I think we should sticky this thread.:up: I think this is one of the best thread ideas in a long time.:know:
I had an Uncle storm Anzio, 1 fought kamikazes @ Okinawa. My grandfather had health issues and couldn't go, so he worked for the gov't developing synthetic rubber.
My ex-spouse's grandfather was in the Russian arty, blasting Germans.
I don't have any cool photos, but I love everybody elses!:up:

I have an original photo of one of the first A2A refuellings done between two Avro Lancaster spinoff passenger planes.

My Grandfather enlisted in the Army before the US entered the war and was shipped to Australia after Pearl Harbor. After that he was sent to Port Moresby and was a codebreaker for most of the war. He was sent to the Phillipines sometime in early 1945 and did translation work with the natives. Sometime after the war ended he came became ill with a tropical disease. Since his work was so secret he couldn't receive proper medical care and almost died. Apparently he didn't even exist, and when he finally returned to the US in early 1946, he had to hitchhike all the way from California to Connecticut. He never received his share of the GI Bill, and he's never been recognized for his Ultra work during World War II, which remains a thorn in the side of most of my family today. :shifty: I've been talking with one of my Aunts about someday publishing his story as a book, in an attempt to rectify this "little problem."

By great uncle Thomas Cadder was a B-24 gunner with the 22nd Bombardment Group, aka "The Red Raiders", out of the Philippines. His plane apparently crashed into a mountain on Luzon in February 1945 on a mission to Formosa, and nothing was ever found of the plane or the crew. Hell, the town of Windsor Locks didn't even include his name on their WWII memorial until 2003.

I'm starting to think the veterans in my family have been neglected as a whole. :nope:

Noone in my family has been confirmed to have served. There is a thought that my great grandad (who was apparently a drunk lowlife) was drafted to serve in WW2 (as an aboriginal, he woulda been exempt from most rules regarding service) and was subsequently killed. Like i said tho, its not confirmed.

Besides that, noone has ever served. I'm off to be a reservist, so we'll see where that takes me i guess.

I agree, this is a very good thread, lots of history and pictures, very informative. :up: Good work, guys, I appreciate the time you took to bring your grandfathers' lives to the rest of us. :yep: I'm giving this one 5 stars.


PS: Anyone who tries to turn this thread political will suffer a keelhauling.:nope:

No grandfathers served in the world wars, my grandfather on my fathers side from Yugoslavia left his home country to come to new zealand in the early 1930's and for 7 yrs he worked here and brought 2 farms then went back in late 1930's to grab his family and bring them to NZ. Because they were farmers they weren't required to go to war but supply the country instead. Only have one relative that went to war, Vietnam war.

The most remote military ancestors I know of, are from my father' s family, when two brothers served as knights in the Army of King James I in the XIII century.

On my mother's family, the most remote military ancestor I know about was an artillery sargeant who died in the Napoleonic wars circa 1812.

My dad's father served as artillery captain in the spanish civil war with Franco's troops. He survived and died aged 84 in 1984 having suffered no injuries.

My mother's father served as medical assistant in the republican army and despite the dangerous job (Picking and carrying injuried combatants through the trenches) he also survived and never was injured. He died aged 69 also in 1984.

Fortunately for me, they never met in the field and killed the other, -which could have been possible given they fought in opposite sides- :huh:

My thread rocks! :rock:

My dad's father was engineer during the war, behind the lines.
Fixing the tanks, and driving the supplies to the artilerry positions.

He died couple of months later when I was born.

