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.
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.