my Grandfather was an anti-aircaft gunner during WW2

[Roon]

He fought in the battle of the bulge. He said that they would poop in the snow and would use the snow to wipe their butts!!!Can you imagine???

[pokerfan]

1. If he fought in the Bulge

then using snow to wipe his ass was probably the least of his problems.

90,000 US casualties, most in the first three days of the German blitz. Major supply problems for the Allies: ammunition, food, medical supplies, etc.

Your grandfather has my gratitude.

[no name no slogan]

15. My great-uncle was one of those 90,000

he didn't make it home. IIRC he's buried somewhere in the Ardennes.

:salute:

[VenusRising]

2. My grandfather was one of Patton's drivers.

He was hit in France and received the Purple Heart.

I wish I would have gotten to meet him. :(

[LSK]

3. my Grandfather drove supply trucks in the Pacific somewhere

Never got too many details regarding his war service but I did find his enlistment form on ancestry.com.

[VenusRising]

5. That's a cool find, LSK.

It's nice to have some connection, even if it's only a document with his name on it.

:hug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. My dear Roon...

I can sure imagine that......:scared:

My dad was in the Army then, but he never saw any action...

He was going to Officer Candidate School, and when they found out he was red/green colorblind, he got sent home...

Just in time to see my baby brother born...

They also serve, who stand and wait... :patriot:

[Roon]

7. Wow!

My Grandfather, as he gets older, is letting out more and more descriptions of what he went through during the war...I need to interview him with a video camera..cept I don't have a camera to to do it! :-(

[pokerfan]

18. Instead of a video camera

what's wrong with a plain old tape recorder? He might find that less intimidating anyway. Prepare some questions ahead of time and hopefully they will trigger some stories. Start with the mundane: the training, the food, his buddies, practical jokes, etc.

From Band of Brothers:
Liebgott : Men, it's been a long war, it's been a tough war. You've fought bravely, proudly for your country. You're a special group. You've found in one another a bond, that exists only in combat, among brothers. You've shared foxholes, held each other in dire moments. You've seen death and suffered together. I'm proud to have served with each and every one of you. You all deserve long and happy lives in peace.

[Adsos Letter]

29. That is one of the great scenes form that series!

[pokerfan]

38. I forgot that this board strips out box brackets

You know the context but for those who haven't seen BoB, Liebgott was translating a speech a German General was giving to his men after they had surrendered.

[grasswire]

6. my uncle was at the Battle of the Bulge, too

He was briefly captured by the Germans. Against regulations, he was carrying a letter from his sweetheart, and he buried it in the dirt behind him as he was sitting on the ground with a German holding a gun on the GIs. That was not his worst experience in WW2.

[LostinVA]

8. One of my grandfather's and HIS father landed at Normandy and fought the Bulge

My GF came home with a bunch of Wehrmacht helmets and canteens and an SS dress dagger, all of which I have.

Band of Brothers does a good job of portraying what happened during this timeframe.

[underpants]

12. My grandfather fought in the Bulge then spent 2 years at Walter Reed

Mortar round landed IN his foxhole. All 3 of his buddies died instantly he had just climbed out to go to the bathroom. Pieces of shrapnel came out of his skin for years. All he lost was a pinky "It is floating around in Washington" he used to say.

Went home to WV and married a widow with 4 kids (my mom) had two more boys. When my stepfather asked him why he would have married a woman with 4 kids after all he had been through he didn't hesitate he said "Because I loved her"

He died in 1998.

[Wcross]

22. Your Grandfather sounds like he was one hell of a guy. n/t

[Orsino]

9. Snow up the keister. That'll wake you up in the morning! n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. Somehow that seems more civilized than fighter pilots

strapped in a seat for umpteen hours, stopping for nothing, refueling in air. When you gotta go, you go. Then sit in it for the remainder of the flight.

Probably not the most glamorous part of the job.

