Where Did Your Relatives Serve?

My grandfather served from France to Germany - a Captain in the U.S. Army,Im still doing some research on him for further info

 

That's going some ways back T.A.


Grandfather went to India with the Welsh regiment in the late 20's, then later transferred into the Indian army. Was a Major in WWII, wounded in the Levant
Grandfather's younger brother was merchant marine, survived
His older brother served on the Dorsetshire, torpedoed the Bismarck, was KIA (MPK) in the Indian Ocean raid during '42

Other Grandfather turned 18 two weeks after WWI ended, was a dentist for Commonwealth trainees in Canada during WWII

Grandmother had 2 brothers serve in the Canadian army.
Her oldest brother was KIA (MPK) on the battlecruiser Indefatigable at Jutland.

Godfather was an RCAF Lanc navigator over Germany

Wife's relatives served in the Red Army in WWII.

 

All my relatives were in the service of the Imperial Japanese armed forces.

My great-grandfather served in Manchuria as a major in the Kwangtung Army and witnessed the Soviet invasion in the last weeks of World War II. He managed to avoid capture and made it back to the home islands unlike so many others who were sent to the gulags.

My other great-grandfather served as a corporal and was nearly deployed to China at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War but did not go due to health complications.

One of my great-uncles graduated from the Imperial Naval Academy but by then the war was nearly over. My grandfather graduated from the Imperial Army Academy but like my great-uncle, when he graduated, the war was nearly over.

One of my great-grandfather's brothers served in New-Guinea and returned to Japan after he was wounded in action.

My grandmother's cousin worked at a munitions factory off the coast of Hokkaido and was killed when American battleships shelled the factory.

I definitely have more relatives who served but I will have to find out more about them.

 

My dad was at Pearl Harbor during the attack. He was assigned to a mine sweeper squadron based at Hospital Point. Right off the end of the runway for Hickam Field. They didn't really have a view of what was going on in the harbor, but the Japanese planes flew right over there heads on the strafing runs against Hickam. All they had in the way of an arsenal, was a .45, two '03 Springfields, and I think a shotgun. But they blasted away for all they were worth.

My uncle (dad's brother) was a TBF pilot with VC-19 assigned to the USS Bogue and USS Guadalcanal. He was KIA in July, 1944.

One of my mom's brothers was in the USAAF, and another in the infantry, I think. One other uncle was a shipbuilder for Kaiser in the north Bay Area.

 

WW 2:

Uncle Clarence served with the 36th ID, 141st from 1940 until KIA in France on 12/12/1944.

Grandpa Jim was at Hickam Field, during Pearl Harbor. Made it through that, then was at Guadacanal, Bouganville, Tinian as an air mechanic.

Uncle Charley and James served in the Navy and actually met at sea when ships were in support of The Battle Of Siapan.

Uncle Arval was also in the Navy and was sunk at sea during the Invasion at Salerno.... While his brother was invading !!

Uncle Calvin was a cook with the Marines ( I think the 4th Marines)

Uncle Lawrence served with the 11th AB and was wounded during the battle of Manilla.

Cousin Gene served and lived through Iwo Jima and Korea with the 5th Marines. Still able to kick butt to this day !!

A man I call my uncle Cecil was a proud member of the 82th AB, 325th Gliders. He too can still kick butt to this day !!


Also, had 2 great uncles in the Civil War, one uncle in WW 1, a cousin in Vietnam, and a godson with 2 tours in Iraq.


God Bless them all !!

 

My Grandfather was wounded in October 1918 while serving with the Canadian Army somewhere near Cambrai

My Father was a Signalman in The R C N from 1939 to 1945 ..
His Brother Wilfred (uncle Bill ) failed the medical for the army he only had 1 thumb so he ended up serving in the Merchant Marine..
My Dad's younger brother Victor Joined the Canadian army and was killed in action in Sept 1944..
My father in law Joined the Canadian Army and fought in Europe in W W II and later in Korea..
My brother Andy spent 23 years in The Canadian Navy and was in the 1991 gulf war ..
also from what my mother told me her first cousin joined the army and was killed on the beach at Dieppe ..
And besides all that, while researching my Acadian ancestory I discovered that I have distant cousins who were Cajuns and fought for the Confederates at Shiloh and Vicksburgh...

