World War II Veterans and their families stories

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Jay in Sarasota

Posted Monday, November 02, 2009 7:51 PM

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Last Login: Yesterday @ 8:38 PM
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This is an unusual thread to start but it’s sort of a now or never thing. I’m starting it because my wife just helped her dad attend the Jolly Rogers Bomber Squad WWII reunion this past week. The years have gone by and how interesting it would be to hear if we have any WWII vets or spouses in our forum and the stories of people who remember the Great War. I know we have a lot of us baby boomers who can briefly tell of their parents WWII experiences. I’ll give my wife Roxanne and my stories of our parents to start things off. Roxanne’s dad hitchhiked to Wright Patterson Air Force Base and lied about his age to enlist. He became a waist gunner in a B24 bomber flying over China. As for me, my dad was in the occupation of Japan and probably only lived because of the A bombs that resulted in VJ Day. I had two aunts who were army nurses in the war. And my mom, who had lupus which is genetically linked to the RA I have, did not serve in the war but her brother was in Pearl Harbor during the bombing. Uncle Gilbert survived that and continued his training as an Air Force navigator. He completed his training but was so prone to air sickness he was assigned ground duties. At the end of the war he was the only survivor of his class.
The years are passing quickly and I really think it will interest us all to hear of the effects of the Great War on our lives. I hope AF Dude can move any veterans’ stories to the top of the list. We are all tied together because of our arthritis and we’re a circle of friends and I hope this will be an interesting set of stories even if RA is not the primary theme.

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Great Granny

Posted Monday, November 02, 2009 10:48 PM

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Hi Jay.

With veteran's day just around the corner, I don't think this is an unusual thread. My father served in WW I and four of my brothers served during Viet Nam. But I do have a WW II story, in a round about sort of way. Its rather long so bear with me.

I got laid off from the job from which I thought I would retire. I was fortunate to get a job quickly as a government contractor. I worked on the WW II Memorial Dedication. Part of my responsibilities were the logistics of the dedication weekend activities and coordinating approximately 1,700 volunteers. One volunteer was a WW II veteran, who really wanted to participate. He was a widower who had lost his son, so he had plenty of time on his hands. He was somewhat feeble and was beginning to lose his ability to comprehend and remember. As the weekend drew closer, he called nearly every day for three weeks and asked the same questions.

We knew the work of the volunteers would be grueling to healthy, young people, so we were quite sure he wouldn't be able to handle standing in the hot sun for hours on the mall in DC. We could not convince him that the dedication was to honor his service, as well as others who served during the war. He wanted to help so badly. About three days before the kick-off, I met with him and told him I had a special assignment for him. We needed him to hang out at the MCI Center and mingle with the vets. We wanted him to get feedback from them about the weekend's activities. I told him that because he was a vet, they would probably be more comfortable sharing their experiences with him. He was thrilled to have a "special" assignment. He called me the Monday after the dedication to tell me how thrilled he was to be at the MCI Center, and that he met hundres of people, some vets, some the children and grand children of vets.

Being on the mall that day and seeing those men, some with canes, some in wheel chairs, and some on their own power, made me a bit teary eyed. Some of them could still fit into their uniforms. I saw a teenaged boy with baggy pants, an oversized T-shirt, and untied gym shoes, stop a vet and ask for his autograph. The old man almost cried. They sat and talked for about 40 minutes. I had never seen so many people being so genuinely kind to each other: people running to get water for a stranger; people giving up their seats; people digging in their pockets and purses to find a piece of paper to fan someone who was overheated. It was truly amazing.

There were a lot of activities throughout the week, and each activity had a highlight for me. But I think the highlight of the whole week was in knowing that a lonely, old man felt like a hero again.

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Grandpavan

Posted Tuesday, November 03, 2009 12:02 AM

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Last Login: Today @ 11:23 PM
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I just missed serving in WWII. I enlisted in the Army at age 16 and when I turned 17 they sent me to college in the Army Reserves. During my year in college the war was over and they relaxed the physical requirements. When I turned 18 and was called to active duty the doctor asked me if I wanted to stay in or be discharged, so I took the discharge. I follwed the war eagerly by radio, movie newsreels, and papers.

