Is anyone related to a WWII Veteran?

[JHuschke]

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone was related or had a World War II Veteran in their family. If so, what was the Veteran's name? What did he do/take part in, in the war?

My grandfather, Eddie Dempsey was in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II and Vietnam. He is a retired from the U.S. Marine Corps however, still alive and working to live..but he has never told me his age, so I wouldn't know that..I believe he was a Military Police at second, he never mentioned what he did first in the war.

[Platapus]

My grandfather was a radioman on a merchant ship. Our family has been trying to find out about the ship he was torpedoed on his last mission. He survived but never talked about it to his family.

[JHuschke]

Yeah, I can imagine all the bad things he has seen and the nightmares it probably gives him..I wouldn't talk about it either, brings back bad memories.

[Morts]

im not directly related to him (uncles girlfriends grandfather), but ive met him a few times.
He's a luftwaffe vet who flew on the russian front and got shot down and afterwards captured where he survived ofcourse
i belive he's name is Edvard Stark (Edvard Lanka during the war) and sadly i dont know much about he's wartime experience.

Then we have a guy on the croatian side of my family who served on the german side too (dont know hes name, unit or anything)
he came home after the war, and proceeded to hang himself in hes dad's barn shortly after getting home as he didnt know how the people in the village would react to him fighting for the germans

[AntEater]

My paternal grandfather was an assault gun driver, later gunner on the east front, my maternal one a mountain trooper in Norway and the east Front.
One of my grand uncles was an NCO in Luftwaffe ground troops, but I am not exactly sure what he did. Some other grand uncles apparently were in the Kriegsmarine, and one was apparently killed in the fighting off Normandy. One other disappeared after the Falaise pocket and was presumed dead and turned up alive in 1980.
Also I know that in WW1 my paternal great grandfather served in the Austro-Hungarian army on the Alpine front. He often told my father about warfare in the high mountains.

But I suppose nearly every European has ancestors that fought in WW2.

[Schroeder]

My grandfather was a "Kanzelwart" (a mechanic for the fuselage if I understood him correctly:hmm for Messerschmitt BF-109 fighter aircrafts in France. He didn't see much combat (except air raids of course). He was then transferred to an area near the German/Italian boarder. While being on the train they were attacked by fighter bombers which destroyed the power line and killed several of his comrades. After being stuck somewhere without transportation his group was "volunteered" to serve as engineers and to build bridges over some river to allow the German forces to retreat from Italy... Unfortunately they were neither trained nor equipped for such tasks and therefore these bridges were never completed. After being send back to France his unit eventually surrendered to the US Army (where he almost starved being a POW).

Well the result for my family was no loss of lives but they lost there home (and all their possessions) twice to air raids. My family came from Stettin which belongs to Poland nowadays and is now called Szczecin, but after becoming a POW he claimed to be from West-Germany to avoid to be send back to Soviet occupied territory when his POW-time ended (He knew already that his family had fled to the west too).




My grandfather died in january 2002 and has never seen his home city again.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

My grandfather died in january 2002 and has never seen his home city again.

How very sad

No matter what "side" these people were on, we can all honour their service to their native countries

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

My grandfather was a "Kanzelwart" (a mechanic for the fuselage if I understood him correctly:hmm for Messerschmitt BF-109 fighter aircrafts in France. He didn't see much combat (except air raids of course). He was then transferred to an area near the German/Italian boarder. While being on the train they were attacked by fighter bombers which destroyed the power line and killed several of his comrades. After being stuck somewhere without transportation his group was "volunteered" to serve as engineers and to build bridges over some river to allow the German forces to retreat from Italy... Unfortunately they were neither trained nor equipped for such tasks and therefore these bridges were never completed. After being send back to France his unit eventually surrendered to the US Army (where he almost starved being a POW).

Well the result for my family was no loss of lives but they lost there home (and all their possessions) twice to air raids. My family came from Stettin which belongs to Poland nowadays and is now called Szczecin, but after becoming a POW he claimed to be from West-Germany to avoid to be send back to Soviet occupied territory when his POW-time ended (He knew already that his family had fled to the west too).




My grandfather died in january 2002 and has never seen his home city again.

