picture exchanges with information on the back guidance

I recently found a picture that looks like my grandfather exchanged with another soldier. The guy has his address written down and through some further information that I found, the gentleman is still alive and I have his number.

Has anyone run across this situation and had any luck finding these people? Also, if you did find contact the person, did they remember your relative? Would it be worth while to contact them to see if they remembered your relative such as my grandfather?

The more photos I find from relatives, they seemd to have traded pictures from where they were stationed. Another picture I have is from New Britain, south pacific islands. It seems to have been quite common back then. Unfortunately, on most of the photos they have no information on the back so I will never know who they were...

I know this was more than 60 years ago and from what I know he never mentioned the guy in the photo I have. It would just seem odd to contact the guy out of nowhere and ask him what he remembers while he has possibly no idea who my grandfather was. But now that I think about, I will give it a shot tomorrow and see what happens. Thanks for any guidance.

 

Thanks, Lou. The letter sounds like a better idea.

 

The gentleman that served with my grandfather called me yesterday and left a message. I made a copy of his photo and writing on the back then made a copy of my grandfather's photo from the war. Attached was a letter explaining who I was and how I came across his photo. I'm very much looking forward to speaking with Terry later today and will post what he says.

 

Well, I have been trying for about a week to get a hold of the soldier my grandfather served with and have had no luck. He called my house and left a message but failed to leave his number. Luckily I have caller ID and called that back several times but I keep getting a message saying that they are not taking phone calls at this time. After finding another number online, I tried calling that with no luck and the phone keeps ringing. It is a little frustrating but will keep trying at different hours of the day. At least I have some satisfaction to know he is still alive and got back to me.

 

Great going. I will be interested to read what this vet has to say.

 

I had an emotional phone call with Terry Hodges who served with my grandfather. We spoke on the phone for about 20 minutes and remembers him very well. Terry was the gentleman that nicknamed my grandfather, "Honest Abe".It was written on the back of the picture. His name was Abraham, so it fit him perfectly. From what Mr. Hodges said, he spent a little time with the 109th Medium Maintenance then transferred to another company.All he really did was deliver parts, mainly fixed weapons to the front. He told me he thought very highly of my grandpa and sadly did not keep in touch with him after the war.

He even told me that while he was stationed in Japan near the end of the war, Mr. Hodges was somehow swept out to sea (couldn't make out on the phone how) and Japanese fisherman saved his life. After the war, Mr. Hodges finished high school, college and got a master's degree then coached high school sports in Alabama for most of his career.

I am sure my grandfather would be very proud that I found one of his old buddies. Thanks for anyone that is following my path to track Terry down which turned into a success. Later today I am going to make copies of the unit history I got from NARA and mail it to him.

 

Congrats your persistence has paid off, may I ask did you ask the veteran if there are any more of the unit personell still living for correspondence sake ?

just a note but due to the age group of WW 2 and literally "leave me alone" attitude it is very common for one to have the phone unplugged shall we say except for close family members and former friends/comrades of their former units. my statements are not to offend the great ww2 age group this is just something I have dealt with the past 25 plus years in numerous interviews and is becoming more common.

thanks for your sharing, it will definitely pay off

 

You know he did not keep in touch with anyone at least that he could recall. He said he was not there long and moved somewhere else. Seems like Terry at least bonded with my grandpa.

I was a little nervous even talking to him but Lou Russo recommend I send him a letter first explaining who I am and how I came across his picture. This might be a better way to get in touch with a WW2 vet in the beginning. If I come across any other vet's photo and contact information, that will be my method.

About a week later Terry called me and left a message. From there it was quite hard to get a hold of him. He couldn't have been happier to hear from me when we spoke.

Once I mail the 109th records to Terry maybe it will spark his memory. He is also willing to look at other pictures of my grandfather. Next time I call, I will ask about any other people he kept in touch with and pictures.

 

That is a wonderful story and sounds like it was worth it. I did something similar. My grandpa doesn't talk about the war much, but since I was a little girl I remember him mentioning a friend named Jack. It was the only fellow he remembered from the war so I figured he must have meant something to him. I finally took the time to search the internet and within about 4 hours came across a family tree/history site that had a Jack Coleman, same city that my grandpa remembered he was from (my grandpa visted with him shortly after the war ended) and had an address. I figured "what the heck" and sent him a letter. Thew phone call I got a week later still brings tears to my eyes.

In the letter, I mentioned who I was and that I was searching for my grandpa's long lost army buddy from the war. He said he was the one and remembered my grandpa as "Shorty". I found a new friend and have since brought 2 old friends together. Jack is in poor health, so a visit at this point in time is maybe unrealistic, but they talk at least once a week. Jack told my grandpa that my letter was one of the best things that ever happened to him. I guess I underestimated the relationships these soldiers had during a horrible time. I don't want to sound like I am bragging, but my grandpa means the world to me and to be able to do this for him was just so wonderful. I just wish I had looked years ago.

I hope you can keep in touch with this man and maybe he can answer any questions you have about what your grandpa did in the service. It turns out Jack saved my grandpa's life after the war ended. They were in Korea finishing up their service and another US soldier had kind of lost his mind from the war. He was going around picking fights and beating on people. He went after my grandpa with a knife with killing on his mind and Jack grapped the closest thing he had at the time, a helmet, and gave him a good smack in the head. Jack told me he slept with a pistol under his pillow until the other guy got send away. Something I never would have known before.

 

Krystal,

Thank you for sharing your wonderful success story. That is so good to hear. Luckily my grandfather talked about his service but didn't see much action. I am sure I forgot many things and sadly got into all this military history after he died.

Doing research like this is so important, it almost amazes me what we can find on the computer these days. My only wish is that I did this while my grandfather was still alive. I do plan on keeping in touch with Terry and plan on picking his brain a bit.