My father....

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Excellent bit of family history there guys.
My Great Grandmother (still alive) and Grandmother both saw out the war in occupied Holland. My Great Grandmother never talked much about it, but I know her father was in the Dutch underground and at night she would go out and forage for food. Apparently the family was helped by a friendly German soldier who would also help supply food. She also once told us she witnessed a German plane crash into a nearby building after she had been narrowly missed on it's straffing run!
 
Ummm... I'm related to Robert E. Lee and one relative invented the submarine, Simon Lake. I didn't know them though.
 
I have copies of the documents showing that my Grandfather was enlisted in the Frontier Battalion of the Texas Rangers in 1882. His father served in the Army of the Confederacy and his father's brother fought at the Battle of the San Jacinto where the Texans defeated a larger Mexican army in 18 minutes and won independence from Mexico.
 
ccheeseman,

That was really great.
Thank you so much for posting that.

I hope the members here don't flog me too much, but while my paternal grandfather was a bit too young for WW1 (born '01), I believe my maternal grandfather was in a few battles in the Phillipines, as a soldier in the Japanese Army, around the time of WWI, or maybe just a bit before.
I know Mom's told me a few times, that he saw Hailey's Comet while enlisted and that would've been around 1910 (as close as I can tell, he was born between 1880-1885).
It's funny, having been born and grown up in America and knowing all that I've learned about WWII, then hearing her rendition of what was thought and how things were during the war, seeing how she was a member of what we would consider an "axis nation".
All I can say is, MAN, WHAT A BUNCH OF PROPAGANDA B.S.! (and I mean BOTH sides, kiddies!)
She still cringes at certain high pitched noises, because they remind her of the sound P-51's made on strafing runs near where she grew up.




Elvis
 
...btw, does anyone here know if their relative, who served in WWI, was a Dispatch Rider?
I always thought that would make a great premise for a movie or a book or something.



Elvis
 

Elvis:

I work with a man (Akisano Ito) whose father was a Japanese soldier on Iwo
Jima, when we invaded. And, was one of the few taken prisoner and survived
the war. He died some years later of natural causes. Akisano came to the
states in the 50's and served honorably in the USMC. He doesn't talk much
but has said he is researching his father' service in the Japanese Army.
We call him Aki....

Charles
 
Charles,

Your friend, Aki. He doesn't happen to have any relatives that live in Hawaii, does he?
My parents have some friends they've known for years over there and their name is Ito.


...hmmm...



Elvis
 
Elvis said:
Charles,

Your friend, Aki. He doesn't happen to have any relatives that live in Hawaii, does he?
My parents have some friends they've known for years over there and their name is Ito.
...hmmm...

Elvis
Click to expand...

I donno, Elvis, but I will ask him, on Monday. As an aside, the trial judge
At O.J. Simpson's murder trial was named Ito.

Charles
 
Interesting thread guys. Thanks for starting it ccheese.

Had 8 grand-uncles who served overseas in WW1. Three were killed (brothers), 2 within 12 days and the other 6 months later. Only one has a known grave. One was a boy-soldier.
 
Al: I think if some of the forum members would dig into it a bit, they come
up with a lot of WW-I veterans. Several have already posted things about
grand-fathers and uncles, but I'll bet there's more out there. If I ever get
the time (guess that's like a round toit) I'll scan my father's letters to his
mother from 1918 and put them up.

Charles
 

My Dad's Grandfather was born too early to serve in WWII too late to serve in WWI. But 2 of grandmothers brothers were in the British army WWI, and the third brother was also at Jutland. Bad luck, on the HMS Indefatigable.

On Mother's side her father his 2 brothers served, one Army, one RN, one Merchant marine.

Does anybody know the best way to find British Army records for WWII? Only one twist though, he fought in the Levant N. Africa and was wounded, but he was in the Indian Army, not the British. (although he was born in the UK)
 
Well my German Grandfather was a Major in the Wehrmacht. He was actually a Medical Officer (before the war he was a Lung Doctor specializing in Tuberculoses). He served on the Western Front (My mother has pictures of him standing in front of the Eifel Tower in his uniform after Paris fell.

He later was transferred to the Eastern Front and took part in the Battle of Stalingrad where he was later captured. What saved him was that he was later transferred from a Russian POW camp to an American POW camp and he was released shortly after the war returning in 1947 (I believe it was 1947 but it might have been 1946, I will have to ask my mother).

Several of my Grandmothers brothers fought in the war as well. I am not sure what there exact job was however. One survived the war but has since past away and the other is still MIA today. He was last seen somewhere in France. My Grandmother has very little information on what happened.

On my Step mothers side of the family she has an Uncle who was in the Waffen SS and fought in Yugoslavia. I have spoken to him once but only very briefly.

My American Grandfather was an engineer and he landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He fought out the war in Europe and remained in the Army. He also served in Korea.
 
As I said, if some of the members would dig, or ask questions, we'd have lots
of members with grandparents who served in the military during some of the
conflicts. My second step-father, Frank Waski, was killed on D-day. I believe
he is still interred at or near St. Lo. My brother-in-law, Anthony J. Dardozzi
was on Iwo Jima with the marines.

Charles
 
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