Be aware....be thankful.
- Thread starter MMissile
- Start date
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JDMopar
Well-Known Member
It's very eye opening to know the age differences in the men who fought for our country. My Dad was a WWII veteran who was a POW for 2 years before the end of the war. He was the electrical engineer and top turret gunner on a B24 Liberator. They got shot down returning from a bomb run in Germany. He was in his mid 30's when they got shot down....and he was the oldest man on the plane. He passed away in 1973 at the age of 62. If he were alive today, he would be 115. My Dad is the 2nd guy from the right in the front row in the pic. He never said much about the war. The one thing I heard him say more than once was that the Germans who held them prisoner treated them much better than the damn Russians that broke them out of the POW camp at the end of the war.
Thanks for sharing that....
My dad was born in 1905, he joined the USMC Aviation corp at age 25 in 1930. No one had any $ in rural S SW Ga. If you had a farm, you did have food on the table. The Great Depression, he had seen it first hand, working as a rural auto mechanic, and helping his circuit preacher dad on the small Ga. farm. Farmed with mules and a wagon or buggy was still transportation for the farm, and his dad. Pa had an old car I think, maybe. He figured the service would be better. Learned aviation mechanics. He had pics of the bombers they flew recon over the various Pacific Islands. Right after the surrender, he was stationed a while in Japan. And had some pics he took while in S. Korea. Guess he learned about pics in the Pacific.
He was stationed at Pearl Harbor, left there 1 week for the Japs hit and was on his way from Ca. to Ga. that Sunday AM. He arrived in Dawson, Ga. one day, got married the next to my mother, and the next was headed back to Ca. and Pearl. After 25 years, and 2 wars he retired in '55 and I was born in '48. Yep, born down the road from Pearl Harbor. He spoke of the war twice maybe three to me. Well maybe 3 times as he mentioned IF I joined any service he would *************. I told him I could more likely shoot a Gook as good as the next guy. He was not impressed. He suffured bad form what is now called what? PTSD or what ever it is. He passed in 1982, at 77, my age today.
A kind and gentle soul.
He was stationed at Pearl Harbor, left there 1 week for the Japs hit and was on his way from Ca. to Ga. that Sunday AM. He arrived in Dawson, Ga. one day, got married the next to my mother, and the next was headed back to Ca. and Pearl. After 25 years, and 2 wars he retired in '55 and I was born in '48. Yep, born down the road from Pearl Harbor. He spoke of the war twice maybe three to me. Well maybe 3 times as he mentioned IF I joined any service he would *************. I told him I could more likely shoot a Gook as good as the next guy. He was not impressed. He suffured bad form what is now called what? PTSD or what ever it is. He passed in 1982, at 77, my age today.
A kind and gentle soul.
gunbunny
Well-Known Member
I live in Ohio, I read stat at the VA yesterday that stated there were only 4,971 WWII vets left in the state of Ohio.
The TWP I live in has one WWII veteran. He's 98 but still lives at home and gets around pretty good for 98.
Both of my Grandfathers were WWII Veterans.
My moms dad, was a member of the US Army Air Corp. He joined in January of 1938 for a 4 year hitch. He was from Richmond VA and worked as a motorman. He lost his job during the depression and wound up in the Army. He had a sincere hatred for the Japanese for many reasons. 1. he was supposed to get out of the Army January of 1942 and we all know what happened Dec 7, 1941. 2. He was a "flying sergeant" and flew the "hump" several times. He told me he had a plane shot out from under him on one of those missions in India. He wouldn't say much more when I asked. I wish I would have pressed him. His service records were destroyed in a fire in the 70's, so it's all lost.
I remember my younger brother bringing home a used Mitsubishi as his 1st car. Grandpa wouldn't let him park it on the property.
Grandpa was pretty crusty about having to stay thru the war, but never talked to much more about it. I know he was a pretty damn good air frame mechanic, but never adapted to jet engines, so was limited with work. He died in 1986 and I was a stupid teenager when he passed. I often regret not spending more time with him when I was older.
