Anyone come around on here from the pacific northwest? Thought I'd copy/paste the new user questionnare in here 1. Your Name: Whats your name? What would you like to be called? How did you come up with your member-name? My name is my screen name as shown..Tim, Timmy, Timothy etc.. 2. Age: How old are you? How long have you been interested in WWII? 28 years old and turn 29 here soon on November 11th, Veteran's Day. Been into it recently probably the last couple years and learning a lot! 3. Origins: Where are you from? Moses Lake, WA now reside in the Wenatchee Valley here in Washington 4. Specifics: What areas of WWII are you interested in? What would you like to know more about? I mostly follow stuff in the Pacific Theater. But also follow stuff from the European theater from time to time. I'm pretty much wanting to focus more on the Pacific since my Grandpa served in the Aleutians as a communicator. 5. Hobbies: What sort of Hobbies do you have? Are any related to World War II? Wargaming? Video-games? Memorabilia? Visiting historic sites? Yes. I sometimes play Battlefield 1942, and Pacific Fighters for PC and Battlefield 1943 on my PS3. Would hope WWII related stuff becomes more popular in the video game world as a whole..Anyone reccommend games? feel free to do so. 6. Other: What other time periods are you interested in? Specific eras? Why? Not really anything too specific..I enjoy the Pacific mostly being is was such a vast and the largest war faught..I liked the Naval and Aviation aspects of it and also show a great interest in aviation during those time periods. 7. Miscellaneous: I have a twin sister as my only sibling, I am two minutes older than her and we were born very small. Not much bigger than the size of a ruler. I was 2 pounds 10.5 ounces and she was 2 pounds 12.5 ounces... and other than what's listed on my profile..that's about it..Can't think of anything else..Oh yeah and I like old school rap/hip hop and some blues and soul ...Anything else you would like to ask don't be afraid.
1). I am Cmd. Sgt. Maj. McKee; 2). I am in Washington State, (Olympia); 3). I am above 45+ yrs. old; 4). Given my Military Experience, and note that I was in the Military for 30+ years, I believe that WW II offers far more educational value today than what is seen one TV or in Books and I study the Wart from the prospective of a Veteran of Foreign War(s) myself, thus my interests span a great deal more than just 1937 - 1945; 5). Hobbies [what's that?], I enjoy Classical Music, and Ancient History; 6). No specific portion of the war, just WW II in specific and generally, and, 7). I too have a twin sister, in which I am only 22 seconds older than her . I hope this answers your questions. Welcome to the Forum. -Cmd. Sgt. Maj. McKee -J. Hemmingway, Sr. [cira. 1913].
Damn Olympia..didn't expect to run into a fellow Washingtonian on here. Let alone another twin! When did you serve in the military? Were you in Vietnam or something of that nature?..I drove through Olympia just a couple months ago on the way to Ocean Shores..I couldn't believe how many homeless people and how much it's changed since the last time I been there. But then again we are in rough times.
Howdy Tim! Nice to meet you and welcome here! My grandpas were on Attu, Kiska, and Adak islands in the Aleutians. Where was yours stationed?
Grandpa hasn't been alive for quite sometime he passed away when I was only 6-7 years old. I'll have to ask my Grandma. Might I add she also has his original uniform still in a trunk maybe there's also something in there too that I dont know about.
UPDATE: About either Tuesday or Wednesday I'm going to my grandma's house..and his world war II uniform had been zipped up in this suit cover in her closet since the day he left the war! not in a trunk like I thought. God knows what the condition it's in! It could be good or bad..i'll let you know. He was a Staff Sgt. in the Army. his name was Hillard or "Hill" Oakes. I'm going to search about some info and see if grandma knows where he was stationed posssibly.
Great! Keep me posted, as I like to hear about the Aleutian guys. If you ever want to read a good book about the campaign (if you have not already read it) check out The Thousand Mile War by Brian Garfield. Even the soldiers who didn't see actual combat went through a lot!
Welcome aboard. Good to see people from what I still consider "back home". I was born in Chewelah but went all through 1-12 in Chehalis.
Tim you have more N Westerners on this forum than you know ...........do up a member search when you have a free year to do so
Yeah dude, I can't wait! hopefully this uniform is untouched..I mean like I said, the thing hasn't seen the light of day since it had been zipped up in this cover in her closet...
Timmy, Checking in from Bellingham. Love the Eastern side when the rain begins here. Keep us posted on any questions, we have some pretty informed people hanging out waiting to help. Welcome aboard. Dave
I was camping near Ocean Shores at this campground just a couple months ago..and I don't think it got barley 60 degrees as the high..at times you could see your breath too..all bundled up like it was fall weather. We were literally a 10 minute walk to the ocean beaches..after that I was glad to come back to dry heat and hot weather..Yeah we got about 300 days a year of sunshine and great spring/summer weather along with pleasant fall and snowy winters. Can't complain other than being jobless
UPDATE - I got my grandpa's uniform! only thing missing is the pants..and it fits me! My Grandpa was like me. He was not a very big man. I'm 5'5" 135lbs. Grandma told me he was just a little taller and about the same size. it's just awesome..his crush cap and jacket are like brand new and including this shirt that it was with..inside the pocket I found this letter and note that he belonged to some Company C with the Army. The Jacket has these metal or I think brass hooks on the back? Were they made to hold a belt around the waist? He was stationed at Adak Island and was a sign caller and did morse code..His name was Hillard Millhouse Oakes..most called him "Hill" he was so smart with it he was immediately promoted to Staff Sgt. and didn't need to continue any classes. ..I plan to wear this on Halloween everything is like brand new you wouldn't believe its just awesome. When I opened it I just got real emotional..I mean this is an amazing piece of history..it should never be left from the family.
Good to hear! Send some photos if you can. My grandfather that is still alive spent about a year on Adak. There was no fighting there that I know of. The Island was set up with an Airfield for the U.S. to cut the flying distance to bomb Kiska and Attu farther up the chain. If you want some ideas on getting some replacement pants, you might want to ask a few other members here. Brad (formerjughead) is very knowlegable about that type of stuff. Maybe he could point you in the right direction if you ask nicely. Also, there is a member here that has a hobby of making dummy/maniquen WWII soldiers if you want to do a search.
