the US Navy 77 - 82 aboard various warships.

[krieg]

welcome aboard mate
you will find this forum a very interesting place .. cheers krieg

[dgmitchell]

Jake -- Welcome! This is a great place and you will enjoy your time here. Thanks for your service in the Navy!

Cheers!

[The_Historian]

Hi Jake,
Welcome to the forums!

[James777]

Thanks Kreig , DGMitchell and The Historian,and your welcome DGMitchell for the service,was a lot of good times and some kinda scary times too..nothing much changes eh?
I got to see a lot of places i'd never have seen otherwise and thats something thats never left me.

[J.A. Costigan]

Welcome James.

[Skipper]

Welcome on board Jake . This is a fine place if you are a WWII history lover

[James777]

Thank you JA Costigan and Skipper , ive done a bit of reading here..got lots more to do.I just finished a book called Ghost soldiers as well that i devoured in one sitting,its all amazing stuff.
From childhood i can recall neighbors who were prisoners of war of the Japanese and i had a teacher who was imprisoned in a concentration camp and had the accent and tattoo to prove it,its sobering to read what they actually went through as opposed to hollywood versions.
I dont pretend to think the Germans were the only ones or even the first to use concentration camps but it is interesting to see history written by the Victors and research the truth.
Ive a feeling i will come across the truth here , thank you.

[texson66]

Welcome aboard, Jake! Glad you made it to the states after your Navy service! Have fun here!

[Vet]

Hi.

[James777]

Thank you Texson and Vet , its been one of those weekends and im only now slowing down..then i noticed the Historians Fortress Scotland link ..woohoo..its Miller time : )
When i was in Scotland i lived a stones throw from the Maryhill Barracks , its where Hess was jailed after his flight from Germany.
I read first hand accounts and by all accounts he was quite the gentleman , one of many mysteries.Id like to know why he really was there and if he was there to broker peace , why jail him ?
Was it really Hess in Spandau? Not being one for conspiracy theorys i didnt go along with european ideas there but it does seem strange he was killed when those ideas were doing the rounds..or so it seemed.
Thanks for the welcome Stateside Texon , it took me 25 years after my service but time flies and all that , you can imagine the changes ive noticed in everyday things , quite surreal sometimes.
Pennsylvania is treating me very well and i visited every single state on the eastern seaboard all the way to Miami to clear my head..bit of a road trip.Sunbathing on Miami South beach in febuary after 25 frosty years in Auld Scotia..just doesnt get any better : )

[mikebatzel]

Hello James, or Jake. Which do YOU prefer? Welcome to the forum and enjoy your time here.

Where about in PA are you?

[James777]

Hi MikeBatzel, thanks for the welcome : ) Im in New Britain ..coincidence as i arrived from Old Britain.A small picturesque place called Doylestown.
It used to be a one horse town but the horse got bored and left long ago.

A lot of farmland in this area and protected areas , covered bridges etc ..used to be Indian land , the lenape people.Its famous for hiding the liberty bell in the pub here during the revolution and of course the civil war marched right through here.
Loads of history right outside the door.Its about 45 minutes by road outside of Phillie.
I quite like Pa , nobody minds my accent and in fact the place was settled by Scots and Germans in the old days so i kinda feel at home when i read the street names and we have lochs in places rather than lakes , a sure sign a Scot named it.
Lots of German descendents and i find them very friendly and welcoming,they share a great tradition with the Scots of beer drinking so they can't be all bad

[James777]

Guess im getting used to being Jake so Jake it is..James on Sundays and if my Mother is within earshot.

[PzJgr]

LOL Jake. Howdy and welcome to the forum. Happy posting

[James777]

Hi PzJgr , thanks for the welcome , its been interesting so far i can say that