Step2

[DammitJanet]

I saw you post on Lisa's thread about all that WWII stuff. I think its a riot when I read about this stuff being peoples grandparents stuff and it is my parents stuff and Im not that old! I just have old parents...lol. Or one old parent. My dad served in WWII along with 2 of his brothers and one of my uncles on my mom's side. My grandfather was Navy in WWI. Yeah...I had really, really old parents!

I have my grandfathers discharge paperwork from WWI.

My dad has all his medals from WWII in a shadow box and his paperwork at his house and I think it is to go to my middle son when he dies because my son was the one that went into the Marines to "be like Papa"...lol. My dad gave a ton of stuff that was Marine Corps related to my son already. He has a brass bell with the eagle, globe and anchor attached to his front porch.

 

[AnnieO]

Grandpa B made this shadowbox with patches, bullets & a piece of shrapnel in it. We never did find out what the shrapnel was from... But I am proud it is on my wall. He was in the USMC, in the Pacific, and I also have this little brass plane made of shell casings...

Grandpa T was in the AAC in the Atlantic. I have a lot of German and Italian memorabilia from him as well as a uniform, and lots of letters between him and Grandma...

 

[DammitJanet]

Do you know where Grandpa B was in the Pacific in the war? My dad was also in the pacific in the war as a Marine. Was B on a ship? If so, do you know what ship?

 

[mstang67chic]

I did some research for husband and father in law awhile back on father in law's father, W. W died in WWII during Iwo Jima. He was on a naval ship that was attacked by shore based artillary and was killed during the attack. I actually was able to track down a man who was onboard during the same time and he's given me some neat stuff. I got a copy of an unoffical log one of the crew wrote that details the days preceeding the attack as well as the attack itself and the resulting clean up. (and some of THOSE details were a bit gory) The best thing he gave us though was a letter. After the attack (W wasn't the only one to be killed), the captain asked for volunteers to write the next of kin of the killed sailors. These letters were in addition to the official notice they recieved but with more of a personal touch. The man I contacted turned out to be one of two men who co-wrote a letter to husband's grandmother (I didn't know this when I found him). She wrote a letter back and THAT was the letter that this man gave us. I was amazed that I tracked this guy down and simply ASTONISHED that he still had the letter from husband's grandmother. father in law has all of this stuff now and was very touched to receive it. He was only 2 when his father died and I don't think he really had that much connecting him to W.

The naval ship that W was on is actually still around. It's in Peru, South America but it's around. One of these years I would love to take husband to Iwo Jima (I have the coordinates of where the ship was and where W was buried at sea) and also to Peru to see the ship. I don't know that it will ever happen but it's something to shoot for.


Step and Janet...the stuff that you guys have is neat enough in itself. The fact that some of it is personal....even better!

 

[DammitJanet]

My dad was on the USS Vincennes. There were many ships named this but the three most famous are the CA44 which was sunk in Guadacanal by kamakazi fighters, the CL64 which my dad was on, and the USS Vincennes CG 49 which shot down the Iran Air Flight over the Persian Gulf.

 

[mstang67chic]

husband's grandfather W was on the USS Terry.

 

[DammitJanet]

Ever been to Vincennes Stang? I have...lol. I used to go to his reunions with him back when I was 16, 17 and 18. Let me tell you, there is nothing like being around old men telling war stories when they are drunk.

I will never forget hearing time and time again "Wot sship waz I on?"

 

[AnnieO]

Sigh... Gpa B didn't talk about it much. I know he was in Guam and the islands...something that starts with an S... And a bunch of other places. He was a truck mechanic.

 

[DDD]

Did you guys know that you can access the WWII Memorial in Washington via the internet? Vets from II are listed even if they survived the War and lived many healthy years. My Dad is on there and he died in l970. You might find relatives...and instructions on how to add your family Vet post mortem. DDD

 

[skeeter]

My dad was in WWII, in the South Pacific. He was a radio tech in the Navy.

He never spoke about it much. I know there were some things (like swimming) he would never do because of it.

He spent a good portion of his time on a hospital ship. He developed reoccurring malaria and then peritonitus from a previously removed appendix.

I have his discharge papers, and his "official" picture from Great Lakes right next to my son's picture from Great Lakes.

 

[Hound dog]

Nichole inherited a Chinese painting...as well as other chinese things brought back from WW II by her grandfather. In case you couldn't guess he spent the duration in China. lol

The painting is chinese watercolor and is a style Nichole took great pains to learn how to do last quarter....and does it well herself.

Nichole even got Grandpa's scandalous Nekked ladies bookends. LOL

Since she was always a Grandpa's girl........which you can tell by the dozens upon dozens of photos he took of her.....I'm sure he is pleased as punch she received what he intended she have.

My mom's 2nd husband served in WWII........I grew up hearing his stories. He joined up at 15 (lied about his age) and was overseas the entire length of the war.

 

[AnnieO]

The Solomon Islands! That's it!

Both GPas are listed on the online memorial. I also was sent to Difficult Child for training the year after the WWII Memorial opened. As luck would have it, father in law lived up there, so he took me through the National Mall.

The WWII Memorial slapped me upside the head. I wandered through and took a ton of pictures. When I got to the field of stars, I lost it... Knelt down in front of the field and cried.

When I stood up, there was an old man behind me. He had tears streaming down his face and a ball cap that said "WWII Veteran". I looked at him for a moment, then took his hands and said, "Sir, thank you." His face lit up for just a moment and he hugged me and told me I looked like his granddaughter. I told him about both GPas, and that GPa B passed in 2003. He told me thank you, too - for appreciating and rememberign them.

The Vietnam Memorial meant less to me - but more to father in law, of course.