My dads dad went in at 16 in 1944. He was sent to England and would enter Europe via Normandy on D-Day +3. Man never talked about WWII. The closest he ever came was one day he was talking about French women. Then he stopped, never said more.
When he died, dad requested his records for a headstone. His records survived the fire. My grandpa was part of Patton's Army and would be part of the Battle of the Bulge. Because he was a short timer, he would be reassigned to graves registration. He spent 1945 and 46 recovering US Soldiers body's. We had no clue. That would explain a lot to dad. I never saw it, but dad said grandpa would get on 4 or 5 day benders when he was a kid. Grandpa would vanish, come home, grandma would clean him up and he'd be okay until the next time. When dad was drafted for Vietnam, he said grandpa quit drinking, didn't want his grand kids thinking he was drunk.
Looking back, both of my grandpa's suffered from PTSD.
Dad never went to Vietnam, because he had a kid (me) he was sent to Germany.
I went into the Army when I was 18. I'm a Desert Shield/Storm veteran. I was assigned to XVIII Airborne Corp and spent time on the back of a M109A3 Howitzer. Afterwards I was deployed to several arm-pits to include a year in South Korea at Camp Casey/Camp Humpries.
I was still in in 2001 when 9/11 happened and would be part of the initial invasion force into Iraq.
I'll never talk a kid out of going into the military, but I will tell every one, buyer beware.
In a lot of ways it was the best time I'll never want to have again.
The TWP I live in has one WWII veteran. He's 98 but still lives at home and gets around pretty good for 98.
Both of my Grandfathers were WWII Veterans.
My moms dad, was a member of the US Army Air Corp. He joined in January of 1938 for a 4 year hitch. He was from Richmond VA and worked as a motorman. He lost his job during the depression and wound up in the Army. He had a sincere hatred for the Japanese for many reasons. 1. he was supposed to get out of the Army January of 1942 and we all know what happened Dec 7, 1941. 2. He was a "flying sergeant" and flew the "hump" several times. He told me he had a plane shot out from under him on one of those missions in India. He wouldn't say much more when I asked. I wish I would have pressed him. His service records were destroyed in a fire in the 70's, so it's all lost.
I remember my younger brother bringing home a used Mitsubishi as his 1st car. Grandpa wouldn't let him park it on the property.
Grandpa was pretty crusty about having to stay thru the war, but never talked to much more about it. I know he was a pretty damn good air frame mechanic, but never adapted to jet engines, so was limited with work. He died in 1986 and I was a stupid teenager when he passed. I often regret not spending more time with him when I was older.
My dads dad went in at 16 in 1944. He was sent to England and would enter Europe via Normandy on D-Day +3. Man never talked about WWII. The closest he ever came was one day he was talking about French women. Then he stopped, never said more.
When he died, dad requested his records for a headstone. His records survived the fire. My grandpa was part of Patton's Army and would be part of the Battle of the Bulge. Because he was a short timer, he would be reassigned to graves registration. He spent 1945 and 46 recovering US Soldiers body's. We had no clue. That would explain a lot to dad. I never saw it, but dad said grandpa would get on 4 or 5 day benders when he was a kid. Grandpa would vanish, come home, grandma would clean him up and he'd be okay until the next time. When dad was drafted for Vietnam, he said grandpa quit drinking, didn't want his grand kids thinking he was drunk.
Looking back, both of my grandpa's suffered from PTSD.
Dad never went to Vietnam, because he had a kid (me) he was sent to Germany.
I went into the Army when I was 18. I'm a Desert Shield/Storm veteran. I was assigned to XVIII Airborne Corp and spent time on the back of a M109A3 Howitzer. Afterwards I was deployed to several arm-pits to include a year in South Korea at Camp Casey/Camp Humpries.
I was still in in 2001 when 9/11 happened and would be part of the initial invasion force into Iraq.
I'll never talk a kid out of going into the military, but I will tell every one, buyer beware.
In a lot of ways it was the best time I'll never want to have again.
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