"Was Your Father a Veteran?" Topic

My father in law served two tours in Vietnam. First as a birddog pilot, then as a helicopter pilot.

Both my grandfathers served in WWII. One as a REME in North Africa, the other from D-Day onwards (landed under fire on the day).

My uncle was a Lancaster navigator.

My mum was on the receiving end of a German bomb in the East End. Only the sturdy kitchen table saved her life!

Yes with the Polish II Corps, Italy, 1943 to 1945, missed Monte Cassino because he was in a hospital in Alexandria recovering from a previous wound.

Yes.

No— flat feet, severely near-sighted and wound up with multiple deferrals by the time the Vietnam draft got going (he didn't seek them, he just happened to have them because of college and career choices made before anything even got started). Otherwise I suspect he'd have been a good officer, probably as an engineer.
However, both my grandfathers served in WWII, one as a captain in the US Army Corps of Engineers (North Africa and Italy campaigns), and the other as a surgeon (also a captain) in the US Army Air Corps in China.

Nope.

Yes, was a lifer. Joined Army Air Corps for WWII and retired as Colonel from USAF. Was Co-pilot on C-47 for the Invasion of Africa and The Invasion of Sicily. Piloted C-54 on the Berlin Air Lift.

Yes, Parmicist Mate, USS Warren, APD, was at Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Ulithi, Truk, Tarawa, Iwo Jima. Acted as medic, OR tech and was in charge of making sure the cooks got alcohol to make 'jungle juice' aboard ship.

My father was in the 501st light pontoon (bridge) company of the 1106th Combat Engineers. Despite the light pontoon designation, they put up Bailey Bridges. They put up more Bailey bridges then any other US Army unit, save one. They started on 7 June 1944 and the outfit that beat them had been putting up bridges all over Italy, starting well before the 501st. There is also a scary map of the main line of resistance during the battle for Aachen. The 1106 is holding a hell of a lot more line then an infantry group that size should be holding.

My mother was in the 8th field hospital, a direct asset of the Allied Expeditionary Force Service and Supply. They pioneered air evacuation before helicopters came and re-wrote the MASH book. After the freighter Borenquin dropped my Dad off, it went and picked up Mom. They didn't meet until after the 8th set up in Paris. Mom made a broadcast for the Coca Cola company explaining what nurses do for the homefront. It was aired as filler while the radio was getting ready to cover the big parade for Paris liberation. Later, one of her tasks was to issue whiskey and clean socks to infantrymen in quiet sectors of the front. This used to be the Army's attempt to stop trench foot before it started. I believe she spent a lot of time with an infantry outfit when von Rundstedts tanks got between her and her hospital in that quiet part of the Ardennes.

My parents were in the US Army, yes.

Yes, Merchant Navy gunner throughout WW2 – served on the Atlantic Convoys, Russian Convoys and in the Mediterannean. He was torpedoed 3 times. He wouldn't talk about it much at all and I learned more from my uncle after my father's death than I ever did from him. My family lived in one of the most heavily bombed port cities in England – Hull, East Yorkshire – so they were on the receiving end of a good deal of action from the Luftwaffe too. When I was a boy in the '60s most houses roundabout still had concrete bomb shelters in their gardens (by then used as garden sheds), and often gas masks and tin hats in their garages from the war.

My maternal grandfather and great uncle both served on the Somme and in the Near East in WW1. My grandfather died of illness during WW2 so I never met him but Great Uncle Bill lived until 1968 (although affected by gas damage to his lungs) and I had a few anecdotes of his experiences on the Somme from him, such as the time he was buried in a shell crater by mud from a shell blast and when they dug him out they virtually had to break his fingers to get his rifle out of his hands. He also recalled jumping into a shell hole for cover during a bombardment and jumping straight out again as he didn't fancy the company of the mangled dead "Proosian", as he called him, who was already there. I must chase up their records in the regimental museum one day; Uncle Bill was quite a character and always in trouble (he remembered being fastened to a wheel (which was Field Punishment No.1) for some misdemeanour) so he should appear in the regimental records. Family legend has it that they both did something heroic (knocking out a machine gun post or similar) and were offered either a medal or 48 hours in Paris; naturally they took the 48 hours in Paris! Some subaltern probably got the medal instead…

Dad volunteered at 17, and was in training in Canada when the war ended.