On my fathers side of the family, well, I'm not 100% sure since my Grandad hasn't said much about his time in service, but he did once mention something about being in the Highlanders, but I think it was probably after the Second World War.
I do have a grand-uncle (possibly great-grand-uncle) who was killed by a sniper at Verdun in the First World War, but for the rest, I don't know on that side. Odd, I see more of my fathers side of the family, but know more about my mothers side... :doh:

My granddad from fathers side was very ill and died shortly after the war, my grandad mothers side was at sea fishing when the war started, he saw me the day I was born (29 april) just hours before he left harbour, and came back 5 years later.
He was ordered to England and volunteer the navy.
During the war he was skipper on a minesweeper a dangerous job with lots of loses.
He manage to survive and was on the river Schelde while the germans are on one side, the Canadians on the other side shooting with all they have.
The river was crucial for the allies to supply Antwerpen with all stuf a army needs.
Till then all supply came via France.
He got the highest military decoration, the Military Willems Order.

I never forget when I was in the army (Dutch commandos) my granddad told me he had seen a lot of greenbarets dead, floting in the river, those days. There was a commando raid on the Island of Walcheren.
He was a very amabile man and a great granddad.

http://aycu11.webshots.com/image/315...7488720_th.jpg

Fantastic thread....how about we include fathers as well ?(for us older folk to talk about) :hmm:

I already mentioned mine. I'm sure there's no problem with it; the OP is just younger is all.

Like Sailor Steve, my dad was too young to fight in WWII (born in 1930) but did National Service in the RAF.

My mum's dad worked at a cipher/signal intercept establishment somewhere near Edinburgh. In the lead-up to D-Day he disappeared for a week when they weren't allowed to go home - when he eventually got home my granny nearly brained him, she thought he was having an affair!

My mum's grandfather was killed in the trenches at Loos: http://www.cwgc.org/search/certificate.aspx?casualty=1768050

My dad's dad was a WWI dispatch rider at the front line, until he was invalided home after being gassed. He was never fully fit again and died before I was born, from a related illness.

Never got to meet either grandfather. On my dads side, he served in the Seabees and was possibly in Africa, and for sure Normandy, and pushed into Germany in 1944. My dad says that he never talked much about it, so details are sketchy.

"Can do!" :cool:

My great grandfather was at Pearl when it was bombed and was drafted to help out on the spot. Don't know what happened from there.

My family didn't really seem to keep records very well so I am not sure about the rest. I know one or two related family members fought in the civil war for the confederates and one was even highly decorated for a battle, but like I said, the details are not there. It is unfortunate, as I would like to see more of where my family came from. On my mothers side the information is almost zero.

Request Granted, carry on.

My great grandfather fought and died in WWI. I do not know much about him, but I am trying hard to change that.


RDP

A possible distant relative of mine, serving in the RNVR went down on the SS Normandy, torpedoed in January 1918.
Simply put, our names are identical, and his parents lived a few miles from where my paternal grandfather was born. My surname is rather unusual in this part of the country, so it looks likely that we're related.

My maternal grandfather spent the Second World War in the Irish Army, first as a sentry and air-raid warden, then a Vickers gun instructor.

Unfortunately I have never talked much about this topic with my grandfather, and I think he did not want to.
All I know is that he was in Stalingrad in WW2 and was flown out of there after he got injured. He then was at the western front and sometime got POWed by US forces. He was already on the way to Great Britain when the ship he was on had to return because of some (german) offensive going on in France (probably Ardennes offensive).

Very little information I have, I wish I had more but now it is too late :oops:

My grandfather was in Poland. He was a young Kid when Germany invaded Poland. When he was young he tried to help Jews get to safety and hide them from the SS. He also help take care of them if they are trying to run away on his family farm. It was a very hard time and was happy after Russia came to Poland.

My grandfather on my Mom's side served as a Radioman aboard a Destroyer Escort. He was with the carrier task force that arrived at Pearl the day after the Japanese attacked...

He served on various Destroyers and DE's throughout the entire Pacific War and was present at a number of battles and confrontations with the Japanese. He was present at Tokyo Harbor when the Japanese surrendered. At the end of his Naval career of 30 years, he was a Chief Warrent Officer WO-1, the highest rank attainable (at the time) for an enlisted man.

My grandfather will be 95 this year and is still in excellent physical and mental health.