Our Grandfathers in WWII

[RainbowGlass 224]

It is not a historical day today nor does it have to be. Let us remember and honor the veterans of WWII! As is the case with most of us here, that would be our Grandfathers. Whatever the case may be, if you have a Grandparent or relative that served in the last World War tell the world a little bit about them! Where did they serve, what did they do, etc. There are not many veterans from that war left now and personally I am trying in every way that I can to honor them, tell their stories, who they are and were so that we may never forget them and what they did.

 

Here is a little bit about my Grandfathers-

 

 Both of my Grandfathers served during World War 2. My Grandfather Albert served in the Pacific theater, though I do not have any idea what he did (due to family history complications) and he passed while I was very young. I do not think he saw combat, I could be wrong. My Grandfather Vanderlaan was a fighter pilot over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in the Pacific theater, the only place where American soil was invaded and fought upon (during Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was not a state yet. That occurs in 1959.). He flew a few aircraft including the P-38 and says his favorite was the P-39 also known as the P-400 as it went 400 mph. He stated this specifically as the speed was crucial during most dogfights.  He is still alive at 92 years of age and though he doesn't recall certain aspects of his life very well now, when he talks of his service in WWII it is crystal clear as is the case with most veterans. He battled in multiple dogfights, engaged in strafing runs and attacked a Japanese Aircraft Carrier. 

 

Please share your stories if you would like to about your Grandparents.

Thank you.

[Scootalove 10,689]

My grandfathers served in World War II, and they were both pilots who attacked the Japanese fleets that were attacking them head-on but sadly I never got a chance to ask them about the other things that occurred at that time. Even though both of them passed away, I still remember the events that they told me.

[longgone 873]

It is not a historical day today nor does it have to be. Let us remember and honor the veterans of WWII! As is the case with most of us here, that would be our Grandfathers. Whatever the case may be, if you have a Grandparent or relative that served in the last World War tell the world a little bit about them! Where did they serve, what did they do, etc. There are not many veterans from that war left now and personally I am trying in every way that I can to honor them, tell their stories, who they are and were so that we may never forget them and what they did.

 

Here is a little bit about my Grandfathers-

 

 Both of my Grandfathers served during World War 2. My Grandfather Albert served in the Pacific theater, though I do not have any idea what he did (due to family history complications) and he passed while I was very young. I do not think he saw combat, I could be wrong. My Grandfather Vanderlaan was a fighter pilot over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in the Pacific theater, the only place where American soil was invaded and fought upon (during Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was not a state yet. That occurs in 1959.). He flew a few aircraft including the P-38 and says his favorite was the P-39 also known as the P-400 as it went 400 mph. He stated this specifically as the speed was crucial during most dogfights.  He is still alive at 92 years of age and though he doesn't recall certain aspects of his life very well now, when he talks of his service in WWII it is crystal clear as is the case with most veterans. He battled in multiple dogfights, engaged in strafing runs and attacked a Japanese Aircraft Carrier. 

 

Please share your stories if you would like to about your Grandparents.

Thank you.

P39...is that the P39 Airacobra or am I thinking of another plane?

 

 

Well, my Grandfather served in Korea, and forgive me for putting it in here since it was only 5 years after. He served in the Navy on an aircraft carrier. He didn't see any combat as he was an airplane mechanic but I never got the chance to ask him about his experiences. He passed away in 3 years ago, interviewing him is something I really wish I could've done.

[PsychedelicPony 440]

Only one of my grandparents ever served, but he served in Korea, not WWII. He wasn't in a combat role he mostly was there after the fighting had stopped in order to fix everything that had been ruined because of the war. However, I did have a close family friend who served in Korea in Chosin, where the deadliest fighting occurred, he actually gave me his Korean Service Medal and I still have it

[RainbowGlass 224]

P39...is that the P39 Airacobra or am I thinking of another plane?

 

 

Well, my Grandfather served in Korea, and forgive me for putting it in here since it was only 5 years after. He served in the Navy on an aircraft carrier. He didn't see any combat as he was an airplane mechanic but I never got the chance to ask him about his experiences. He passed away in 3 years ago, interviewing him is something I really wish I could've done.

