#4484388 - 07/28/19 06:06 PM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: F4UDash4]
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,649
FishTaco
Forever Cromulent
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Forever Cromulent
Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,649
Perth, Western Australia
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Interesting thread.
Previous generations, not so much as I am aware. Mother's grandfather was in WW1, but I believe badly affected by gas in the trenches.
Mothers father did not serve, because he worked for Rolls Royce making engines. I believe he attempted to join what was the Royal Air Observer Corp, but had problems with his ears due to being a competitive swimmer.
Dad's father was a boilermaker / rigger, I believe did a lot of work at home for the war effort, I guess rebuilding because we originated in East Ham / Newham area. Dad's older brother got into the RAF as an air gunner (OMG!) but they pulled him out when they found out he was 16......
Interesting, and still the complete story is unknown; mom's uncle after the war was a spook. Not entirely sure, but was kicked out of Russia in about 1967 and told "Never return". Also worked with electronics and computer systems same as I do now.
Me and my 2 brothers; all Para reserves once.
Nephew: Started off in REME, then became a sergeant, and I *think* went into Para-Rescue. 2 Tours of Iraq, and 5 tours of Afghanistan. Lost his team and got injured on the last tour. Like a lot of you other guys, our family does not openly talk about these things. All I will say is that I was in when we had the "troubles' in NI.
Kindest regards,
AJ
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete." - The Art of War - Sun Tzu
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#4484395 - 07/28/19 09:09 PM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: F4UDash4]
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 3,586
kaa
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 3,586
France
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My father , born in Algeria in 1919, voluntered after operation Torch and the collapse of the German forces in North Africa. As a corporal, light infantry (tirailleur) he was sent in Italy in April 1944 and saw action there till mid July (Rome, Siena) The French then were put out of operation in preparation of Anvil Dragoon and he landed on 8/16/44 at Saint-Tropez, from the British troop transport Worcestershire. The French being tasked to seize the two important harbors of Toulon and Marseilles, he was wounded on 8/22/44 in the suburbs of Marseilles, losing his right eye and his hearing on the right side by hand grenade schrapnel. In his divisional citation one can read "Young corporal who showed great gallantry at the assault of an enemy position(...)inflicting casualties to the enemy". His older brother was in an antiaircraft unit during the battle of France in 1940 and then again in Italy, France and Germany from 1944 till VE.
Last edited by kaa; 07/28/19 09:10 PM.
"Anyone can shoot you down if you don't see him coming but it takes a wonderfully good Hun to bag a Camel if you're expecting him." Tom Cundall.
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#4484421 - 07/29/19 02:08 AM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: F4UDash4]
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,712
Dart
Measured in Llamathrusts
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Measured in Llamathrusts
Lifer
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,712
Alabaster, AL USA
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My family has a lot of veterans in it, as it seems the only four occupations were priest, baker, farmer, or soldier...and in wartime, most of them went. They all fought on the German side, of course. My grandfather used to say "I was at Normandy, but I never got my feet wet or strained my neck looking up." Fortunately, he didn't mind talking about his time in uniform (1934-1945), especially since I seem to have been the only one that took to military service. The rest of the family would listen slackjawed as he told me about Czechoslovakia (okay, a lot like Germany), Poland (better looking women, but tougher fighting), France (shame about it, but what was one to do?), Russia (nothing good about it; "Russians are animals."). He liked fighting Americans, as they had the best field rations and cigarettes, and always gasoline....but crafty and deadly. The hilarious part is this was when it was all the rage for WWII vets in West Germany to deny ever fighting on the Western Front at all.
The opinions of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events. More dumb stuff at http://www.darts-page.comFrom Laser: "The forum is the place where combat (real time) flight simulator fans come to play turn based strategy combat."
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#4484427 - 07/29/19 03:44 AM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: F4UDash4]
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,353
HitchHikingFlatlander
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,353
California
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My two grandfathers served one in the pacific theater the other over Europe in bombers. Neither really talked much about it but both were proud of their service. My dad went on to join the Coast Guard in the mid sixties, went to Vietnam and retired after about 32yrs. Growing around veterans and active duty military folks has left me with profound respect for the sacrifices our uniformed men and women make everyday while they serve.
I've got a bad feeling about this.....