My older brother was in the Navy Air Corps and saw some limited action at the very end of the war. My wife's older brother (now deceased) was on duty with the Air Force at Hickham Field in Pearl Harbor on the first day of the war. I never talked to him about the war but my wife has shared the stories he told her. Sorry I can't help. God bless.

Age 82, diagnosed RA 12/2001, married since 1952, 4 sons no daughters, 4 grandsons 1 granddaughter. Doing well on Methotrexate and Remicade.

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Ladybugz

Posted Tuesday, November 03, 2009 8:45 AM

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Last Login: Yesterday @ 10:18 AM
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I don't to my knowledge have any relatives who served in WWII, but Tony and I do take an interest this, as well as anything aviation. This past May, the remaining DoLittle's Raiders came to our airport here in Columbia, SC for their 65th reunion, and we went. We stood in line for about 2 hours to see these guys. We had the pleasure of speaking to each one personally and shaking their hand, getting their autographs, as well as taking their pictures. We got to meet DoLittle's co-pilot, who told the story of how when he was a child he used to dream of flying with DoLittle, then amazingly ended up as his co-pilot. It was so cool, because each one of these men were so happy that people came to see them, to see that so many people care and appreciate what they did so long ago. It was truly a wonderful experience, meeting these men who so many years ago fought for our country. There were only 4 there, not many more than that are still with us. My body was aching by the time we finished standing in line, and all the walking, but I tell you, it was well worth it to see them and learn more about this kind of thing.

Have a great day,
Brenda

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WarmSocks

Posted Tuesday, November 03, 2009 9:57 AM

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Last Login: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 1:19 AM
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My father-in-law wouldn't usually talk about his war stories, but when I mentioned that my grandfather served under Patton, he said, "Oh, maybe I knew him. I served with Patton," then proceeded to tell about one time he thought for sure he was going to be in big trouble. FIL was the gunner on a tank. In the middle of a battlefield, crazy as that scene usually is, the command was given to fire. So he did. Right by Patton's ear. After regaining his feet and hearing, instead of railing on the lowly gunner who hadn't thought before firing, Patton said it was his own fault for standing where that could happen, and commended FIL for following orders.

My grandfather was a great story-teller, so we heard more of his experiences. One of his older brothers was drafted into WWII. Theirs was a close-knit family and he didn't want his brother to go to war alone, so grandpa gave up a college scholarship and volunteered. Of course the army didn't keep them together. Grandpa was at the Battle of the Bulge. When my grandparents were in their sixties, grandma wanted to visit relatives in Europe. Grandpa didn't want to go. When pressed, he said, "Look, I've seen Europe. That place is a mess!" After their return from grandma's trip, he allowed as how it had been cleaned considerably since the war.

During the war, he was with a group of soldiers sent to England to train with the RAF. They were among those who parachuted in as the first wave to get ready for a certain beach landing. Toward the end of that training he landed wrong, hurt his foot, and was in the hospital when all his buddies took off for their mission. None of them came back. That training combined with some of his other experiences earned him the assignment of writing the training manual for what is now the green berets. (there were probably others who worked on this, too, but it was still fascinating to hear him talk as if he was single-handedly responsible)

Our favorite story of his is from earlier in his military career. They were stationed in the middle of the desert and he was assigned to teach his men how to swim. Grandpa was a great teacher and a great swimmer, but his task was complicated by the fact that there was no lake, no pool, only sand. When he asked how he was going to teach people how to swim without any water, the army's response was, "Sergeant, that's your problem!" He did it. They drug benches out to the parade grounds, and the soldiers lay on benches in 110 degree heat, going through all the appropriate arm and leg motions. By the time they finally got to water, every one of those men could swim!

+WarmSocks
______________________________________________________
Aiming for NED
...Plaquenil (hcq), Azulfidine (ssz), Methotrexate (mtx), Enbrel, Folic Acid, Feldene, Prilosec,Verapamil, Maxalt, vitamins

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