That is the P-39 Airacobra. WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Dessert Storm, and on and on; any conflict counts my friend. All veterans count.  A thank you to your Grandfather for serving in Korea! Korea was a tough one, as the allies almost lost it and South Korea wouldn't exist if it wasn't for men like your Grandfather. The Navy played a very important role in that war. Thank you for sharing!

[longgone 873]

@@RainbowGlass, 

 

The P-39 Airacobra was a very queer aircraft. The center of gravity was terrible. On the operator's manual it said that if you got into a vertical spin it was best to just bail out XD. The plane was mostly flown by the Soviets because the Army/Navy didn't want the plane, so I find it cool that your Grandfather actually flown one

 

I know the Navy helped at the landing of the Inchon Peninsula (I think that's the name), and I believe that's where we got a foothold. I find the whole war to be somewhat funny. We ended up breaking the conduct of just doing a "police action" and ended up pushing into North Korea. The Chinese didn't take too kindly to that XD

 

 

[Seaweed 596]

My gramps served as an infantry rifleman in Italy with the 82nd Airborne and stormed Omaha beach with 1st ID (the division I'm in, coincidentally). Two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with V-Device. He was a bad sonofabitch. Guy practically raised me, as my dad was MIA an my ma was constantly working. He passed when I was 16. Fucking cancer. One of the most respectable, honorable, and kindhearted men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

[Serbon div 386]

In WWII a lot of my family was part of a Chetnik movement, a guerrilla liberation movement in Yugoslavia. The movement still exists as a humanitarian organisation, but most of them were banished from the country because during WWII, there was a civil war here in the same time, and because Great Britain stopped supporting the Chetnik and supported the commies they made a state created a dictatorship and fucked everyone up.

[Stone Cold Applejack 381]

A lot of my family served in WWII.

 

Both my grandfathers were in WWII. One in the navy never knew where he died before I was born. The other in the army at Normandy.

 

My grand uncle Pvt. Silas Heady fought in the battle of Metz. He was a USN corpsman. He was greenside which ment he fought with the army or marines. He fought with the army. He died on September 1st 2014. Little while ago. The guy used to tell me all of his experiences from the war.

 

My other grand uncle's cousin Sgt. Brian Taylors fought in Operation Market Garden as a paratrooper and squad leader. He was killed in that battle at the age of 28.

 

My grand uncle's 3rd cousin Pvt. Garret Lee was a flamethrower on Iwo Jima. He died there and I'm not sure how he died but with him being a flamethrower tells me the tanks were shot and he burned to death. He was only 19.

 

My grand father's 2nd cousin Pvt. Jacob "Applejack" Griffen. True nickname. Was a support gunner on Okinawa. He was killed at Shuri Castle when a mortar round blew to close and sharpnel hit em in the neck. He was 25.

 

My grand uncle's 2nd brother was a ball turret gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress. I remember asking him what it was like in a ball turret and he responded back with this. "A pain in the ass but 2 years in it and you start to manage it but you still hate it." He was in a plane called The Nine Iron. He is still alive.

 

My grand uncles second cousin's god father was a sniper during the Battle of Luzon. He was 27 when he joined. He died in 1998. I still got his journal.

 

Garret Lee's god father's son PFC. Roland Bouljarez (Bowl Jar Ez) was a radio man during the D-Day landings. He landed on Ohama Beach and was part of a platoon of 40 or more guys. He died in 2006 at the age of 93.

EDIT: Damnit On the one above me I meant his god father's SON. I changed to son btw.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Red Sage

[DubWolf 17,265]

Your grandfathers must be/have been pretty old to have fought in world war 2 . Assuming the youngest age to serve was probably 18 (am I right?) (1938?) 1939 or 1945-18=1921 or 1926, so 93 or 88 years old at this point!

[BitterBubblegum 75]

Mine was in the war. He got some sort of infection and died few weeks afterwards.

[CheeryFox 23,821]

My grandfather I loved to death served in that war. He died of coal workers' pneumoconiosis years ago. He was a proud man. They gave him a purple heart and a proper three-volley salute at the very end. 

 

I sure do miss him tons. 

 

Real Americans, all of them. <3

[long gone 8,929]

My grandfather was a medic for the US Army Air Corps. in the Pacific Theater during WWII, and was part of the small detachment that led to the construction of what is now known as Eareckson Air Station on Shemya island, Alaska. He never saw combat, but said he fired a Thompson in the water at some point.