Apologies for the double post, but I saw a television documentary a few weeks ago where veterans from the British side and the German side met. Some of them were even shooting at each other. The whole show was very emotional, and there was mutual respect. One German fighter pilot spoke before a whole village and apologised for his actions. I dont think that was appropriate, as he was doing his duty and following orders, but still, to see two veterans of the opposite sides shaking hands and hugging was a very emotional experience for me.

[Schöneboom]

My father was in the US Army 1st Cavalry, trained in Texas, & as a Filipino he naturally participated in the liberation of the Phillipines. He was wounded by shrapnel, captured by the Japanese, and fortunately escaped.

[Jimbuna]

My father (almost 85 now) lied about his age in 38 and joined a merchant ship (Euphorbia) that ran guns to the Spanish Government in the Spanish Civil War.

I believe they were the first British merchantmen to be bombed (Barcelona Harbour) by the German Condor Legion.

http://lacucaracha.info/scw/diary/1938/may/index.htm

He made numerous trips to Dunkirk evacuating Allied troops and was aboard the last ship to leave Marseille before it fell, taking off some French Admiral (the Royal Navy left 24 hours earlier).

He was in the only convoy to sail to Murmansk without an escort (these were held back for duty in Operation Torch).

12 or 13 ships set out and only 4 or 5 returned (thankfully he was on one of the survivors).

For this he received the princely bonus of £50 and was honoured/rewarded approx 20 years ago by the Russian Ambassador in London who presented those still living with a medal.

It is only in the past 5 years or so the feat of these brave seamen was recognised by the British government who gave them a crappy little lapel type enamelled badge.

On D-Day his ship beached at Courseulles-sur-Mer to offload heavy vehicles at Juno Beach in support of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade about 2 hours after the initial landing.

My father was luckier than a lot of our loved ones......especially when compared with his own father (my grandfather) who sailed as a 2nd engineer and whose ship went missing without trace whilst carrying every seamans favourite carge....Ammunition.

[JALU3]

Originally Posted by Schöneboom

My father was in the US Army 1st Cavalry, trained in Texas, & as a Filipino he naturally participated in the liberation of the Phillipines. He was wounded by shrapnel, captured by the Japanese, and fortunately escaped.

Was he assigned directly with 1st Cav Div or was he assigned to a higher until such as the many specialized units utilized by 6th Army during its campaign in the Philippine Islands.

My Paternal grandfather was a naval steward and retired after giving a good amount of his health life to the US Navy. Back then that was all filipinos were allowed to be. He's buried now back in San Marcelino, where he was born.

My maternal grandfather was stuck in occupied Philippines and participated in guerilla activities. After the war he worked at Subic Bay Naval Base and retired after more than 30 years. He's now buried here in San Diego.

My wife's maternal grandfather was part of the new Philippine Scouts which were reconstituted upon the liberation of the islands and was involved in occupation duties in Japan. He later became a member of the PNP and retired doing so, and was eventually buried in Anao, where he was born.

I have no idea about my wife's paternal grandfather.

[CrushDepthCarl]

My father was a SeaBee in WWII in the Pacific. He was an aerial photographer who took pics of island invasions while they were taking place. After the war he went into government service, eventually rising to head of the visual department of the U.S. State Department. He took pics of many visiting dignitaries, treaty signings, etc. I have some sweet pics of the Bikini atoll H- bomb tests(picture a cruiser getting swept UP into the stem of the mushroom cloud), as well as signed pics of JFK and Jackie, as well as Hull and a few others. The best souvenir though is one of the original seven copies of the Declaration of War with Japan, that rests on my mother's living room wall.

A few years after his passing I was watching the History channel and got a glimpse of him in an old newsreel when the shot panned accross the press gallery at National Airport during a visit by a foreign head of state. There he was in the front row.


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[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD!

Good story.

[Jimbuna]

Welcome abooard Kaleun CrushDepthCarl

You've obviously got some excellent keepsakes there

[JALU3]

Originally Posted by CrushDepthCarl

The best souvenir though is one of the original seven copies of the Declaration of War with Japan, that rests on my mother's living room wall.

A few years after his passing I was watching the History channel and got a glimpse of him in an old newsreel when the shot panned accross the press gallery at National Airport during a visit by a foreign head of state. There he was in the front row.


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That must have been a great moment for you and your family. Don't forget to insure that document . . . and have you thought of having it professionally preserved so that way it doesn't begin to deteriate more then it probably already has? Loaning it to a museum?