My father fight in the Spanish Civil War with the nationalists, as well as in Africa as Spanish Marine officer.
You can see some old pics of him in my blog: link

Father served during WWII.He was in Battery B,399th Armored
Field Artillery,8th Armored Division.Never said much about
the war.I tried to get his records from the St.Louis Personel Records Center but they were destroyed by the 1973
fire.He was also in an anti-aircraft artillery unit in the National Guard during the Korean War.
My Grandfather on my mom's side of the family served in WWI.
Battery B,109th Field Artillery,28th Infantry Division.He was wounded by German shapnel during the battle of the Argonne Forest.

WWII with the RCAF, scouting locations for bases. Ended the war as a Wing Commander, and would have gotten the OBE if he'd stayed in a couple months more, but decided to leave and "only" got an MBE.

Forgot my Mom! Mother worked at McClellan Airfield in Sacramento repairing aircraft engines. Her brother was in USN Submarine Service. I have a 1942 Life magazine with an article on training sub crews in Florida and he is in the photos. Their Dad was a motorcycle dispatch rider in the US Army Signal Corps in France in 1918.
My father-in-law was an aircraft mechanic in the RCAF in WWII.

Yes, my dad did 23 years in the Marine Corps. Followed all his older brothers.

My dad enlisted in 44 and reported for duty 2 weeks after VJ-Day. Was in a year then out for several. Went back in prior to Korea and ended up serving in both Korea and Vietnam. Made his way up through ranks and retired a Lt. Col.

I had one uncle at Guadalcanal and Tarawa. Another at Tarawa, Saipan, and in the reserve force of Okinawa. And a third that was an aircraft mechanic on Guadalcanal.

All survived the war but one died on his way back to Minnesota while on leave in a truck accident.

Yes, WW2 Army Air Corps in India flying The Hump.

Dad served in both theaters during WW2. He enlisted right after Pearl Harbor in the US Army Air Corp., married mom, and went to England as part of a crew retrieving usable/sensitive parts from downed bombers. Later, when given a choice of staying with the Air Corp as enlisted (E-7), or go Regular Army and OCS, he chose the latter for more money, promotion, and a trip stateside. He then went to the Pacific with the Signal Corp. Spent most of his time in New Guinea, and then went to the Philippines with the second wave. He did not see much combat, but as he described the Philippines you never knew who was shooting at you, Japanese snipers, Philippine guerrillas, nervous GIs, or all the above!

Dad's brother was career Navy when WW2 started. He ran away to join when he was 16 and had been all over the Pacific, including a tour on the Yangtze River, by the time the war started. My other three uncles all joined the Navy during WW2 and served in various rear echelon duties.

My late wife's dad served in the 1st Armor Division in Africa and Italy earning three Purple Hearts. All he ever talked about was getting promoted to E5 "several times" and how after the War, according to him, he helped sneak Tito from behind Russian lines in the vehicle he was driving. He swore it was true, and I have never researched to find out. My ex Father in law served in the Army during Korea. He never talked about it much either.

Yes, his parents signed him into the Royal Canadian Navy at age 17. Spent the war in the North Atlantic serving on corvettes doing convoy protection duties.

His brother was also in the Navy, another aunt and uncle in the RCAF, and one uncle in the RAF.

Both of my grandfathers served in WW1 – one in the British army was captured early on, the other in the Royal Canadian Field Artillery served at Vimy Ridge.

Yes, my dad served in the 38th Engineers during WWII. His regiment built the airfield on Ascension Island and then went on to sub-Saharan Africa to build airfields before the U.S. invasion of North Africa.
He had some interesting stories to tell but my favorite was his plumbing platoon built the first aircraft to be used on Ascension Island, he always swore he would never have flown in an aircraft build by a bunch of plumbers!!

