WWII Pic of my Dad
- Thread starter ramcharger
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I was doing a job in Kitchener and got to talking to the homeowner when I was done.He started telling me stories about his experiences and before I knew it it had been an hour,was my helper ever mad,so I made him sit in the truck while I talked to the man some more.If we dont listen and retell the stories they will be lost.
I cant thank the men and women enough who serve our countries so we can enjoy the freedoms we do.
THANK YOU
I cant thank the men and women enough who serve our countries so we can enjoy the freedoms we do.
THANK YOU
autopar3000
Well-Known Member
Canada joined the war 70 years ago today... September 10th, 1939. My grandfather joined the army a little while thereafter. He has told me a few stories over the past few years, so I'll quickly recount the first one:
As it turned out my grandfather's first taste of combat would come very early on. He traveled to join the war in Europe aboard the SS Monterey, which was originally built as a luxury cruise liner. The ship was to sail from New York to Naples, Italy. Shortly after passing through the Strait of Gibraltar their convoy came under attack from German planes and submarines. Another ship in the convoy, the SS Santa Elena, sustained heavy damage in the attack and the captain gave the order to abandon ship (I believe he said the SS Santa Elena was a hospital ship). After the attack subsided, the Monterey spent the next few hours rescuing over 1500 soldiers and nurses that had abandon the Santa Elena. I don't believe there were very many lives lost in that attack. It took a fair amount of time, but eventually the Santa Elena ended up sinking. One other note: the Monterey was actually hit in that attack, but not by a bomb or torpedo; I guess one of the German bombers was flying a bit too low and struck the Monterey's radio tower, then crashed into the ocean. All of this happened before he even got off the boat!
Last time I went to visit him he told me the Monterey was a lucky ship. He told me it was well used in the war effort, and never ended up at the bottom of the ocean (sounds like a lucky ship to me). Here's the part that caps off the story: after the war the ship was converted back into a cruise ship, and served for many years as such. Sometime in the late 80's / early 90's my grandfather and grandmother actually went on a pleasure cruise on the Monterey! I didn't ask him, but I'm assuming he didn't have to deal with the same type of drama as he did the first time he was on that ship.
Here's a wartime pic of him. I took a picture of a picture that he has in a small locket (1" tall).
Below that is a pic of something he picked up while fighting in Italy. It's an arm band that was worn by the German soldiers that were occupying Italy; they were sort of like the police force. Notice the stamp on the left. Apparently that stamp made it official, almost like a badge. He told me the soldier he got it from was dead, but I didn't ask him exactly how that unfortunate soul met his demise. I'm thinking that there wouldn't be too many occupying soldiers just lying around dead, so I have a pretty good idea what happened.
As it turned out my grandfather's first taste of combat would come very early on. He traveled to join the war in Europe aboard the SS Monterey, which was originally built as a luxury cruise liner. The ship was to sail from New York to Naples, Italy. Shortly after passing through the Strait of Gibraltar their convoy came under attack from German planes and submarines. Another ship in the convoy, the SS Santa Elena, sustained heavy damage in the attack and the captain gave the order to abandon ship (I believe he said the SS Santa Elena was a hospital ship). After the attack subsided, the Monterey spent the next few hours rescuing over 1500 soldiers and nurses that had abandon the Santa Elena. I don't believe there were very many lives lost in that attack. It took a fair amount of time, but eventually the Santa Elena ended up sinking. One other note: the Monterey was actually hit in that attack, but not by a bomb or torpedo; I guess one of the German bombers was flying a bit too low and struck the Monterey's radio tower, then crashed into the ocean. All of this happened before he even got off the boat!
Last time I went to visit him he told me the Monterey was a lucky ship. He told me it was well used in the war effort, and never ended up at the bottom of the ocean (sounds like a lucky ship to me). Here's the part that caps off the story: after the war the ship was converted back into a cruise ship, and served for many years as such. Sometime in the late 80's / early 90's my grandfather and grandmother actually went on a pleasure cruise on the Monterey! I didn't ask him, but I'm assuming he didn't have to deal with the same type of drama as he did the first time he was on that ship.
