Both my great grandfather, and grandfather were pilots. My great grandfather was a beast of a man. He even landed a role in a silent film as the villain pilot. He landed the role because he was able to throw the actress over his shoulder, climb up into the plane and fly away. My grandfather and his plane disappeared while flying over the ocean, and was never to be seen again, a mystery. My father was a ground soldier in Vietnam, earned a purple heart and came down with a serious case of ptsd. The cost of war spreads many ways. My grandmother lost her first love, and my mother and her sister lost their father at a very young age, and basically the same thing happened to me. So I am proud to say that through the generations my family has/is paid/paying the price for all of us to go ahead and "speak our minds". Unfortunately, it came at a high cost. So thanks to all those who have paid the price, and to those who will carry that cost throughout their personal life.

 

I love watching history and series like Band of Brothers. We are losing these people forever, even though they saved our butts. I dont want to limit it, so any war or relative is eligible, alive or not. Its a bit sappy, but I think their experiences are part of our connection. Hope you will share.


My father enlisted in 42 after Pearl Harbor. When they tested men for shooting skills on moving objects, he beat the high score. (He grew up in Michigan and pheasant hunted on the way home from school. In those days, you could park your gun at school.) He wasnt a pilot, but they taught him to fly, so he could train fighter pilots and bomber pilots. He also flew planes between fields and when they came off the production line. One plane developed problems and he had to land in a farmers field. He really wanted to fly a P51.

I met a very nice watch maker in Burien in 1979. Turned out, he was in the German airforce.

My brother retired from the Airforce in 92. Was a fuel tanker navigator and eventually worked around the blackbird project. Moved a lot.

So, is this a My Father is better than your Father post?
I will say that anybody that lived in that time frame, deserves around of gratitude. Man, Woman,or child! :applause:
BTW, My father joined the Oregon National guard during that time and right after the War. But did not see action. Should I feel he was less a man? Not in My eyes!

 

I was planning on a post about my fathers time in the service then read this post and decided that it is a shame something that started as a cool thread to remember and or honor those that served our country has been turned into this. And yes in my eyes my Dad was the best in my opinion and I will always remember him that way.:twocents:

 

If you cannot share, or dont know, its not my problem. I am more interested in the history they lived. Im not going to endulge your inferiority complex.

If thats the way this thread is going to go, lock it up right now. Im tired of whiners.


One more thing, my ex father inlaw, missed his boat leaving some landing. He ended up on another ship. On the way back, the first ship was sunk by a torpedo. Hense, no daughter would have come from him. I would be pretty small to compare the two men.

 

Ive watch Patton a dozen times. That doesnt take away from the efforts of my dad or brother or any man that served under Patton.

Too bad he didnt live to share the stories with his offspring.

 

My Father Leonard Bristo Barnwell was a member of the second Marine division ...
He fought on Iwo Jima , Guadalcanal , And many other Pacific Theatre Battles ...
He had a patch of ribbons on his chest that would put the ones I got in the Air Force to shame ...
He was also the welter weight champion boxer of the second Marine division during WWII ...
And fought in Korea also , He never said much about the war unless he had a few in him ...
He's been dead 25 years ... but I miss him like it was yesterday ...

 

The thread is for members of this site. It doesnt take away from any other father whether they served or not, or arent part of this site. In fact, it only makes me wonder, what they have to share. Not about if they should feel bad or deserve less respect.

 

My grandfather enlisted with the Marines at 16 or 17. He had lied about his age and got his mother to sign off on letting him go.

He ended up with the landing at Guadalcanal and fought it out with the Japanese through most of the nasty stuff there. They had minimal supplies and at times the combat was hand to hand.

He survived all that but was taken outta there on a hospital ship to New Zealand. Although he had survived some of the most horrific warfare ever seen, malaria was killing him. It ended up taking him about a full year to recover from the malaria and other stuff he caught over there, but he made it back in one piece.