[trof]

19. Well, we did have a 'relief tube'.

Never had to take a dump when I was flying fighters.
The relief tube wasn't so easy to use, though.
Had to release the parachute straps, zip the two-way zipper UP, dig around in there past the skivvies, and try and fish it out.
Then you have to skooch way forward in the seat.
Beat wet pants, though.
;-)

[Redneck Socialist]

34. Wrong place sorry. n/t

[Wcross]

25. Most WWII fighters could only stay up for 3-4 hours.

No refueling, they did have drop tanks to increase the range. Bombers stayed aloft for hours at a time but they were able to get out of the seat if needed.

[TheMightyFavog]

55. Took a tour of a Short Sunderland Flying boat patrol bomber at the RAF Museum.

It had a toilet installed.

Then again, those planes did very long patrols, longer than the bombers.

[Wcross]

61. Those are one of my favorite warbirds.

Kermit Weeks has a flying example of the plane at the fantasy of flight museum. I have to get down there some day.



http://www.fantasyofflight.com/aircraftpages/sunderland.htm

[RetroLounge]

11. My grandfather was older in WWII

so he worked for the gov't in NYC running an ink company the war reparations act had taken from the Germans. He lived in Jersey City with an aunt for a year or so before returning to CHicago.

His younger brother was in Naval Intelligence, but I know nothing of his service.

His other younger brother (the two youngest were twins) fought in the pacific and was captured and survived the death march and 42 months as a POW in the phillipines and Japan.

RL

[Left_Winger]

13. My grandfather was an infantry officer in WW 1

[pokerfan]

16. So was mine

He told me a few stories before he passed on. Having to deal with losing his best friend, how gas shells sounded different than normal shells, and getting shot in the ass. What is it with getting shot in the ass? They say it was an Easy Co. tradition in WWII. Buck Compton got hit in the ass with a wound they called, "one bullet, four holes."

Anyway, I have my grandfather's helmet, uniform, diary (just a letter to his mom and another to his sweetheart, my future grandmother), his shaving kit, and his purple heart.

[Left_Winger]

52. I was the only one in the family who would listen to him

so he left me all his things from that era in his life. One medal is missing, the WW1 Victory Medal, which was swiped by someone. Also, look closely at the citation and see if you can make out the signature in the lower right corner. BTW, grandpa never said anything negative about the French concerning bravery; he admired them for all they had withstood.

His medals:



The citation:

[pokerfan]

60. Very cool

I also have my grandfather's service star.

One of my cousins got the Luger he smuggled home.

[seemunkee]

14. Common mountaineering practice

You use what you got.

Write down what he tells you even if comes in bits and pieces. My MIL lived in a partisan camp and doesn't like to talk about it, every so often something will trigger her and we get another piece of the puzzle.

[Alexander]

17. My grandfather flew B-17s in Europe during WW2.

He died before I was born, so I didn't get to hear any stories.

My mom still keeps a photograph of him with his crew.

[tigereye]

62. my dad was a tail gunner in some of those planes...

maybe it was b 24s, can't remember at this moment...


it was the most dangerous place to be on the plane, I'm lucky to be here, I guess....


My dad has photos near the plane, and some old parachutes, etc.

:hi:

[trof]

20. I know a guy who was there too.

Amazing story.
He landed at Normandy on D-Day.
And fought all the way through until the German surrender.
Including the Battle of the Bulge.
Not too many guys were over there for the entire war.

[Roon]

23. I forget how many days after D-day that my Grandfather arrived at Normandy.

But he says they were still trucking bodies out of the area...he also said he saw a cow that got hit with shrapnel and it had poop coming out of it'd stomach..pretty wild.

[Wcross]

21. I had a relative who died at Stalingrad serving in the German army.

My mother saved the letters received from relatives after the war who lived in Hamburg. They didn't know he was dead until 1950, he was my mothers cousin. I also have a great uncle (my dads uncle) who took the walking tour of Italy as a grunt, he survived but never talked about it. He saw some stuff.