 

Both of my grandfathers served as Marine aviation mechanics in the Pacific. We believe that my paternal grandfather saw the Enola Gay because he was on Tinian in late July and early August. He saw a B-29 sitting by itself, in a fenced in area with quite a few guards around it. Save for that, his time was rather uneventful.(Thankfully!)

 

one granduncle served with the US army and was among the first to land in lingayen gulf, philippines. one distance cousin of our mother's fought with the philippine scouts in bataan. a couple more grand uncles (they were brothers) served with the US navy-pacific on different ships, following the sullivan incident.

 

My relative's service-
Father- worked in defense plant on gears to set propeller angles (Curtis-Wright)
Uncle- tool and dye maker on aircraft machinery
Cousin- Army in the Pacific. Fought from New Guinea to Manilia, saw alot of fighting as Infantry
Uncle- North Africa, Army as anti- aircraft gunner, Italy (had joined up in 1940, as a job)
Uncle- Army infantry in Europe, landed on D-Day
Cousin- Army died in a tank at Anzio

Cousins and Uncles that served were 15-20 years my senior
Cousin that served in the Pacific later met and married a German girl (as civillans) and she told her story-- she was a school girl on the way home and saw a POW detail of Americans clearing bomb rubble from the street. The German guard wanted a smoke, so he handed his rifle to an American and lit up, taking a break. She thought it quite funny, but I wonder if an officer would find it amusing?

 

My relative's service-
Father- worked in defense plant on gears to set propeller angles (Curtis-Wright)
Uncle- tool and dye maker on aircraft machinery
Cousin- Army in the Pacific. Fought from New Guinea to Manilia, saw alot of fighting as Infantry
Uncle- North Africa, Army as anti- aircraft gunner, Italy (had joined up in 1940, as a job)
Uncle- Army infantry in Europe, landed on D-Day
Cousin- Army died in a tank at Anzio

Cousins and Uncles that served were 15-20 years my senior
Cousin that served in the Pacific later met and married a German girl (as civillans) and she told her story-- she was a school girl on the way home and saw a POW detail of Americans clearing bomb rubble from the street. The German guard wanted a smoke, so he handed his rifle to an American and lit up, taking a break. She thought it quite funny, but I wonder if an officer would find it amusing? ​

"History is a set of lies agreed upon"
Napoleon
​

 

One uncle was a top-turret/crew chief on a B-24 Liberator in the 15th AF. Survived with just a scratch when his turret was blown off by flak.
Another uncle was on a destroyer near Okinawa when its fantail was taken off by a kamakazi. He too survived.
Dad was in the glider-born engineers. Because he could type he didn't make the drop into Sicily where 85% of his company became casualties.
Mom was in the States (they wouldn't let her fly over to Europe due to a heart murmur) but she served in a weather unit and then as a radar operator.

 

Both my grandfathers served in the Finnish army in the Winter and the Continuation Wars. My mother's father also fought in the Lapland War, since he was a bit younger.

My father's father was a lance corporal and served as a horseman (not a rider but a driver). Lots of the supplies in the Finnish army were carried on horse carts or sledges. My mother's father was an ordinary private and served as a rifleman.

My grand aunt was a "Lotta". The "Lotta Svärd" organisation was a voluntary auxiliary paramilitary (unarmed) organization for women.

Lotta Svärd - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Her husband was a staff sergeant and was KIA in Vuosalmi (by Vuoksi river at Karelian Isthmus) in 23.6.1944.

 

Grandfather-WW2 in Europe
Granfather# 2-WW2 in Europe
Father-Marine in Vietnam. He was around MACVSOG a little bit in Da Nang.
Uncle-Army in Korea.
Cousin-Marine Force Recon in Desert Storm
Ancestor-Royal Marine who died on D-day.
Ancestor-Red Army in WW2. His family is paranoid and will not share but the basics with me. They live in Moscow. I've interacted with them three times.
I know of two ancestors who served in the Luftwaffe and Heer. One was a Fallschirmjager and another one in a grunt unit.
I have another that was in the Leibstandarte. I have not met any of my German ancestors or their families.

They all have one thing in common. None of them talk about their service.