Did any family members fight in World War II?

Reverend Conehead

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My dad was too young to fight in the war. He was just a kid. However, my late uncle was an airplane mechanic in the Pacific in the war against Japan. Several of my Swiss relatives were in the Swiss Army during that time. Although Switzerland remained neutral during the whole war, they did a ton of preparation to defend against a German invasion that they thought was coming. In fact, Hitler did have a plan to invade Switzerland, but they never followed through with it. My relatives were busy building bunkers in the border mountains and doing military drills. I also have French relatives whom I've never met. One of them may have fought in the Free French, but we don't know for sure. He was killed in 1942. I may have the chance to meet these people and find out what happened. I know he probably was in the Free French and did guerrilla warfare like blowing stuff up at night. They made life difficult for the invaders. I just don't know for certain if his death in 1942 was a result of that. He was really young, so that's what I suspect. One of my aunts was a nurse in the Pacific theater. She married my mechanic uncle. They met under a jeep during an air raid.

When I was an exchange student in Germany in the 80s, I met a bunch of German World War II veterans, but that will have to wait for another post. Suffice it to say, they were fascinating people.
 

nightrain

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My Father in Law (RIP) was a Bombardier during WWII. Enlisted after Pearl Harbor and went straight to flight training in what I believe was the Army Air Corps at the time. He was a Professional Engineer so he has a solid technical background and was conditioned to take on schooling and training needed. Came out of flight school as a 2nd Lieutenant. From what he said, the Bombardier was the only man on the aircraft that knew where they were headed. There was a reason for that, but I can't remember what it was. At a certain point of the flight, the Bombardier takes over the aircraft and commandeers the flight until he drops his load.

Flew most of his missions out of Italy, 50 or more we think. Many daylight raids. He has an incredible collection of snaps over Germany and the mushroom clouds he and his squadron left in their wake. Amazing man from an incredible generation of men. I will never forget him. Never talked much about his experiences, but we did manage to get a story of a return trip from Germany when his plane was hit by antiaircraft flack. The shell fragments penetrated the aircraft and hit one of this guys on board. My Father in Law said he stupidly took his gloves off to stop the bleeding and administer first aid to his wounded comrade and received a nasty case of frostbite in the process.

Thank God for the men willing to risk it all for our freedom

*My Wife corrected me on a detail. My father in Law was drafted after high school and immediately attended flight school. Became a PE after the war.
 
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dreghorn2

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One uncle was in the Navy helping to provide convoy protection in the north Atlantic. A second uncle was an Air Force flight instructor during the same time period.

One of my grandfathers was an infantry soldier during World War One, he fought at Passchendaele. Rough stuff.
 

DanteEXT

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Not fight but my grandfather joined the Navy. He wanted to be a submariner but they put him stateside in a hospital or something. Years later he got to take a tour of a submarine and it didn't go well. Guess he didn't realize he was claustrophobic until that moment.
 

csirl

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One uncle was in the Navy helping to provide convoy protection in the north Atlantic. A second uncle was an Air Force flight instructor during the same time period.

One of my grandfathers was an infantry soldier during World War One, he fought at Passchendaele. Rough stuff.

My great grandfather died in the 1915 battle of Ypres - same area as Passchendaele. The battle where the allies were heavily defeated.
 

Dallas_Cowboys50

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Great Grandpa was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, fought in the Pacific and was stationed in Japan for some time after the war...Buried in Fort Sam Houston in 1990....I vaguely remember my uncle trying to explain what was happening with Desert Storm on the ride down for his funeral, one of those weird childhood memories, I was only like 6 or 7 at the time.....Sadly my only memories of him being alive are all of him being in a wheelchair shaking and drooling from Parkinsons......
 

JohnnyTheFox

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My father was in the USMC during the Korean War but wasn't in the war proper.
Uncle Harold was in the Navy during WW2{pacific theater}
Grandpa Svymbersky was in the Army in WW1, I still have his dog tags as well as the menu of what they served on the ship going over there.
 

timb2

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My father was war he was at the Battle of Okinawa he was first wave of Pelielui, fought in Tarawa and Guadal Canal all my family members we all had to join the Marines I did too
 

paladin

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My father-in-law was trained as a Sherman tank gunner.
When he got shipped to England, he met some members of an Army Band
Their stand-up bass player had been hit by a truck the previous day.
A few phone calls later...a change of MOS

oh, what a lucky man he was
 

MWH1967

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Grandfather and great uncle. One was a mechanic and the other a cook. I still have the rifle my great uncle kept in the kitchen as he cooked.. It was a 22 caliber single shot..lol!!
 

ABQCOWBOY

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My Grandad was in World War II. I've mentioned him many times over the years. He was at DDay, he fought at Anzio, he fought at the Battle of the Bulge, he fought all the way to Berlin. That's all true, he was a hell of a man but I'll tell you now, he paid for it. You don't see that much and not pay for it.
 

JIMMYBUFFETT

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Both of my grandfathers were in WWII. One was in the first landing at Okinawa. I've got an old news paper clipping describing how he was lowered down by his feet to throw a satchel charge through the window of a pillbox. I've also got a Japanese prayer flag that he captured from the same beach with several prayers on it and a couple of bullet holes. While I don't display it, I do keep it safely guarded and it's got a lot of meaning to me from both perspectives of the man who carried it and the man who took it.

My other grandfather was an MP stationed in the Philippines. His nickname was Smitty and he was the guy who could get anything. Booze, smokes, chocolate, girls, and no telling what else. He was also the guy who figured out how to get it all home. I've got his service .45 Colt revolver, M1918 BAR that he dug up someplace, an old wooden ship wheel, ceramic naked Geisha figurines, and multiple bamboo pocket knives. How do you get a machine gun and a ship wheel home? He never told me.
 
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