[Adsos Letter]

28. My wife took care of an elderly lady

who was a nurse in the German Army during the campaign into Russia and the subsequent retreat. She was still tough as nails in the late 1970's.

I can't even imagine it.

[Adsos Letter]

24. My wife's uncle was in the 8th Air Force

co-piloting a B-17 out of England on bombing runs over Germany. They took a flak hit which killed the pilot and badly wounded several others. It blew a hole the size of a baseball out of his thigh. He managed to nurse the plane back to England without any further loss.

He was 20 yrs. old, and needed a cane the rest of his life.

He said flying a B-17 over Germany was the most terrifying experience of his life.

[Roon]

33. Damn!! eom

[merh]

39. my father was a navigator on the B-17s

he didn't talk much about his experiences, we used to have some aerial photos but katrina stole those and his medals and his camp gear. :(

[Adsos Letter]

41. I am sorry for the loss of your mementos...

our response to that disaster has been a national disgrace as far as the governmental response is concerned.

I don't think most of them talked much about their experiences because it was so far beyond what most of us can really relate to.

:hi:

[merh]

48. thanks for the kind words

I believe you are right about what they went through, they just didn't talk about it.

[Jack Sprat]

50. Me too. I was in the 8th AF long after WWII. I was proud

to be a member, though, because of the WWII, B-17 history.

[xmas74]

26. One of my grandfathers was a Ranger.

I know that he was at Anzio. I also know that he was, at one point, a very emaciated POW.
(Just wanted to add: I know, according to discharge papers I once saw that he was one of the Rangers first sent to Morocco. He made it out alive but many did not. And a few weeks before he passed on he mentioned something about how when he was captured his feet were so frostbitten he thought they would be amputated but that a couple of "nice German doctors and nurses" saved them.)

The other served in the Pacific but I don't know much. They both made it home but neither are with us now.

[Avalux]

27. My grandfather was a Marine at Tarawa -

he watched his fellow soldiers fall dead all around him as they stormed the beach; he never even got injured. There's a film clip of him in a PBS documentary; he and another soldier walking along the beach, collecting dog tags.

[BrotherBuzz]

30. My grandfather worked at Mare Island Naval shipyard

He was 56 and too old for the service, but after a dozen lean depression years he was happy to land a construction job and help the war cause. Grandma volunteered as head Gray Lady at Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Field (now called Travis AFB). Their two son-in-laws were in the Pacific Theater of Operation, one army, one navy.

[Adsos Letter]

31. odd...today I was working in one of the houses built as temporary

living quarters for the workers at Mare Island; and I live practically within sight of Travis.

My (now deceased) Grandmother worked in the payroll department at Mare Island during the First World War; she was 17 at the time.

[BrotherBuzz]

36. Cool!

Grandpa lived in a shack he threw together from concrete forms and camped in high fashion while he built the housing or what ever else he was building. I still have his photo "CONTRACTOR" ID badge.

His Grandfather worked for Captain Farragut at Mare Island from 1858 until the Civil war broke out, then put to sea. He left his family in Vallejo, and returned after the war to work at Mare Island as a civilian until 1915. Fifty-seven years at Mare Island, minus the war years!

By the twenties, the family had moved on to Napa, St. Helena, and points beyond...

[Adsos Letter]

37. I know it well...I lived in Napa for over 30 years...

and worked from one end of The Valley to the other.

[texanwitch]

32. My Grandfather was in WWI and he told us stories about the war.

Rats, gas, living in mud, dead friends.

He never hunted again after the war, he said he knew how the deer felt.

[two gun sid]

53. When I first read your post about knowing how the deer felt....

it brought tears to my eyes.

Thank you for posting about your Grandfather.

[Redneck Socialist]

35. My father was a Coastie in WWII

Tracked German subs up and down the east coast of North and South America and through the Caribbean. Not a bad gig compared to many during the war.

[Poiuyt]

40. My father was a B-25 pilot

He was in the bombing of the Monte Cassino monastery.

He received a Distinguished Flying Cross, but here he is getting the Air Medal.