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#4484437 - 07/29/19 10:03 AM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: HitchHikingFlatlander]
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 13,879
F4UDash4
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 13,879
SC
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Growing around veterans and active duty military folks has left me with profound respect for the sacrifices our uniformed men and women make everyday while they serve. +1
"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
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#4484438 - 07/29/19 10:28 AM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: Dart]
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,489
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
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Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,489
Miami, FL USA
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My grandfather used to say "I was at Normandy, but I never got my feet wet or strained my neck looking up." Fortunately, he didn't mind talking about his time in uniform (1934-1945), especially since I seem to have been the only one that took to military service. The rest of the family would listen slackjawed as he told me about Czechoslovakia (okay, a lot like Germany), Poland (better looking women, but tougher fighting), France (shame about it, but what was one to do?), Russia (nothing good about it; "Russians are animals."). He liked fighting Americans, as they had the best field rations and cigarettes, and always gasoline....but crafty and deadly. The hilarious part is this was when it was all the rage for WWII vets in West Germany to deny ever fighting on the Western Front at all. Do you know which division(s) your grandfather served in? Was he an infantryman? I would love to know more details if that's ok with you.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
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#4484453 - 07/29/19 01:22 PM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: F4UDash4]
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Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 6,779
EAF331 MadDog
XBL: LanceHawkins
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XBL: LanceHawkins
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 6,779
Oslo, Norway
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My grandfather was doing his national service as a Gebirgsjäger in Austraia when Anschloss happened.
He served in 15. Company, 138. Gebirgs-jäger-Regiment, 3. Gebrigs-Division until the end of 1940. Was in the Poland campaign, the phony war and then in Weserübung. He arrived in Trondheim on april 9th aboard the Admiral Hipper.
He was then later transfered to a supply unit (cook and butcher) until 1944.
He was then transfered to 2. Company, 648. Festnungs-Bataillon, 210 (Coastal) Infanterie-Division in Petsamo (then Finland) for the Continuation War between Finland and the USSR in 1944. After that he went to the 116. Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment, 116 Panzer-Division (I think this might be slight wrong, as I have never found a mention of the 116. Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment, but might be the 116. Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung) HE was killed in Vossenack on november 6th 1944 (in the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest). The only fighting I've found mentioned in books about battle on that date is between the panzer recon elements of the 116th PzDiv and 20th Engineers Combat battalion or Task Force Ripple, so it's probably he fought with the recon elements.
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#4484471 - 07/29/19 04:35 PM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: F4UDash4]
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 13,879
F4UDash4
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 13,879
SC
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Sorry about your grandfather MadDog.
"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
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#4484598 - 07/31/19 12:03 AM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: F4UDash4]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,585
coasty
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,585
Asheville, NC, USA
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my father served in the army air corps, as a VMI cadet he was allowed to enlist, although too old for combat. He ended up in Eagles Pass Texas with the weather wing. The alkali dust ruined his lungs and he had chronic bronchitis. He was a veterans service officer in Asheville from shortly after the war until he retired in 1972. We have a big veteran's hospital here and I went with him several times to help sick veterans. My mother worked on combat aircraft in California during the war, and while not a veteran, she made lots of sacrifices, as did many others.
Have you seen the Arrow? WWW
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#4485234 - 08/06/19 02:12 AM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: cichlidfan]
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 11,752
Vertigo1
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 11,752
Zeta Aquilae System
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My maternal grandfather was wounded in 1916 and invalided out to a hospital in Kent where he met my grandmother, a nurse there. So here I am today, courtesy of a German machine gunner. Serendipity is funny that way. My father was in Japan, post WWII, when he met my mother (she worked for the War Department, before they started calling it the Department of Defense). Were it not for the war and it's aftermath, they never would have met. Is your father's family name Czech, Slovak, or Polish?
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx
“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” -Milton Friedman
Quem Deus vult perdere, prius dementat
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#4485282 - 08/06/19 02:49 PM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: Vertigo1]
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 2,042
cichlidfan
Member
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Member
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 2,042
Woodbridge, VA, USA
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Is your father's family name Czech, Slovak, or Polish?
Polish
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#4485469 - 08/08/19 09:14 AM
Re: Are You a Descendant of a WWII Veteran?
[Re: F4UDash4]
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,729
bones
Hotshot
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Hotshot
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,729
Earth
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My father's uncle flew against the Japanese in WWII. He was shot down and became a POW and was later forced to march the Bataan Death March, which he survived. He died in the 80s test flying an ultralight.
v6, boNes
"Also, I would prefer a back seater over the extra gas any day. I would have 80 pounds of flesh to eat and a pair of glasses to start a fire." --F/A-18 Hornet pilot
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Exodus
by RedOneAlpha. 04/18/24 05:46 PM
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