My father-in-law was given the choice of serving his country or his county when he was 18. He chose country and went to the Army. He went through all his training and two weeks before he was supposed to deploy to vietnam a mix-up in paperwork re-routed him to Korea temporarily. He was supposed to be with the unit that the movie "We Were Soldiers" is based on, and likely would have fought in that valley. He knows some of the names at the end of that movie.

 

Not a dad or grandfaher but my uncle was in the back of a duce and a half in France in WWII. A potato masher was trown in and he grabbed it and threw it out but, not quite in time. Lost his right arm from the elbow down and lived with a hook on his arn the rest of his life.

Also my best friend did two tours in Vietnam as a field medic. Came home with a terrible case of PTS and clinical depression. He told me once befor he died that having to decided who lived and who died was the most horrible thing he'd ever done. Two guy's shot and calling for help but only one could make it, he had to turn his back on the other. He was truely a hero!

 

My dad went into the Navy, like skybuster's dad, early at 16 or 17, and was in the UDT, which was the forerunner to the Navy Seals. He wouldn't talk about the war until way later in his life (he died December 2000), but the horrors of the few stories he did tell almost defy description. He talked about going ashore at Saipan, Corrigidor, and various islands, before the actual invasions began, and setting explosive charges like in ammo dumps and such, and some of the hand-to-hand combat the UDT/Seals had to do. He also talked a little about being on ships that were under Kamikaze attacks. The Japanese apparently had some method of attaching three 55 gallon drums to suicide boat that they would then try to ram into Navy ships, and Navy gunners trying to hit the drums to blow them up before they hit the ships. Scary, nasty stuff.

 

I will ignore the negativity of this thread and stay on track with the original request.I still have a friend, Jack Cudd, who flew Mustangs in Europe during the war, flew Ag Cats in the post-war days and still flies model aircraft, even though he's in his 80's. He never bragged about his exploits, he just did his job.He had some close calls, but survived the war and went on to live out his life as a humble man who served his country well.

My father-in-law, Ross Brooks, was a Lieutenant in the army and fought in Italy during the war. He was a decorated true hero, recipient of two purple hearts, silver star and others.He later became Commander of the Northern Calif. Guard. He was typical of guys at the time who took their jobs seriously, made very effort to keep his men out of harm's way, but never flinched when it came to doing their duty.He's gone now, but will never be forgotten.

It's hard for me to muster up much enthusiasm about worshiping sports or so-called film heros, but being proud of Jack and Ross comes easy. They are my heros.

 

My step father drove a 1/2 track from Africa to Germany with Patton. He did not talk to much about it unless you forced it out of him. Some great stories. I am not saying any ones dad is biger, better or better. They are all heros in my book.

 

Hey, Mike, my father-in law was there too: F Company of the 33rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, 20th Armored Division - - The Rolling Earthquakes. He also drove a halftrack - - tank mechanic and forward observer, out in front of the column when he wasn't twisting a wrench. And, he was there when they liberated Dachau.

My Grandfather earned the Purple Heart for shrapnel injuries sustained in France's Argonne Forest, WWI, while fighting with the 3rd Oregon Infantry Regiment. He didn't get his Purple Heart until 70 years later.

My Dad commanded a landing craft in the Philippines and Northern Luzon, WWII.

Dad's brother, Uncle Al, served in the Army Air Corps, WWII

My brothers Jon & Chris served in the Air Force and were cold war veterans.

Don

 

I don't believe this thread could be taken in a negative way for all these men risked their lives to extend the freedoms we all enjoy.

I could not miss that you watched the Band of Brothers. You had to notice that Malarkey was from Astoria. They have relatives all over the Columbia River Basin. Here's a little history on Donald. Just for kicks here a little back ground on him. (no relation)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Malarkey

My Father served upon the Essex and saw no action he entered the service at the end of the Korean War. My Godfather served On the Intrepid and endured Kamikaze raids in the Pacific

 

I should add that I have a cousin that just got back from Iraq, another in the Marines, a friend in the navy, and another friend in the Army that is about to do his third tour in Iraq. Proud of all of them.

