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 maternal grandmother had one son, three son in laws, a would be son in law, and a nephew in the war simultaneously ~ several in heavy combat. Two died.
My other grandmother had three sons, a brother in law and two nephews in the war simultaneously ~ several in heavy combat. She saw a Movietone News Reel where they carried away one son on a stretcher (it was days before she knew if he was alive or dead).
Their hometown, Seymour, Indiana, was also home to Freeman Field. They could see what the air war was all about right here ~ http://www.freemanfield.org/images/data/FREEMANFACTSHEET.pdf
Thanks for your kind words!!
My Dad (passed away in 2003) was a 3 war Marine.
- WW2 / Guadalcanal 1944 (after the heavy fighting fortunately)
- Korea 1953
- Vietnam 1964 (came home predicting Nam would turn out exactly as it did)
My uncle (mother’s brother) was a Marine demolitions man in the Pacific Theater (Guadalcanal). A real wild man according to my dad. Passed away in 1988.
Obama and his cohorts spit on the graves of these brave men.
Great story!!
For many years he was sort of embarrassed that he had a “desk job”....But as the planes have flown over carrying supplies to the Gulf War and then Iraq etc (about two weeks after they fly over in the middle of the night all hell breaks loose) He reminds us that supplies must be in place to fight a war: food, ammo, medical supplies, body bags. He always adds the last with a prayer that they won't be used...Because he wasn't in combat he was one of the last to come home, making sure everyone else had their needs.
Do you remember when the planes that went after the Japanese fleet were outfitted with tail guns and bombing gear in the middle? Dad's unit got a medal for that work.
I also had an uncle in the Army Air Corps (B-25). He was shot down on a bombing raid over Germany and died on his 23rd birthday.
My dad joined the Navy after a call for doctors in 1944. He served with the 3rd Marines as a Battalion Surgeon, and set up the first medical aid station on the island of Iwo Jima. It was at the airport in the middle of the island, right at the “front.” He never talked about his experiences, except in generalities. He did say that he lost his first 50 corpsmen to snipers.
I was blessed to spend his last 4.5 years with him. He died at 97 in February 2009. We often watched movies, especially old ones he had never seen because he worked so many hours a week. He asked to see both “Letters from Iwo Jima” and “Flags of our Fathers.” After seeing “Letters,” he said it was an accurate depiction and commented on the irony of experiencing the battles from the “other side.”
His family, all 5 children, 12 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren as well as his thousands of friends (he had a family medical practice for almost 50 years and was active in Conservative causes) all feel honored to have known him. He loved his family, his Church, and his country. He was a great American!
The GREATEST generation, thanks for sharing!!
Dad joined up in May 1945 one mission in B-24, he saw the bomb being loaded. His brother was a crew chief in anti-submarine unit on Eniwetok ( he met Nimitz twice if he is to be believed).
They had two cousins killed in the Ardennes two weeks and about two miles apart. One was in the 110th infantry and was part of the sharpshooters of Munshausen. The other was in the 134th infantry and was killed in Belgium in January.
They were amazing people, them and their children. We, that came later, had such different lives....lives of peace and plenty.
My son served in Desert Storm and it made me physically ill almost daily. I came to understand, quickly, the difference in the generations. They handled hardships and adversity much better than I. However, the war was a picnic considering what my grandmother endured.
And I still miss her and she died in ‘73.
I really enjoyed reading the stories posted to your thread. I am sad to realize how many WW II vets are gone now. My dad began taking me out golfing with him Saturday morning when I was 10 or 11. This was a men’s time and I was surrounded by WW II vets. There was Phil Plumo who landed with the 1st Infantry division in North Africa, and was wounded so badly in Sicily he was mustered out in 1943. He was a good golfer with a swing permanently crippled by his wound. Harold Taylor was a brigadier general with the 41th infantry, which was called up for MacArthur’s initial offensive against the Japanese in New Guinea. His health was so severely compromised by fighting in the jungles, he was the first person I ever saw using a golf cart. I remember seeing Ken Jernstedt who was the fifth leading ace in the flying tigers. These guys came from Dayton and McMinnville Oregon, which might have had a combined population of 5,000. These are just three men of the many I remember after 50 years.
Me too, FRiend and I miss my Dad immensely, even after 22 years!!
We will keep our memories intact and hopefully pass it down to our kids.
It sounds like your memories are quite fond, thanks for sharing!
Great stories.
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