Hello. My name is Paul E Benedetti. from new jersey. i have been a war buff since i was very young.There is something about war that is tragic as well as amazing. What i mean is, how can a civilized race of peoples of all countries be so wrapped up in a organized as well as a chaotic fog of death and destruction? I perhaps believe that conquest should be an inner struggle to find out who we are, and not an outer struggle to invade and take over, such as any war is. all to well we know in and out of this forum that a struggle of darkness and light, MUST be won by what is good, or risk bondage, slavery, and fear. that is what amazes me about war. i have a beautiful wife a 2 yr old and a new born of 9 days! i am an aspiring writer, that some day will weave stories of fiction and non fiction about many things considered of conflict and war. i never served my country, but wanted to seriously, but couldnt because of health issues. i hope i can meet many people here in this forum and make new friends that share a common interest in human conflict.
i wonder how i would find a history of family members that served? im sure you have had this question asked before. i know my grandmother had a cousin killed in action at pearl harbor. and a few other family members also served, but my grandmother only told me very little. any suggestions?
i found out some info on names of family members who served. my grandmothers cousin was named Robert Kabala. he served on the uss franklin. he is the one i mentioned that was killed at pearl harbor. she had more cousins that served. john phieffer and joseph phieffer. john was in germany and joseph was in the navy. the last names may be spelled wrong. my grandmother was not sure. where would i find out about these brave men?
I'm a bit confused. If Robert Kabala was killed at Pearl Harbor, he couldn't have served on the Franklin. The Franklin was an aircraft carrier that wasn't commissioned until 1944. She did sustain significant battle damage in 1944 at Samar after which she went back to Washington for repairs. You can read more about the Franklin here Aircraft Carrier USS Franklin | World War II Database. Here also is a list of ships that was at Pearl Harbor during the attack Ships Present at Pearl Harbor, 0800 7 December 1941. Perhaps he was on another ship and your grandmother was mistaken. In order to find out any more about your relatives, I'm afraid we would need more information. Correct names, branches of service, home state, etc. would give us a better chance at finding out details. Good luck.