 

My dad did Vietnam war as an engineer. As an Asian on the US side, it was "interesting"

 

My grandfather was not in the war. My Dad was never in combat, but he was in Army intelligence (yes, an oxymoron!). He was stationed a couple of miles from the Russian border at a listening post in Turkey during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They had the post rigged to blow, with instructions to find their way out.

Ironically, his unit had the unofficial motto of "We won't fight and you can't make us." because they were a highly valued asset that would not be allowed near a combat zone. He reported that there were more college degrees among the enlisted than the officers. He got in trouble during the '60's (McCarthy era) when he told my mom what radio telemetry was. A member of his unit had been caught passing secrets to the *******, which resulted in an investigation of the whole unit. He of course admitted telling mom about radio telemetry during his during a routine security check. Heck, I knew what radio telemetry was in junior high school. They searched his apartment. My mother had a large number of sewing patterns that those searching wanted to bypass. My mom ensured that they went through each and every sewing pattern.

My old platoon sergeant went to Iraq and broke his back in an incident. A younger friend (in high school when I met him), was wounded in Iraq from an IED. There are a ton of heroes out there, but we won't hear about them much because heroes don't seek the limelight. They do their job and come home.

 

I can't believe a shorthand reference to the government system of the Soviet Union is censored by Ifish software.

 

My dad served as a radio man on a PC ship between New York and Guantanamo Bay. The PC ship (not a PT boat) was designed to run coastal missions and to search and destroy submarines but pop's ship never saw a sub.

Nothing exicting but he's my dad. He passed away last summer at the age of 87.

 

Amazing how the whole flavor of a thread can change with one post. I'm proud of my dad and all of his military friends who served in WWII. Growing up in a military family I've had the honor to know a man who won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima and 4 Purple Hearts in the island hopping campaign in the Pacific. I got to know plenty of others, too, who did whatever they could for the effort. Makes no difference to me which service they were in, either. The farmer that helped feed them or the trucker who hauled the produce or the men who shipped the food and supplies were just as important as the GI who carried the rifle.

My dad was already in the Navy when WWII began. He was stationed aboard the cruiser USS Portland for the entire duration of the war. The Portland participated in every major sea battle in the Pacific. Coral Sea, Midway, the sea battle of Guadalcanal all the way to Leyte Gulf. The ship had 16 battle stars.

To me anybody that steps up knowing that maybe they will have to lay their life on the line is a hero and I'm thankful for them all.

I grew up with a lot of other military "brats" who also made the military their life. Some were Navy pilots, sailors, ships captains or just GI's or Marines who served in Viet Nam but they all did their part. They're all retired now and I'm proud to call them my friends.

 

My dad was already in the Navy when WWII began. He was stationed aboard the cruiser USS Portland for the entire duration of the war. The Portland participated in every major sea battle in the Pacific. Coral Sea, Midway, the sea battle of Guadalcanal all the way to Leyte Gulf. The ship had 16 battle stars.

My father was in the Navy on the USS Salt Lake City, another heavy cruiser with a similar battle history (CA25 vs CA33). In the last several years of his life he enjoyed attending the reunions and we have some of that memoribilia around the house.

 

My grandpa took flying lessons as a teen ager. His family was from Kentucky and didnt have a lot of money, so while Grandpa's brother was away during the summer working he took it upon himself to sell his drum set and other musical instruments to help pay for his flying lessons......I guess he never used them anyway.. and then begged for forgiveness later.
Anyway, he went to become a squadron commander and decorated bomber pilot flying many sorties in a B-17 and B-19. My Grandma has all of his war memorabilia, medals and pictures lining her hallway. The thing I remember most out of all the pictures and medals are the pics of where he belly landed planes that were badly shot up with landing gear completely shot off, or missing at least one wheel.
All of these men are heroes, but are rapidly dying out . All of their courgage and sacrifice is why we all have such great lives today.:applause:

 

I forgot one, I've got a great uncle that survived the attack at Pearl Harbor. He ended up manning an anti-aircraft gun that day and later realized that many of the bullet holes in buildings around the area were probably from his wild shooting at the attacking planes.

