What did you or your family do in the military?

[rayrey10]

Pretty cool thread. Thanks for starting it Bill!

Me: USMC...was enlisted, got accepted into an officer program, tore up my knee the last week of OCS. Four surgeries later, they gave me walking papers.

My son: Currently in the Marine Corps

Dad: career Army guy
Godfather: Army (Korean War)
Uncle: 26 yrs Army
Several cousins: Army

 

[rvn817j]

Great Stories / Great Thread

This is a very interesting thread. Thank you to all that have served and/or supported those that have served.

Father - WWII US Navy Corpsman; then let the government pay for medical school;

Father-in-law - A real war hero; drove beach landing craft in WWII on many dangerous beach landings all the way up the Philippine Islands chain and was part of the original Japanese occupation force at the end of that conflict; then let the government send him to law school;

Uncle - Army Master Sgt.; Vietnam tours; retired after 20+ years; and

Me - US Navy NFO (S-3A); then reserves; then retired after 19 years (thanks to W. Clinton); I helped win the 'cold war'!

 

[Cirrus N210MS]

my dads father my Grandpa was in the Navy in WW2 he was station on the CVE-31 USS prince williams :salute:

 

[Motormouse]

for me.. Grandad served in Royal Navy; was at Battle of Jutland in WW1;
one uncle was in 'Airborne Forces' WW2;another served in Korea with Gloucesters;
and 2 others both RAF

I was RAF for 12 years; worked Canberra's ; F-4 Phantoms; Buccaneers; Harriers and Sea Harriers;
and finished as Crew Chief on C-130's; had a minor part in 2 little wars on the way.

ttfn

Pete

 

[Kofschip]

This thread is fascinating.

My maternal grandfather served with the Dutch Hussars in the Atjeh wars in the Dutch East Indies and he also helped the Boers in South Africa for a while. My paternal grandfather was a trouble maker icon_lol in the Dutch Army, that is all I know about him. My father was not in any "service," but he did spend about five years making life miserable for Germans during WW II.

I served in the Royal Dutch Navy and came to the USA after a stint as a "civilian" in SE Asia in the early 1960's. In the USA I worked for the USAF as an civilian.

 

[Toastmaker]

Great thread here !
My dad was a top turret gunner on a 15th AF B-24 out of one of the USAAF fields surrounding Foggia, Italy. On his 16th mission over Vienna, on Oct. 13, 1944, his plane was breaking up from flak damage and they bailed out, landing in the Vienna suburbs with some very pissed off Austrians ! Got turned over to the military and spent the rest of the war in a few different Luftstallags. Never saw or learned anything about the rest of his crew except for one guy that was reported KIA later.
He used to really like to watch Hogan's Heros and laugh at all the fake stuff in that show !
He died in 2003, a retired AF LTC. Like all the men here who've lost their fathers - I miss him a lot.

Me, like an idiot, I joined the Army out of high school, was a squad radioman (1st/121 INF) at a perimeter firebase in Nha Trang, Vietnam (71-72). Not nearly as much fun as I thought it would be !!

 

[brad kaste]

Because of my Dad's age and had already started a family in '41,...he didn't serve. However,...his younger brother,...Uncle Ivan did serve in the Philippines. Because his typing and writing skills were valued so much,...he did office and clerical work.

 

[Lionheart]

Some amazing stories of some amazing people.

 

[CADFather]

I served 4 years in the Army as an Airborne, Air-Assault Infantryman, spent time in Korea, Panama/Honduras, Egypt and a few other places around the world.

My Dad was drafted in '68 and went to Ft. Benning, GA, that's as far as he made it, went AWOL and subsequently dis-honorably discharged. Had several Uncles on my Mom's side that went to Vietnam and all returned, some a little more shaken than others.

My Paternal Grandfather went to Europe in WWII as an EOD tech, spent several years there clearing the countryside of UXO after the war was over. His wife (my Paternal Grandmother) worked in the ammunition factory in Hollywood, CA during the war.

Maternal Grandfather was too old to serve in WWII and too young for WWI.

Several relatives fought for both sides of the War of Northern Aggresion. I even have a branch kin relation to Mary Custiss Lee, the wife of Gen. Robert E. Lee and through that same lineage a tie to Martha Washington, who's husband was of some note during the Revolution and the founding of our country.

CAD

 

[Willy]

Because of my Dad's age and had already started a family in '41,...he didn't serve.

That's about why my Grandpa didn't serve. He was 30 in '41 had 6 kids already and was pretty much illiterate. Plus he was a farmer. He went to join up as he figured he'd make more money in the Army with the Grandma and kids getting a check and was told no. He was the best shot with a rifle that I ever saw and I've seen some good ones. He would have made one heck of a sniper.

