Hi I am looking for information on what soldiers did upon their return home after the war. I am researching for a book about what soldiers did when they got home. Any information is appreciated thank you. If you have stories of your relatives leave a response and. I will send you an email address. Branson
I think that in numerous books are stories what G.I.'s did when came home, for instance see the books of Beyond Easy Company (Dick Winters) and Brothers of War (Bill Guearnere and Eugene Heffron). Perhaps you could contact KodiakBeer, who's father was in the 117th Inf. Reg. 30 Inf. Div. or even see the topic of Old Hickory, were memories are shared by an Old Hickory veteran (contact slipdigit)
Thanks for the plug, Cas. The book, The Men of Company K deals with that subject in a chapter. When he came home, my grandfather said it was one of the happiest days of his life as well as one of the saddest. He said he came home to children who didn't know who he was and were afraid of him. They wanted nothing to do with at first and all he wanted to do was hug them and love on them.
Thank you for the information, I am also looking for more personal stories from fathers or grandparents.
If you are looking for personal stories, I recommend the Veterans History Project. It may take some time and patience, but there are many personal stories in video, audio and written form that can be streamed. It's an excellent resource for first person accounts related to WWII.
The father of my best friend told me of what his dream was when he finally got home. He served in the 90th Infantry Division, in an anti-aircraft artillery unit that was train car mounted (they were the few that George Patton didn't convert to infantry replacements). Anyway, he said that he planned to go home to New Roads, Louisiana and pick up where he left off, drinking beer and fishing every day. He was Cajun French you know, and that is skilled labor for them. This time he said it would be easier, because he'd be drawing 52-20 ($20 a week for 52 weeks-army severance pay) after discharge. After that ran out he said that he'd go look for a job. He ended up getting a great job at the Kaiser Chemical/Aluminum plant in Baton Rouge some time in the late 40s an worked 40 years until he retired. Another hobby of his was to rat-hole cash money away, just in case (he was a young man in the Depression). After he died, I helped my friend scour the house for his hiding spots. We found about $30,000.00 in cash. Mostly fivers, tens and twentys, with a great deal of them in silver certificates. They were all over the place. I imagine there are still some there some tucked away for eternity I reckon.
Your welcome Jeff ! Actually I've started reading yesterday, I'm not even at the war memories and I am loving it already, mr Sanford has got a good memory and a good sence of humor as you told in the introduction ! Very, very good book (and I'm not even half way).