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

I don't know all that much about my family's history, so forgive me if the details are a bit vague.

 

My Grandfather actually served in Vietnam, but the generation before I have family who fled Germany around the time Hitler rose to power. I'm not ashamed of my teeny bit of German blood. If anything, I'm proud that my ancestors saw the writing on the wall before things got out of hand.

 

My other side of the family is Spanish, and my grandparents on that side were around during the civil war when Franco rose to power. They didn't fight, though. I'm pretty sure they were only kids at the time.

[Andaasonsan 3,205]

My great-grandfather was a weapons designer. Don't know a whole lot about him beyond that but I used to have this thing that all my friends thought was a bong, but was actually a prototype of a one time use RPG that you fired by screwing it onto the end of a rifle.

[Stone Cold Applejack 381]

Your grandfathers must be/have been pretty old to have fought in world war 2 . Assuming the youngest age to serve was probably 18 (am I right?) (1938?) 1939 or 1945-18=1921 or 1926, so 93 or 88 years old at this point!

Youngest to volunteer was 18 but there were guys age 16 that lied about there age to get in.

[Moss 95]

My grandfather and dad's uncle both served in world war II,as did some other relatives but I only know stuff about those two.

 

My grandfather served in places like africa and Papua New Guinea and survived,but had stuff like malaria and very light PTSD.My dad's uncle was a gunner in a bomber or something,and he became deaf in one ear after his plane got shot at.They both survived the war but died years ago.

[Simeon Leonard 119]

My great-uncle Anthony served in WWII and took part in the D-Day invasion. He's an amazing man. His mind is starting to fail him, but it's still fascinating to hear his stories. There's something about that generation, the trials they faced, and how they got through it all. Sure, some had their flaws, but for the most part I really admire them.

 

My father and my uncle also served in Vietnam, my dad on a swift boat and my uncle as a medic with the Marine Corps. He saw some awful things and took a bullet through his lung. Lucky he lived. He went through a rough patch recently and had to stay with us for awhile. Every night I'd hear him talking in his sleep, yelling "No! No!" and I knew he was back in the jungle, still fighting a war that ended before I was even born. 

[Stone Cold Applejack 381]

My gramps served as an infantry rifleman in Italy with the 82nd Airborne and stormed Omaha beach with 1st ID (the division I'm in, coincidentally). Two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with V-Device. He was a bad sonofabitch. Guy practically raised me, as my dad was MIA an my ma was constantly working. He passed when I was 16. Fucking cancer. One of the most respectable, honorable, and kindhearted men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Your grandfather sounds like a tough son of a bitch. It's a shame we loss veterans everyday.

My grandfather was a medic for the US Army Air Corps. in the Pacific Theater during WWII, and was part of the small detachment that led to the construction of what is now known as Eareckson Air Station on Shemya island, Alaska. He never saw combat, but said he fired a Thompson in the water at some point.

It may not seem like it to some but corpsman play the hardest part in the military. Running out under intense enemy fire. Going through the very gates of hell to save a wounded marine or soldier. Especially in the Pacifica theater. Seeing as the Japanese didn't follow the Genva Convention, which stated corpsmen could not be shot at. Your grand dad made a hell of a sacrifice.

[Snow Frostflame 3,568]

my ancestors migrated from Germany in 1902 I don't know if their children entered the war I'm pretty sure someone in my bloodline has been in WWII I don't know who though, but my family has a history of being heroes from either Law Enforcement or Military

[Invincible 2,091]

My grandfather left home when he was but 16 to join the Partisan brigades. He was full of passion about fighting against the Nazis. He used to attack Nazi supply lines in a series of guerrilla actions in order to starve the enemy troopers in the front lines. 

[Guest]

My grandfather was a resistance fighter during WWII, and is still to this day happily married with my grandmother, (50 years of marriage) - Yeah, they're pretty old.

 

His weapons are still located somewhere on the farm, although he won't tell me where for obvious reasons.

 

Still though..

Edited September 26, 2014 by Guest

[Darker 1,351]

I think at the time we were all at the dictatorship of Franco from the 40s to 1975 when the dictator died. I don't think neither my grandparents or my parents did anything while we were being ruled by the "spanish Hitler".

 

F*ck you, a**hole.

 

http://nuke.alkemia.com/Portals/0/Storia/franco-y-hitler.jpg