At 77 I've seen a few seasons pass along. I was nearly 2 years old when Adolf's troops entered Poland. When September 1945 rolled by I was Nearly 8 years old and in the second year of elementary school. That is a very impressionable period for absorbing a strong sense of the times. I had many relatives involved militarily and as civilian occupations. I heard Adolf addressing the German people on a short wave capable radio and still recall the tone of his voice. I sensed the emotions of the adults around me. And I became aware of the news. I recall newspaper maps outlining the alarming progress of the German Ardennes offensive. My grandmother was amused that I compared a swampy wood lot adjacent to her house draped with vines to Guadalcanal. My family resided on the Texas Gulf Coast five miles from where my father worked in critical occupation as a petroleum chemist. The refinery was posted with an antiaircraft artillery unit to defend against the potential of a submarine launched air attack as was experienced on the West Coast. I recall air raid drills in which a neighbor was assigned to act as a warden. Shades were drawn to cover the faint light of an openfaced gas heater we had in our living room the only source of light we had on. I sensed my family's concern about my uncles and cousins out in harms way. I remember the V mail letters my mother received from overseas. My interest in those times and military affairs has continued throughout my life. I came upon this forum searching for information on the 99th Inf Div dispositions at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. I had in hand a book detailing the experience of a soldier of the 395th regiment. In conjunction with reading of the 2nd Inf Div experience I knew that the front lines of the 99th had been over run. But, I had not heard that one regiment had been able to hold and was never thrown off their lines. So I was searching for what happened to the rest of the division and what was it about their situation that enabled them to be overrun as compared to the 395th. And yes, I have returned to the Guadalcanal scene many times in the histories. I had a cousin there with the 1st Marine Division. My father in law was in the 2nd Inf Div serving as a radio operator in the Division HQ. He did not say much about those times, but once did indicate the shock it was to man a front line foxhole along with the cooks and other rear echelon personnel on the Elsenborn Ridge.
Welcome, this is quite an interesting introduction. Many members do not take the time to write something decent, so thank you for your quality post.
Welcome to the Forum, RLBarrow. My mother is about your age and it is interesting to hear the perspective of WWII from your generation. This Forum mainly focus on military side of the War. We sometimes look at how the War was experienced on the Home-front, but we don't really consider how the children of the War experienced the War. Thank you for sharing your memories and observations.
Welcome to the forum. As others have mentioned, thank you for your thoughtful introductory post. Please feel free to share more of your memories and we would be interested to hear of your relatives service during the war. Steve
Welcome to our little corner of the internet. As has already been said, we frequently bypass how the war impacted people on the home front. To me, that is just as interesting as the military angle. I'm always excited to read about personal stories and the social side of war. Pleas feel free to share any stories you might have.
