Any Family in WWII?

stikpusher

I think that his being in the 36th was more likely to keep him out of Normandy than his being wounded. At the time of the Normandy landings and Campaign, the 36th was still fighting hard in Italy. they had just helped in the capture of Rome. That Division, like many others that fought alongside the 36th in North Africa, thru Sicily, up Italy and across to Southern France, had long hard war. But I had never heard of them being at the Bulge before. Unless he was shanghaied into another unit after being wounded. The 7th Army, which the 36th fought under in France, was a long was from the Ardennes battle area,

My dad's father joined the Navy in 1943 (I think). He'd tried to enlist earlier, but kept getting knocked back because of his age — mid 30s — and his work in war-essential industry — ship building in Houston. He was assigned to the Sea Bees and served in the Pacific. I'm unsure of which unit, but have some photos of him on several islands. I understand he was wounded, possibly on Okinawa, and returned to the States. He died several years before I was born ab=nd was apparently reticent to talk much about the war with his sons.

My mother's father was also older and spent the war working for US Steel in Chicago.

D to the end of the My uncle Bud, my avatar, was a fighter pilot in the 63rd fighter squadron 56th fighter group Zemkes wolfpack. On May 12th 1944 while flying as Zemkes wingman he was shot down by Gunther Rahl, and spent the last part of the war as a POW.

My grand father faught with the 7th Armoured Div. 82nd Recon Regiment D Company. Was in thru out the battle of the Bulge and to the end of the war. He was a rifleman.

My father was in the army.He was in Trinidad when his father died in a farm accident.So my father was discharged so he could return home and run the family farm.

My fathers brother Ralph survived the Bataan death march only to die of beriberi as a POW in japan.

His brother Ross drove Shermans in the 20th AD.When I was growing up I was told by my perants not to talk to him about the war so I don't know very much about his service.

My mothers mom worked at a ship yard building Liberty ships.

Two great uncles were on WWII.

One was a major in the Army. He was in North Africa and Kasserine pass. He later went into Omaha on D-Day on the third wave. He would talk about all his experiences in the ETO, except for D-Day. He'd get too chocked up about it to talk about it. He was promoted to Lt. Col., at 26 years old. His unit 'liberated' a Cognac distillery toward the end. They loaded up a giant cask of it into a deuce and half with strict orders that no one was to touch it until victory was declared. They made it into Czechoslovakia by VE day. The first night, all the enlisted were told they could hit that barrel of cognac. No officers. Second night, they officers had their fill of cognac.

When I had just graduated high school, he invited me to have lunch with some veterans he served with in the war. When he stepped to the restroom,  these 4 men told me some things he had done in the war that I didn't know and what a great CO he was. It was only then they told me they had been enlisted under him.

Another great uncle was an Army Captain in N. Africa, Anzio, and D-Day. At Anzio, the men on either side were killed going ashore. Later, he realized he had holes on either side of his field jacket but no wounds. Later on, he was up towards the Ruhr and said the Germans had so much ammo that they would open up on small units or individuals with 88's. He was running across a field when they opened up on him with an 88. As he jumped into a shell hole, a round exploded below him, blowing him up to the lip of the shell hole..still full stride. Once, while in France he had come under fire again. Jumping into a shell hole, he was face to face with two brits brewing tea. Tea, mate?!? Tea!! He was floored by that! Lots of other stories. I am glad to have known those men. The greatest generation.

Happy memorial day, all!