Where would YOU serve in WW2?

A Coast Guard lighthouse keeper on the great lakes. The unsung heroes of homeland defense, the lighthouse keepers always kept a careful watch in case a u-boat tried to sneak past one of their lighthouses.

[ 04. March 2005, 05:55 AM: Message edited by: Deep Web Diver ]

 

Paratroopers or Armor with either the Americans or the Germans.

 

IF I would be brave enough I'd join the Dutch resistance.

 

Marloes...

Just keep an eye out for men in trilbys, black trenchcoats and who walk with a limp... and answer to the name of Herr Flick....

 

in "Skalski Circus" in Tunisia

group of Polish top guns (attached to 145 Sqdn) wreaking havoc in North Africa, downing 26 German/Italian birds in just 2 months (loosing only a single plane, pilot bailed out).

 

Dont tell anyone...but i secretly fancy him

 

Oh... you poor dear...

"Nurse! Marloes tablets please!"

I prefered Helga myself...

 

Hell and damnation, it's the first time I have to say I'm wholeheartedly agreeing with you

At my age and technical abilities I would be happy to serve my (er, your) country being manager of a plant churning out B-29s for the USAAC
Go, Rosie, go!

Last place to be on earth: Flying a Me321 on the "PzIV to Tunisia Run"

No offence, Chrome, just pulling your leg!

 

Was Portugal neutral during WWII like Spain or did they just keep a low profile ? I can't recall reading about anything they did but you could start a Portugal columne like others have done for Poland.

 

Portugal was neutral, as non-belligerent as Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, etc. Not much to tell, really.

The form of government was ideologically close to Vichy style fascism (so to speak), leaning a lot to the Axis. However as the economy was very much dependent on the UK (most of our exports going there, most big firms being UK capital), reality demanded that ideology went a few steps behind. Moreover the news from the war were not very good after 1942 so why back a losing horse.

So in 1942 Portugal ceded airbases to the UK and USA in the Azores to help close the Mid-Atlantic Gap in exchange for a lot of war material (300+ Spit V and Hurricane II come to mind) plus more commercial privileges. That or invasion pure and simple, so we took the softer option.

But there was a lot of folklore concerning Spying and tungsten contraband, smuggling of jews out of Europe, etc, which I remember my parents telling me.

My father was at a time a lieutenant in the AA ring round Lisbon, commanding a battery of 3.7" AA guns (more militay aid!), and he took the fright of his life in Summer '43 night when a loud continuous drone went over his head for hours on end, again for a few more nights. Later on he heard about Operation Torch

Oh, and he had 4 rounds of ammunition per gun!

 

Thanks for the information !! I did not know any of that.

Four rounds per gun

 

I dont know in which part i'd like to serve in WW2 but i am so glad that i didnt have to fight in a war where people burned each other with flamethrowers. Once i burned my finger mistakefully, it really hurt.

 

Kerem proposition t for You:
Visit Auschwitz or Majdanek in Poland

I am sure You will choose right !!!

 

i meant "i am glad i didn't have to". if i had known what the heck was goin on then it would have meant that i have to fight and i would not hesitate to jump of the C-47 under heavy AA fire while flying over France.

 

IF you got out...

 

dead or alive i would get out

 

Our newcomers´ choices are.....

 

Did your panzers overrun Holland as well?
If so... we will make you regret that.

 

This thread has good choices. There is glory on one hand and safety on the other.

For glory, 101st Airborne.

For safety, I like the choice of embassy duty in Rio De Janeiro or the lighthouse duty.

 

Queens own Rifles of Canada