Veteran's Day

[AGBF]

My maternal grandfather was in the Air Force at Hickam AFB in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 which also happened to be his birthday. He enlisted and then actually retired 25 years later as a captain (quite a feat to make officer from enlisted back then without college). My paternal grandfather was in the Army but he never talked about WWII.

So, Red, was your maternal grandfather already in the Air Force when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor? If so, what do you know about his experiences? (And, excuse me for saying so belatedly, but God rest your your grandfathers' souls.)

Deb

Yes he was but he did not talk too much about it because it was so horrific. Lots of panic but he was never hurt in the attack. The fact that it was his birthday was just crazy on top of it. My grandmother is still alive at 94 but she does not talk about it either so I never really got a personal story from either of them.

My grandfather who cleaned out tanks of human remains never could talk about it much beyond that it happened and he didn't want to talk about it. Some things are too horrible to reexperience. On the one hand, it makes me sad that these stories are lost, but on the other hand, I would not wish anyone to have to relive something so horrible just so I can know about it.

As a baby boomer, I was born relatively soon after World war II, although I never knew it. As a child one has absolutely no perspective on time. I did know that my father had been a soldier, however. He had "army pants" in the closet, for instance. In fact, when I missed him (he worked very long hours), I used to go to the closet and hug his army pants.

He was in The Signal Corps, and although I later learned from him that The Morse Code had become obsolete during World War II, he was always "tapping out" Morse code and saying "dee dit da da dit" around the house. When my brother and I asked him what kind of messages he had passed, he would say, "Send more bottles of ketchup!" He always made it seem that he did nothing of importance. But I later learned that he had not only traversed the Atlantic in a troop ship, but been in Liverpool and London during the buzz bombing, then followed closely behind the first wave of the invasion of Normandy. (My great-uncle, who was in the infantry, was in the first wave of the invasion. My uncle was a medic in the navy, attached to the marines, on a ship off the coast the first day of the invasion.) Everyone played his part in those days. It was a war no one wanted to avoid.But men (and it was mostly men then) didn't come home and talk about it. My uncle-the one who was on the ship off the coast of Normandy on D-day) was sent to the South Pacific after a brief leave in the US. What he saw there scarred him. He never spoke about it, but what he had would be called PTSD today. Being a medic in the marines was hell. He came home walking in the park looking for landmines.

Deb

 

[the_mother_thing]

I definitely want to thank JoCoJenn and Andelain and any other veterans or currently serving members of PS! Thank you!

Thank you Red (for your appreciation as well as the service of your family), fellow Veterans, and everyone else who took time to show appreciation here and in your 'offline' lives toward our service members. It's an honor and privilege to serve our great country alongside so many wonderful selfless people, many of whom are still part of my 'family'.

 

[AGBF]

I definitely want to thank JoCoJenn and Andelain and any other veterans or currently serving members of PS! Thank you!

Thank you Red (for your appreciation as well as the service of your family), fellow Veterans, and everyone else who took time to show appreciation here and in your 'offline' lives toward our service members. It's an honor and privilege to serve our great country alongside so many wonderful selfless people, many of whom are still part of my 'family'.

Thank you for your service, Jenn. Our country cannot operate without the sacrifice of our military. We do not say it nearly enough. I thank Andelain, too.

Deb

 

[momhappy]

Thank you for your service!!!!