 

[Trans_23]

I had two great uncles that fought in WWII. One came home and the other fell at Corregidor. My Aunt (wife of the uncle that died) served in the Women's Axillary Army Corps during the war and found out shortly before the war ended about the fate of her husband. My cousin wrote a book about the WAAC titled Fort Des Moines.
The wife and myself both served in the Air National Guard. My son is a Marine and is currently serving his first tour in Afghanistan. My oldest daughter is in the Army and has served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. She is now stationed in the Washington DC area but the name of the base escapes me at the moment. It is not far from Mt Vernon.
My son in law is in the Army and has served a tour in Iraq. He and my daughter and my two grandsons will be leaving this summer for a 3 year tour in Italy. He is currently at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. cross training to Military Police.
An honorable mention goes out to my 15 year old daughter Stephanie that just completed her first year in the Air Force Jr. ROTC program in High School and received the most awards of anyone in her class. She is a high honors student with aspirations of going to one of the service academies after high school.

 

[mrogers]

My mum's father served in the First World war NZ 1st Maori Battalion, was at Gallipoli, and then was gassed in France but survived. He died from the damage the gas did to his lungs, in 1955.
My late dad joined the Home Guard and then went to the NZ Army at age 16 during the Second World war. His Mum would not let him go overseas to the war as she had lost two brothers in the First World war so stayed in NZ. However after the war ended he was 19 and was in the J-Force occupation force that went to Japan and was there for over a year or so.
Dad told me that he passed through Hiroshima in 1946. There was nothing there, just flat and charred ground and the only building standing was the Dome which still stands which he saw.

My birth Mum's (I'm adopted) late dad served in the NZ Army and was at El Alamein. Her uncle was a ground crewman on RNZAF PV-1 Venturas in the Pacific.
A great-uncle was killed serving on HMS Neptune that sank with huge loss of life in 1941.

My Mum's sister's late husband was a mechanic in the RAF serving in England and later in the Burma theater working on RAF spitfires, P-47s, etc. He used to tell me about the Short Stirling with their huge mainwheels and Handley Page Hampdens that he worked on in England and said that the Hampdens were called flying coffins by the pilots that flew them.

 

[Butcherbird17]

Great thread. I don't know to much about my family's military experience. I do know that i had a great
great grandfather (mothers side) who was with Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill.
He was the company bugler and his bugle is in a museum somewhere up north. My grandmother's brother
served in ww2 and was KIA somewhere around Brest, and is buried at St James France. My mom's brothers
served in the marines and did tours in Viet Nam. My uncle Bill was at Khe Sanh in 68. Neither of them
talked to much about there time in country, and have both passed away.

On my fathers side i don't know if any served. My dad did not serve in viet nam as he had flat feet
His family came to the US after ww2 from Czechoslovakia and its about all i know. As for myself i didn't
join the military, i was in the Boy Scouts and Jr Marines until i was 16. I got talked out of joining
the marines by my then girlfriend.

Joe

 

[stuartcox]

On the German side, my Grandfather was a navigator in He-111s during the Spanish civil war (Condor Legion, Edelweiss Geschwader) and WWII. They were shot down twice, both times returning back to Norway, and survived to tell the story!
My brother in law was an instructor with the Paras in Altenstadt, Germany,
and I was a medic for 4 years in the German alpine regiment (8. Gebirgssanitaetsbataillon in Kempten, Bavaria).

 

[medic]

I was a medic with the royal army medical corps stationed in germany, my farther served with the royal artilary in the korean war and my son in law is serving with the luftwaffe.

 

[aeromed202]

Dad flew Marauders in the USAAF in the 344th bomber group, 494th bomber squadron. He crashed just a couple of days before D-day and had to sit it out in hospital but recovered and went back up in another ship flying some 35 missions before coming stateside I think as an instructor. I still have a load of history to go through to be sure.

 

[Milton Shupe]

I am from a large family and have maternal and paternal large families. Way too many to share details and much I do not know.

What I know distilled down, one uncle killed early in WWII, no details.

I have 6 brothers. Four served in the Merchant Marines in the early 50's. 2 went into service, one in the navy on a sub, the other into the army as an accountant, then auditor, Japan mostly, then auditing in the states and overseas.
One brother and 2 brothers-in-law joined the National Guard or Coast Guard during the VN war.
I was in the army signal corp and one year in Viet Nam.
Another Brother-in-law was in the Air Force during the VN war as a chef and spent his last 4 years at the Dover AF base as chef.
One cousin lost his legs in VN to a land mine.

This is all I can recall at the moment.