Here's a wartime pic of him. I took a picture of a picture that he has in a small locket (1" tall).
Below that is a pic of something he picked up while fighting in Italy. It's an arm band that was worn by the German soldiers that were occupying Italy; they were sort of like the police force. Notice the stamp on the left. Apparently that stamp made it official, almost like a badge. He told me the soldier he got it from was dead, but I didn't ask him exactly how that unfortunate soul met his demise. I'm thinking that there wouldn't be too many occupying soldiers just lying around dead, so I have a pretty good idea what happened.
my grandfather served 2 years in wwii. his commander was shot dead in the tank they were in when he looked out b/c he thought the battle was over. almost died when his tank was bombed. my grandmother said she got a letter everyweek and one day they just stopped cant imagine how scared she was he came home and left everything attatched to the war behind. talked very little about it and when he died at the age of 74 my grandmother recieved 4 metals she knew nothing about including a purple heart. he talked very little about the war just said it was sad and lonely and his best day was in france he got up to leave a theater and his first cousin had been sitting beside him the whole time. what a surprise. because of him and his sacrafices i have more respect for servicemen than i can express. so many people give and gave so much for so many people they have never known. he died when i was 12 im now 27 and think about him everyday.
Duckbuster: Thank you for sharing. The hill you refer to his Mt. Surabachi the flag was raised during the battle of Iwo Jima. The photo we see with the 5 marines and 1 navy corpsman was taken by Joe Rosenthal. The son of Doc Bradley, the Navy Corpsman, wrote a book called Flags of Our Father. It is a very interesting book.
Semper FI
69cudafla
Well-Known Member
that is a great book there scuba. and thank you for pointing out my mistake of 11 November for the Marines birthday i was a day late it is 10 November. 1775 in tunn tavern in philly pennsylvania.
67DART340
Well-Known Member
I read the the thread and wanted to put my 2 cents in...
My dad was in the Army in the 320th Glider Field Artillery of the 82nd Airborne. He was chief of a gun crew and flew in a glider with 105 MM howitzer. He served and fought in battles in Sicily, Italy, North Africa, France, Holland, Belgum, and Germany. He was a paratrooper and gliderman. I didn't know him well, as he died of cancer in 1954, the day after my 3rd birthday and about 9 years after the war ended. He brought home a 9MM Luger pistol, which after he died, my mother gave away to his friend. They were "pathfinders" on the invasion on D-Day and they were droped in behind the enemy lines. Over the years I've read about and researched the 320th GFA. I don't know how he survived it and many didn't.
His younger brother, served in the Navy in the North Atlantic on a destroyer and later on a destroyer in the Pacific. He never talked much about the war, unless I asked him. He was proud of his big brother, as I was, too. Some of the memories were tough ones for him. All WWII soldiers are heroes to me. God bless them for they're sacrifice to this nation.
Thanks ramcharger. A great tribute to great men.
My dad was in the Army in the 320th Glider Field Artillery of the 82nd Airborne. He was chief of a gun crew and flew in a glider with 105 MM howitzer. He served and fought in battles in Sicily, Italy, North Africa, France, Holland, Belgum, and Germany. He was a paratrooper and gliderman. I didn't know him well, as he died of cancer in 1954, the day after my 3rd birthday and about 9 years after the war ended. He brought home a 9MM Luger pistol, which after he died, my mother gave away to his friend. They were "pathfinders" on the invasion on D-Day and they were droped in behind the enemy lines. Over the years I've read about and researched the 320th GFA. I don't know how he survived it and many didn't.
His younger brother, served in the Navy in the North Atlantic on a destroyer and later on a destroyer in the Pacific. He never talked much about the war, unless I asked him. He was proud of his big brother, as I was, too. Some of the memories were tough ones for him. All WWII soldiers are heroes to me. God bless them for they're sacrifice to this nation.
Thanks ramcharger. A great tribute to great men.
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