Amazing history in this topic. Thanks to all of the brave men and women whose valor is beyond question. Dad was a photo interpreter in the 155th Night Photo Reconnaissance Squadron during WWII. They were the first involved on D-Day taking the aerial recon photos of Normandy just hours before the invasion. They did the aerial night recon for the 3rd Army's advance through Europe from bases in France, Belgium and Holland. Dad remained in the Air Force retiring as a Lt. Colonel. His gravestone reads: World War II, Korea, Vietnam.
Rest In Peace, Dad.
{Salute}

2nd Marine Division in the mid 50s

My father had been regular army in the late 1920 and early 1930s and was called up on September 4, 1939. He was a sergeant major in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and because his unit (running casualty clearing stations and field hospitals) was a corps-level component, he saw a lot of different theaters. He served in France (evacuated from Dunkirk), the whole of the North Africa campaign, Sicily, Italy, Normandy, Belgium, Holland, (he almost married a Dutch girl), and Germany. He took some great photographs that are still in the family album and my sister still has his diary, which includes a copy of a movement order for his unit while they were in Belgium in 1944.

My hero.

My father served in WW2 (Canadian Army).
Many of my Uncles served as well.

1. Convoy duty (North atlantic) Canadian Navy
2. Canadian Navy (Normandy on)
3. Canadian Army (Sicily, Italy, France)
4. Canadian Airborne (D-Day Canadian Battalion attached to British)

My father changed over to the Air Force by the Korean War but did not see any overseas action.

I had a cousin who did a tour in Vietnam.

Yes, Tech Sergeant and flight engineer of an 8th Air Force B-17 in late 1944 through end of European portion of war, then Air Force reservist through end of Korean War. Plus I am a 20 year Army veteran and one of my brothers was an Army veteran. Two uncles were/are WW2 veterans – Army (European Theater and Navy (Pacific Theater), respectively.

Jim

My dad's whole Freshman High School class was drafted at the same time for WWII. Ages 14-16. He was sent to the Coast Guard, where he guarded the Life Boats on the troop carriers from the US to the European Theater.
Although I have been unable to find evidence that anyone under 18 was drafted in the US, I have this not only from my father, but other members of the town.

Yes. National Service, Royal Navy 1949-51.

One Uncle in the Army (National Service), three uncles in the RN (one on North Atlantic/Russian Convoys – swore he was manning a gun on the bow of The Queen Mary when she sliced through an escorting destroyer. Two on HMS London when she went up the Yangtsze to help HMS Amethyst). Two Aunts in the Army during WWII and a Great Uncle in Normandy (signals). Maternal Grandfather saw brief action with a TA AA Unit defending the Forth Bridge at the beginning of WWII.

Yes, my father was on the staff of I Corps at the end of WW2.

Both my grandfathers were gunners in WW1.

Yes, Dad at Juno on D-Day, with 15 Ordnance Beach Detachment RAOC, then blowing up bombs etc across Northern Europe.

Grandpa at the Somme with 5th Bn South Wales Borderers, he caught a blighty one a Fremicourt but was sent back to the front after recovery.

Dad worked ammunition ships (Merchant Marine, old Libertys) between Japan & Korea during that war. Mom held her peace and waited for him.

Grandfather was CO of the National Guard company in Belfast, Maine, USA. Was deemed too old when the unit was called up for World War II. They lost half their number on Munda.

Yes. 27th ID, combat veteran, BAR gunner, Saipan & Okinawa.

Yep.

Dad was USAF career officer (B36 flight navigator and later squadron ops officer planning B52 strikes on VN), AAF before that as a belly gunner on a B25 in the Caribbean.

Grandfather was Army MSTS (?) engineer--ship sunk by Japanese torpedo and spent two weeks on a coral atoll.

Then I came along and ran the base billeting office in Wyoming during VN--sure it was SAC, but who wants to admit it?