If you ever get a chance to listen to some of these guys' stories soak it up. There's not many of them left and the stuff they went through and accomplished is amazing.

 

My grandfather was a Rough Rider according to my uncle. Guess he did some research on him while writing a book. You'd think he would have been told this but the father abandoned his two sons when they were quite young and gave up his two daughters to adoption. You'd think he'd be a hero but how could anyone think that? Oh and that's not even half of it.

Dad served in Korea and Vietnam. Was with the 1st Calvary in Korea (communications). Not a lot of war stories but what he's told me when I was a kid have always stuck with me; never under estimate what a human can do to another.

Grandfather on my wifes side (she's Japanese) served in China. He never talked about what he did but had lots of nightmares. Think he was an officer because he had a sword and pretty sure only officers carried them. God only knows what he did but knowing the history it couldn't have been good. But on the flip side a very old family friend of my mom's (we called him grandpa) served in China as well. He worked on the railroads. Him and his wife were saved by the Chinese because of all the kindness and lives he saved during the war. You could say he was a hero.

 

My Grandpa Mike on Mom's side was gassed during WW I and lost a lung died in 1940. My Grandpa on my Dads side fled to the US in the late 1890's from the Slovak Nation. My father and his four brothers all served during WW II. My older brother was in the Air Force during the Korean War.
My sister served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and I was in the Gulf of Tonkin in the US Navy at the same time. I have learned that in someones eyes we are all heroes, some we don't even know. God Bless all who have served and those that continue and those in the future. All gave some some gave all.

 

My dad sailed on the Arizona to Pearl in 41. Was in asia picking up expats from ports occuppied by Japanese on Dec 7th onboard the Marblehead, was reported MIA twice.

 

My dad never talked about his war experiences. What I know about him I learned from his friends and a book about the USS Portland written after my dad's death in '94 named Sweet Pea At War. Sweet Pea was the Portland's nickname.

One story my dad did tell me, tho, was about the USS Marblehead. Back in those days the sailor's caps had the name of their ship on the front. He said the sailors from the Marblehead were always in a fight because of it. When the booze started flowing the other sailors would start calling those guys Marblehead and the fight was on. Knowing my dad he was in the thick of it.

 

My dad was a lieutenant commander in the navy in WWII. He captained a mine sweep in the Caribbean and later a destroyer escort in the Pacific. He had it relatively easy compared to many others, but said sweeping mines was particularly scary. My partner's father was a ball turret gunner on a B17 and was shot down over Germany. He spent 7 months as a POW and was on the forced death march (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_March_(1945) over 500 miles through Germany and Poland. He says one more week and he would have died. Because of his experiences, he appreciates every day he is here to the fullest. If these heroes had not prevailed, we'd be speaking either German or Japanese. :applause:

 

My dad served in Viet Nam as a SeaBee ~'68-'70. He's showed me pictures and told me some of the funny stories but he can't talk about the scary ones. I love him and I have tremendous respect for what he did and why. My grandmother's best friend was a Rosie the Riveter and my grandfather on my dad's side helped build the airplanes for WWII. My BIL currently serves as a Navy reservist.

I spent some time chatting with a reenactor out at Fort Stevens a couple of summers ago. He was dressed up as parachutist from WWII. It brought tears to my eyes when I took in the incredible equipment worn by the men who jumped from planes. Everything was heavy cotton canvas and leather. Many jumped to their deaths. I just want to say Thank-you to the men and women who have served in the past, who are currently serving or will serve. :applause:

I would also encourage those of you who have relatives that served to take down their oral histories while you still can. The memories will be pricless one day.