[texanwitch]

42. What a picture.

The guys were so brave to fly those missions.

My two neighbors when I was growing up were gunners on the B-17.

They were shot down and were POW's for a few years, and it wasn't like Hogan's Heros.

The courage it took to climb into the planes knowing you might not get back.

[Poiuyt]

44. And they were so young

Dad was about 20 or so when he was flying over there. He flew 70 missions.

[texanwitch]

47. Wow, 70 missions.

They were young but seemed so old.

They had to grow up so fast.

My neighbors would talk about being POWs but they would get that far away look in their eyes.

[pokerfan]

51. Well, that's the catch

The courage it took to climb into the planes knowing you might not get back.

You have to be be crazy to fly more missions and sane if to refuse, but if you were sane you had to fly them.

One third of all B-17's produced were shot down.

Our closest neighbor (and my father's closest friend) growing up on the farm was a bomber pilot and the subject of a (regional) book called Palouse Pilot.

http://www.57thbombwing.com/340Ref.htm

[proud patriot]

43. Brrrrrr

:scared:

[ironflange]

45. My dad fixed training airplanes in Ontario in "The Big One"

As soon as he was old enough he signed up for the Air Force so he wouldn't get drafted into the Army. He always wanted to get a frontline posting, but never did. He had a relatively easy war experience. One of his brothers was in the Army, and another navigated Lancasters over Germany at night. Both made it home unscathed.

Both of Mrs. Ironflange's grandpas were in WWI; one was a fly-boy, the other had to slog around in the trenches.

[bullwinkle428]

46. My maternal grandfather died fighting in the Battle of Okinawa;

my poor Mom was only 7 at the time, and she told me the story of how she was distracted and crying at (Catholic) school in the days afterward, and the nuns BEAT her for it! What a vile act! I apologize if I offended any Catholics, but have to say I've never doubted any horror stories regarding Catholic school since she told me that...

[Jack Sprat]

49. Well, my grandfather was an aircraft carrier in WWII.

[momophile]

54. my grandfather was shot down and then a POW in WWII

in Europe. I never heard stories as he didn't often talk about it. But I do have the POW letters somewhere around here.

Rest his soul.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

56. My grandad (Mom's dad) was at the Bulge as well.....

he was a medic in the Third Army. My father's father was a tail gunner in a B-17, he didn't make it through the war. And my father's step-father fought in the Pacific, however he never talked about it so I never knew the details.

[yewberry]

57. My Grampa was a B25 navigator in WWII.

His plane was shot down over Germany, and he ended up at Stalag Luft 1 in Barth, a "guest of the Germans," he used to say.

He seemed to carry a lot of guilt, and my Grandma says he was never he same after the war. I only ever knew him to be the quietly funny stoic yankee that he was late in life. I miss him.

[momophile]

58. what are the chances that my g-pa and your g-pa

were together? I don't know where my grandpa served his time as a "guest." It's in the letters but I don't even know where they are right now.

I miss my grandpa too...

[yewberry]

59. Who knows? It could be.

If he was an airman, he probably went to one of the stalag lufts.

You could probably find out which camp your grandfather was at--I don't think there were that many stalag lufts, maybe ten or twelve. You could look at this site, which deals specifically with Stalag Luft 1, for research tips if you're interested. (The US archives site is quite often wrong or incomplete, though.) That site also has a listing on this page (scroll down) of most of the POWs who were in the camp when the Russian army liberated them.

There are some amazing stories from this camp--a secret radio, an underground newspaper, poetry and starvation. They make me feel a little closer to understanding my Grampa's life.

[NoPasaran]

63. My father was also in an anti-aircraft battery in WW2

He was in Iceland in 1943 at Seydisfjordir, a village on the east coast which was a refueing port for destroyers escorting the Murmansk convoys. Then over to Britain and the liberation of Europe. I do know that once they had to use their 90mm guns against German tanks near Maastricht. At the end of the war for a little while he was military governor of a German village.