Somewhat – enlisted in the Army at 17, tested well enough to get into pilot training, Didn't have enough education to make the grade (small high school and probably not a great student). Stressed out and ended up with a medical discharge.

Mother was a civilian employee at the Pueblo Ordnance Depot. Stenciled new numbers on DUKWs and other vehicles being returned to service after use in the Pacific (luckily wasn't involved in cleaning them up. Long ways from the coast to ship amphibious vehicles for refit…

As mentioned in other threads three paternal uncles served in Europe and Tunisia. Two as combat engineers with armored divisions, both made sergeant. The one who was in Tunisia then went thru Anzio and the Italian campaign. The other was in NW Europe (Bulge, etc.). Not sure where the third served or his specialty (might also have been an engineer, like his brothers had had explosives experience as a miner).

Couple of maternal uncles were in the Pacific with the Navy on supply ships. Others were older and married.

Maternal grandfather was in pre-WWI Austro-Hungarian Army. Served in the cavalry. Came to US before the WWI and missed that (married and kids).

Yes he did. He passed away in January and I posted this on TMP on the 30 th.

My father passed away yesterday. He was 85 years old and it was his time to go. He wanted to leave this earth and join my mother, who preceded him by five years.
There is a lot I can say about him, but the thing that always struck me was his reluctance to talk about his service in WW 2. My father tuned 17 in 1943 when the war was not going well. It seems that today's generation doesn't really know just what desperate times there were back then. The war, and this country's future, were in serious doubt.
So, because he felt that it was his duty, he quit High School and joined the Army.
He ended up in the 45 th Division (the Thunderbirds) and landed at Sicily and then at Anzio. He fought and was wounded at Monte Cassino and spent 9 months in a hospital in North Africa recovering.
When I was a young boy watching "Combat" on TV I would ask him about the war. All he ever said was that it was a long walk interrupted by lots of rain and people shooting at him.
That was the most I could ever get out of him.

My father was not unusual for his time. The "Greatest Generation" was aptly named. I cannot imagine what it was like for him to leave his family and friends behind and take up arms in defense of what he so strongly believed in.

And so on Thursday, he'll take his place in Calverton National Cemetery alongside all the rest of the quiet heroes that this country owes so much too. I'll be placing his Purple Heart in his coffin and I'll stand at attention, as they play "Taps" over his grave.
He probably would not have wanted the fuss. That was just his way.

If it's your way, say a prayer about noontime this Thursday.

Yes, US Air Force 1953-1959. Missed both Korea and Vietnam. Spent most of his time in Formosa/Taiwan.

Yes
My Dad drove and ammunition truck 200 yards behind the front lines. Both of my brothers and I also served during and after Viet Nam. Navy, Army and Air Force.

oh Dad was in WW2

My Dad was in the Army during Korea, met my Mom while he was stationed at White Sands when V2's were being tested as well as other stuff. My Uncle served in the Navy as part of the gun crew on a freighter in the Pacific. He was at Okinawa. Another Uncle was in the USAAF and flew the low level raid to Polesti. One Grandfather was in the Navy prior to Pearl Harbor, stationed on the Maryland.

My father joined the Royal Navy in '39 before the outbreak of hostilities, had several ships torpedoed from under him and served until the early 60's.
His father was in the Royal Engineers building the trench system in WW1.
My mother's father ran a steam powered engine behind the front line that was used to drain the trenches in WW1.

Yes my father was a lifer, served in the British Army Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Retired as a Warrant Officer First Class. He saw action in various post colonial small wars, including a commendation for cooly continuing to repair a damaged armoured car during a mortar attack, in the Radfan, Oman, inspiring the locally recruited personnel to keep calm. He reckoned actually being under an armoured vehicle was actually the safest place to be at the time!

His Father was a Staff Sergeant in the Royal Engineers when he was killed by enemy action in 1942.

My Fathers/ Grandfathers landed between wars, My Father in Law was a D-Day Vet (Combat engineer Battalion)

My father served in the US Navy during Vietnam.

