What did your relatives do in the war, Daddy?

My grand mothers worked in the factories of England during the war. One of my grandfathers was in the RAF the other in the Royal Navy. My grandfather who served in the Navy died in the early 90's my RAF grandfather and grandmother are still living together in England. He has amazing stories. He continued service after the war and has storys about relocating the Jews to the middle east.

 

My father served in the navy from 1958-1959 he was injured doing maintenance aboard a cruiser. My uncles both served in Korea one in the army the other Navy aboard a pt boat. My great, great grandfather was a medical doctor for the army during the Spanish American war. A great deal of my family history is just unfortunately lost nobody really wanted to talk about this stuff when I was a kid.

 

My dad was 82nd Airbourne 505 PIR , did all 4 combat jumps , served in North Africa , Sicily , Italy , England, France , Belgium , Germany

His older brother , stayed stateside and guarded Italian POWs in Texas

My Mom's two brothers served in the US Navy , one was on the USS Phoenix and the other was stationed at the Panama Canal

out

Dan

 

I had a late Uncle, who served in the US Army as a guard in a POW camp in Minnesota, of all places. The camp held German POWs. (Most Germans and Italians captured by the US were simply sent to the US in transport ships returning to the US from ferrying goods to England and the continent. This was a logical, although not undisputed thing, since it was thought to be less expensive to put the Germans in ships that would otherwise be empty on the return trip, than to ship food for them in Europe.)

My Uncle said the Germans were mostly a great bunch of guys, cooperative, hard-working and helpful, and that most accepted their fate and some were even happy because they knew they would survive the war.

 

My mom worked at Wright's aircraft plant at Dayton OH.

My dad was drafted in 1942--was in the Army/Air Corps--became Corporal in '43. He served until 1946, stationed in Agra, India. Then in Calcutta from '44-46. He was an Air Craft mechanic for the 3rd Air Depot, 9th Engineer Overhaul Squadron. I've given nephew Eric (107thcav) all of my dad's memorabilia, his uniform, what papers and souvenirs I had, and many many photos. My dad passed in 1984.

My dad's brother was a Pfc in the 252 Combat Engineers (from '43), and later was a boat pilot in the Rhine crossing--and then rejoined his unit for the Roer River crossing. He also passed in '84.

My dad's brother in law was in the Navy--he is still living today, and I spent Thanksgiving with him and my aunt! He was on a Subchaser in the Mediterranean-- in the Italy/Yugoslavia area.

One great-uncle was in WWI, and I know shamefully little about his service.

My gr-gr-grandfather was in the 93rd OVI in the Civil War and passed away in 1908. Saw action at Chicamauga. Many other family members were in the Civil War, too--on both sides!

 

I hope you get them Lou it's a shame to see history especially from a family lost.

 

On my father side:
My grandfather was in the resistance from the first days of war. In April 1942 he joined partisans and thus started armed resistance. In the course of war he was once wounded in battle, received medal for bravery and, at the end of the war, commanded a company. He came home in 1946. He died in 1958 in an accident in a quarry.
My grandmother was also in the resistance from the start. She, with others, collected weapons and ammunition left by surrendering Yugoslavian army units in April 1941. Later in war she collected medical supplies, carry mail,.. When the partisan units came in the village she and other women cook for them, wash and mend their clothes, stand guard so they could rest, .... During the war she was arrested three times under the suspicion of aiding the partisans – first time she was released very soon, the second time she was arrested by the local collaborators (Domobranci) and, by her own words, came very close to be executed. Fortunately, before something like that could happen, partisans attacked and freed them. Third time she was arrested she spent six months in prison and then the war ended. She passed away last month.
Before the war they lived in different villages that both got burned early in the war.

My grandmother and her entire family on my mother’s side got deported to Germany. She was eight years old at the time and spent most of the war in Stuttgart.

 

My great Uncle was in the 507th parachute infantry regiment and was KIA in France on June 14, 1944. Unfortunately, I know very little about his service record.

I attempted to write to the Army Human resources dept to acquire the IDPF but they said my Uncle's (Louis Francis) file was "lost". So my search ended there.

Regards,

Marshall
Lexington, KY

 

My father and three uncles, all from Elizabeth, New Jersey, served overseas during World War II. I know the most information about my father: U.S. Army, reconnaissance sergeant, Company M, 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, March 1941-September 1945, 266 days in combat, never wounded, four campaigns. He died of natural causes in 1962.

His younger brother (uncle #1): U.S. Army, T/5 Signal Corps, attached to 15th Air Force, North Africa, Italy (Anzio, Naples) but not in a combat role. Part of his job was to reconnoiter and erect beacon towers (usually atop Italy's many mountains and hills) for a triangulation signal that aided crippled bombers find their way to a friendly air base. My uncle was a great source of stories my father told him after the war. He passed away two years ago at age 90.

My mother's older brother (uncle #2): The info I have on him is very sketchy. He was in the U.S. Army. I have seen snapshots of him in uniform. Using a magnifying glass, I thought I made out a shoulder patch of the 102d Infantry Division, but it was blurry. At one point he was an M.P. Once, he stopped in to visit his mother in New Jersey while he was looking for a deserter, or a soldier who had gone AWOL. He saw action and was wounded. My grandmother once showed me his Purple Heart Medal stored in her attic when I was a child. He never talked about his wartime service. He died of cancer in 1979.

My mother's younger brother (uncle #3): I know very little about his wartime service. He was drafted late in the war. All I know is that he drove a truck somewhere in the Pacific. My grandmother once related a story that he was trapped underneath an over-turned truck while fallen high tension electrical wires draped the truck. His rescuers had to use caution when extracting him because of the wires. She said my uncle was scared that he was going to be electrocuted. This uncle was introverted to begin with, and as family lore tells, he came back from the war a changed man. Story has it that when he came home, he walked into my grandmother's house, went upstairs to his room, and fell asleep on the bed without saying a word to anyone. He never talked about his wartime service. Once when I was a kid, we all were staying at a family gathering. He was given a small cot to sleep on. When I commented about him having to sleep on that simple cot, he remarked: "I have slept in a mud hole, so this cot isn't so bad." I assume that was a reference to his time in the Pacific. He never married or had children. He died relatively young in 1973.

As a kid, it seemed to me that every adult male I knew, both within the family and out, served in some capacity during World War II. It was something I just took for granted then. Only later in life can I fully appreciate their service and sacrifice. I only wish that I had asked more questions while they were still here to answer them.

Greg C.