http://www.303rdbg.com/art.html
Posted on 08/15/2010 5:59:12 PM PDT by PROCON
Today is the 65th Anniversary of VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day.
Did your Dad or other relatives serve against Japan in WWII?
(Excerpt) Read more at bigjournalism.com ...
My Dad served with the Army in the Pacific. 106th Infantry. Years ago I tried to get him to tell some stories. He would have none of it. I never asked him about it again. He turned 91 two months ago. He lives with us now. Mom too. Next month we will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
Woo-Hoo!
Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!
http://www.303rdbg.com/art.html
Yes, my grandfather.
The real danger here is the pernicious recurring attempts to rewrite history. They tried in 1994 with the Smithsonian exhibit but were beaten back because there were still people alive who remembered the real story. They’re trying again now and there are fewer alive who were there. Someday there will be nobody alive and the danger is the ignorant public will let them change history.
Thanks much!
Three generations of Combat Infantryman’s Badges and Purple Hearts.
My father had a similar army career. New Guinea in 43, Leyte in 44. He went MIA (along with his whole company, I believe) on Christmas day 1943. He was found and evacuated 4 Jan 44. I regret to say I cannot come close to matching the rest of your story. Three years a Navy corpsman, never left California. The ultimate REMF. There are no grandkids.
I hope you and others with stories to tell will tell them over at World War II + 70 Years when the time comes. At the moment we are watching the Brits fend of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain.
I forgot to say, my father was in the 32nd “Red Arrow” ID.
Please hug your Dad for me!!!
And thank him for his service!!
Promise?!
Their older brother (USNA-40) received the Navy Cross when the USS Vincennes (CA-44) was sunk at the Battle of Savo Island off Guadalcanal.
One brother-in-law received a battlefield commission on Guadalcanal.
Another brother-in-law (USNA-41) was in the forward turret of the USS Washington (BB-56) when she sank the Kirishima off Guadalcanal. His father was VADM Harry W. Hill who commanded the Naval forces going into the Philippines. My aunt was the sponsor for the Spruance -class destroyer, USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986).
Most of this I didn't find out about my uncles until I was already a Naval Officer.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Bookmark!
A few months later he was on the Queen Mary heading for
New Guinea,,,
A U-Boat almost got them off the coast of South America,,,
They turned the Queen left and went “Battle speed”,,,
Nothing could keep up with Her in those days,,,
Got to Sidney days ahead of the rest,,,Then,,,
On to Port Moresby,,,
39th Fighter Squadron,,,P-39 Crew Chief,,,
WIA in ‘43,,,
I found his “My Life In The Service” book that had all
his buddies names in it written in their own hand,,,
The little box also had pics of the Headhunters with the
Jap heads that they brought in for the bounty,,,(salt),,,
When the Headhunters could bring out an American pilot
they were paid his weight in salt,,,
I still have a cannon Projectile from a P-39 cannon...
my Dad was a MM-CPO and a plank owner of the USS Sierra, sailed her from the east coast to Shanghai China...
Somewhat different story. I was inducted into army end of January 1945. Lots of basic training stories about cadre wounded in South Pacific. My brother was KIA on Okinawa in April 1945. I was about 10th or so in line at a replacement depot on Leyte getting new battle gear for the invasion of Japan. Everyone knew the invasion was coming soon as the Commanders never waited very long before going onto the next invasion. we also were very much aware that as infantrymen there would be many casualties. However. as I/we stood in line a Lt. came out and told us to go back to our tents as the war was over. As much relief as surprise on my part but a great turn of events. I only wished the bombs had been dropped sooner to prevent the deaths on Okinawa.
Me too, FRiend!!
Thank you for your Service to Our Country!!
And Welcome to Free Republic!!
You got a Home now!!..:=)
Will do.
Same with my Dad. He was in engineering school and joined the Marines while at Cornell. I think he did his basic at Pendleton, then did his radioman and sonar training at Treasure Island at San Francisco. He was on a ship in the Pacific amassing the invasion force when the bombs were dropped and ended the war. He became part of the occupation force for a year or so in Japan. When he came home, he brought a Japanese rising sun flag with him and a Japanese silk parachute which became my Mom’s wedding dress in 1947. I know that the bombs brought him home and my sisters and I are here only because of the bombs and will to use them. My late uncle was a B-17 pilot in Europe, but I never learned any details before he died. My wife’s grandmother served many years on a Red Cross Hospital Ship in the Pacific during and after WW II. Thanks to all the courageous servicemen and women who made it possible for all of us to be here to share our stories.
My father was too skinny (6’, under 130#)and was given 4F. He also had bad eyesight. He was a nerd. He and my mother were married a few days after Pearl Harbor. When my older sister was a baby, they decided he wasn’t too skinny after all and sent him to England, where he was scheduled to go to Normandy to storm the beaches. A week before that event, they found out he could type, so they pulled him for office work.
If that had not happened, I would probably have had to get born somewhere else to another family; I don’t think he would have survived but you never know.
Welcome aboard
Thank you for your service.
My Dad’s brother worked on the Manhattan project in the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Process Building at Oak Ridge, TN. After the war, he was at Los Alamos machining plutonium cores for bombs. My uncle just turned 90. I visited him about a year and a half ago and got talking with him about his experiences working on the early nuclear weapons projects. At one point, I asked about the machining tolerances he had to maintain on the plutonium components and he stopped for a few seconds, gave it some thought, and then replied “I can’t tell you that; it’s classified”!! I’ll never forget that.
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