Salutations Ron! Why WWII? Well much of the world was devastated, and humanity stood on the brink of a barbarism that promised to be 1000 times worse than that. Pretty compelling history! JeffinMNUSA PS. I hope to see the day when the Russians finally release the records on the Partisan Wars.
Denny- Thank you for your reply. I'm sorry but I wouldn't know how to go about getting military records in the USA, but I am sure members here will be able to help you. Have you any photos at all? I am only familiar with obtaining records in England. Lesley
Sorry...did not notice your locale. I will have to check with my brother and sister. I only remember seeing one pic of my Father in uniform. Thanks
Denny, check here to see if the data you need is available. http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/045.html
Well, i am a longtime Lurker...... But for me (as a German) the War was always there. In the Conversations between my Parents and my Grandparents. In the Storys i heard about WW2 by my Grandfathers. Espacially from my Mothers Father who was a Radio Operator on Ju-88 and later Radar Operator on Me-110 Nightfighters. My other Grandpa was, as he said, "deep in Russia". I don´t know exactly where (he never talked about exact Places or Units). All i know is that he was shot and survived the Journey back to Germany. That was what i learned as a Kid. Later my Father talked with me about the War. Explaining the Ideology behind the Nazis and the Atrocities that had been done in the Name of her. So, how could i been not interestet in the WW2?
I apologize since it has been over a year, but when i saw this topic honestly could not resist. For me part of it had to do with how i found out my great uncle was in the navy in the Pacific and shot down kamikazes over there. That is part of it. The other part had to do that before i found out about my great uncle, when i was really young, i saw a book on World War Two that was set more for kids. it had all these little activities, facts, and all of this sort of 'generic' information. There was just something about it that captivated me. I finished all of the little activities they had in there, and i guess the best way to put it i wanted to do more. My interest just took off there. Now it has been years since i started getting into WWII, so my memory isn't all that great, but i do know that one of the first books i read on it was a book that was more for kids. Unfortunately i cannot remember the title of that book. . I really don't know exactly why i am so into WWII. I do enjoy doing research on the subject as well as doing research on individuals such as what i did with Mr. Geiser. (I also plan on doing some research on my great uncle who was in the navy in the Pacific theater) But doing research is really fun in a way. you find something, you want to do more on it. You find something else and you want to dig even deeper. Cycles such as this can go on for a long time, and you discover a lot of fascinating new things. Also my history teachers are some of the best i have ever had, and they not only got me into WWII even more, but got me into World History as well as inspired me to become a teacher myself which i hope to be one day.
we didn't have PCs, DVDs, VCRs, cable TV, etc....so WW2 books would take me out of 'my small, boring, world', ....I would imagine myself, in a far away place, doing something different , than 'just reading' a book!
For me it was the technology...I've always been interested in mechanical engineering, and war machines are made to last, to work in horrendous conditions...and, are made by mere men. The fact that Germany was conceiving a jet fighter when most air forces were still flying bi-planes drew me in...the mighty Corsair had a lot to do with the attraction too...also, growing up in the seventies, and especially on a diet of English tv shows, especially comedies, the subject seemed to crop up quite a bit...of course we can all remember the exciting WW2 movies of our childhood too...oh and Commando books!
As I have written here I grew up in the direct aftermath of the war. I was surrounded by veterans, played with tons of cheap surplus gear, even got an 03 Springfield from the The Civilian Marksmanship Agency....or some name like that, we had an US Enfield, M1 Carbine, a Luger in the family, an airbase 5 miles North of us that had Armed Forces Days where we got to explore all sorts of WW2 planes and vehicles. The National Guard had two running Sherman's, even tol a class in the US Navy in WW2 in college. Then came marriage, kids, making a living and my interest remained but just as an interest. My job let me travel all over Europe so I got to see places I had only heard about but the thing the rekindled my interest was the Internet. When I got a computer and typed Beaufighter into the search engine I was flooded with information. It was amazing, all that information. Then I found forums and finally this one. It has great knowledge but also a family feel of people from all over the place. I guess I found my forum home. I grew uo near the now inbamous city of Selma....at the time it felt more like "Leave it to Beaver". Selma had a huge Jewish community and we a large number of Jewish friends. A would be girl friiend of mine had a grandmother who had a serial # tattooed on her arm which caused curious me to want to know more and that reinforced my interest in the war and in human or inhuman behavior. I will die not understanding how such could have happened and it drives me today. My other interest is in weapons. I have a long interest in those terrible devices that were produced to kill people. I was raised an unflinching hunter, now at soon to be 75 I find I cannot kill anything.....I still like to shoot., learn about weapons and thanks to Kindle still read about them. and the war, adjustable fonts are the bomb ! Really glad to have found this place.. Gaines
I have also a great passion of interest in all other large scale/period conflicts further in the past (ww1 less, but Napoleontics lot, Golden Age of Sail 16th-17th C a lot, back to the Roman and Greek clashes (less). The passion came I believe because of the many black/white heroic gung-ho warmovies of the 50's that were aired on saturdays afternoons in the 70's on TV. When nothing else on TV was interesting for boys. The Wooooooow factor was planted. Then came the questions..why if the british commando's and pilots and US paras were so fantastic, and the germans were such idiots, why did the war lasted 5 years and with so many dead ???? I have family in Holland that were affected lightly by the occupation, and family in Germany that were fortunately lightly affected by the war. I never got to hear the stories directly from the grandparents, but from their children (parents and uncles, who were only children then) and it seemed booooring. Though I am grateful, we didnot suffer tragedies. Only from the married into uncles who served in the armies, you got to hear bits and pieces from both sides, but only when they were drunk, as they too had no interest in reliving all mayhem at the front. And they simply couldn't understand why on earth was I interested in WW2 ?!? But what keeps it going is ; apart from the global scale and in which each military has its own specific characteristic in material, tactics, and men, and not forget dangerous ideologies, (like you would appreciate WC football with national teams rather than EC football between clubs (may the richest club win, but it is all "the same") ), it is the last conflict in which machinery and men have to work together to function optimally. Flying skills, destroyer skills, infantry skills, tank operation skills, etc...all made a huge difference. Whereas after WW2 it was already established that technology has to be the decisive factor and the less human influence the better for tactical/strategic gain on the battlefield. Thus more guided missiles, less MG, more ballistic rockets from subs, less torpedoes, More laser guidance, less sharp eye lenses, etc... No more "romantic heroic" deeds. And the RRRRRRRRRRRoar of the propeller engines of planes compares to nothing after that. No jet noise engine can top that. Plus...from the beginning (50's) so much data was available about all decision making and choices , be it good or bad , most was clear and understandable. At least as much as was made open to public. All the other conflicts before yielded much less data/info.
It is very interesting to hear varying stories on what began this interest in numerous people. It's remarkable, no matter what direct or indirect connection one has to the Second World War, what can peak an interest and it turns into a passion for history. This is the greatest drama of all time. My grandfather was a history buff and imparted some of that knowledge to me and he later took me on a battlefield tour of Europe as a senior in H.S. Although I give him much acclaim for his influence, it was the National Socialist party that I found interesting. When I was an early teenager I read the novel Horses of Anger by James Forman. It was the story of a young Hitler Jugend "soldier" operating a Flak tower in Berlin during the latter stages of the war. The story was mesmerizing to me. The main character was a loyal Nazi, but was disheartened by the ideological beliefs and practices of the Third Reich. As a younger man, I guess it had an impact. This forum has definitely turned into a one stop shopping of information that I am very pleased I happened to Google. The friendly banter and debate of educated individuals on the subject is an excellent use of my time. Happy I found it.