The Navy put my father through medical school in three years. Someone had to reassemble all those Marines.

What John the Greater fails to mention is that, although the old man was in the Navy all through WWII, he wasn't actually commissioned until after the war had ended. Because he had a bad back the USN didn't want him, so he ended up being commissioned in the Public Health Service instead, which is how I came to be born in Little Rock instead of somewhere in the civilized world.

During the Korean War, he worked at Bethesda Naval Hospital and probably did reassemble some Marines (God knows why; new ones are easy enough to make).

When I was wounded in Vietnam, my parents flew to Japan to see me in the hospital. The old man ended up doing rounds with the Army docs and apparently did some good (missed my malaria, though}.

During Gulf War 1, he was working for the Saudi government at the airbase hospital in Dhahran that was hit by a SCUD, this being, to the best of my knowledge, the only shot he ever heard fired in anger in his life. Somehow, probably because he still had a reserve commission in the PHS (which is a uniformed service, after all), he ended up getting a Distinguished Service Medal.

LT

My Father served in the USN during WWII on the destroyer USS Macdonough and Korea he remained in the reserves until the late sixties.

Yes, WWII US Navy, served in the Pacific on the USS Portland CA33, Heavy Crusier.

Yes, 10th Mnt. in Italy
His father in Belgium/France 1918

Yes, EM, CPO – DD616 – U.S.S. Nields. 1942-1946.
Served in the Atlantic, the Med. and the Pacific.
His younger brother served in the U.S.A.A.C. and died in a fighter pilot training accident 12/16/1941.
His older brother and sister served in the army in the Pacific.

Yes, ROTC at Stanford for the USMC in the 1950s. Finished out his service as a captain at Cherry Point Naval Air Station. Passed away when I was but 8 years old.
Semper Fi.

Yes – US Navy. Many years of Navy.

Pushed for transfer from a DD gunner to a PBR gunner in 1965. Survived playing "Apocalypse Now" but Mom never forgave him for that. :)

My uncle did exactly the same but was shot in both knees for it.

I had a chance to speak with Nguyen Cao Ky a few years ago about their service, etc. Very neat experience.

My dad and uncle were both in the Air Force intelligence and then went on to serve the govt until they retired. My dad designed spy satellites and later rockets, my uncle designed nukes.
The family joke is my uncle built the nukes, my dad built the delivery systems.

My dad was in the US Navy during WWII in the Pacific. Veteran of several campaigns. I learned later from a freind of his they endured kamikaze attacks. In one instance he was called to one side of a ship to extract a stuck shell in a tube. While he was performing the task, the side he left was wiped out by a kamikaze.

My wife's father was in the US Army in Europe during WWII. A Jew, he was probably looking for some restitution.

My ex-wife's father was career British Army. During WWII he as a glider pilot and shot down during D-Day. Became a POW.

One brother did a hitch in the US Navy. Another did a hitch in the US Marines. I'm a retired USAF E8, 18 years overseas. Retired in 1989.

In 2/2011 I came here to Iraq, just out of Baghdad. Still here. During that time I met and served some of the finest in uniform from the US and UK. Brilliant and dedicated professionals carrying on the traditions of both countries. I'm proud of the service folks still on duty from both countries.

Unfortunately, none of the following generation in my extended families have served. Too much Facebook, twitter, Dancing with the Stars and other crap. Good kids (young adults), and most bound for success…. but the lure of service and sacrifice just alludes them I guess. Pity, as I feel that whatever capacity the service is given, its the finest days of our lives.

Reading intently through this thread, it was inspiring to read of the pride of previous generations and the varied countries… Canada, Austo-Hungary, Spain, UK, US, etc. From my own experience in uniform, and crossing paths with folks in uniform from other countries, I could give a nod that says 'how are you doing brother?' I worked with a Russian in New York City who served in the Soviet Army. There was a martial quality about him that I admired.

Finally, I can always find time to listen to the experiences and anecdotes of older veterans and thank them for their service.