Dad's Role in World War II

He was stationed at Fort Reno (Oklahoma) training pack mules that carried 75 MM howitzers for Army mountainous units (never went overseas but attained rank of Sergeant).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M116_howitzer

My Dad was with the 4th Marine division on Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. Machine gunner

My Dad was Navy Air B24 Radioman/ Top gunner in Pacific against Japan.

My dad was deferred from the draft as he was a tool & die maker working for the American Can Co. The experience he had making can dies was thought to be rather useful for munitions so he was sent to work at Amertorp during the war. Immediately after the war, he was drafted (Army) and sent to Japan as part of the occupation.

My dad wasn't born yet
But grandpa was army air core.
Sadly I wasn't told much about what he did he didn't tell anyone !

OK here goes......
My dad was a teenager during the war. His brother(my uncle) was in the German Army's Death's Head Panzer Division and was killed on the Russian front. According to my dad, my uncle deserved it for the atrocities his division committed. I totally agree. My father's family are all Germans living in a village in Hungary where the majority of the population were Germans. As the war went on, my fathers family decided to pack up and move back to Germany as thousands of others were doing during the war. My fathers dad(my grandfather) was shot and killed by a Nazi captain when they all escaped from a burning train heading to Germany. The German Captain thought they were part of the group of non Germans that were being taken to one of the camps. When my grandmother pleaded with the German officer and showed him their papers, he just yelled at them to move on after buying my grandfather. Their ordeal started in 1943 and ended in 1944 when they finally made it back to Germany. My father was 17 in 1944 and saw that the Gestapo was grabbing anyone to fight in the war. My father was able to get himself smuggled all the way through Europe to England. From there he made it to the United States. He spoke english very well and to become a U.S. citizen at that time, you would need to join the military service of the United States. Yep, you guessed it, he joined the U.S. Army, got thru basic training as a medic and was shipped back to Europe and Germany in the final months of the war. He eventually located his family. While he was stationed in Germany post war, he met my mother, who also is German and guess what? My mothers father(my grandfather) was a Lieutenant Colonel in the German Luftwaffe. My grandfather was shot down over England early in the war and captured and spent the rest of the war in an English prison camp in Scotland. Also had 2 uncles on my mothers side of the family that were in the German army also. They made it thru the war. My 2 sons learned a lot of history from both my father and mother since they were both willing to talk about things that occurred there and in which they both had front row seats to the war.
A side note - my mother actually attended 2 youth rallies early on in the war because Adolf Hitler made the appearance and gave the speeches. As she stated, you had to attend since my grandfather was an officer in the German Military or people disappeared. We also have a picture of General Patton sitting in his command jeep parked under the house I was born in. Picture was taken by my mothers cousin. His division came thru our home town.

On a very humorous note, we moved to the United States in 1955. Growing up in the late 50's and 60's, all of the kids would play army in our neighborhood. Guess who had to be the Germans for the next 5-6 years.....me and my brother. We died very gracefully every week

Mine was a landing craft operator and instructor WWII.

Thanks and appreciation to all mentioned cannot be measured. My Dad, in the army, married my mom in early 44, since he knew he was going. Thought he would not return.You know where, in June. Turns out he, fortunately, went in afterward into Austria. Don't know much else, as he didn't talk about it. I still have his medals.

WWII

It wasn't my dad, but my Granddad
1st stationed Port Chicago, Lt. Com. Naval Weapons base
the Alameda Ship Yards, SF Presidio 2 years
he was an Oil engineer for Shell oil prior
before being assigned to a Battleship,
2 year in the Pacific, between Alaska Aleutian Islands Chain
& South Pacific theater, said he saw several battles
when that stint was over
he volunteered for the US Coast Gaurd out of SF/Berkeley/Alameda
same rank I think, just below a Captain or (?) Commander in the USCG
he was patrolling the west coast from Long Beach to Juneau
& closer to family, but still serving his country
he didn't talk much about any of it

(many forget the Coast Gaurd)

He was sort of reserved, didn't talk much about it
he always said; "that was in the past"

My great Uncle Tink was a Lt. Marine recon, south Pacific theater
my great Aunt Anne was a Navy Lt. Nurse, south Pacific
my Grammie was a Rosie the Riveter, in Alameda/Berkeley,
building planes & ships
several other family members were there too
Uncle Tink was in service from 1941 to 1977 (IIRC),
he was a full bird colonel when he left/retired

3 of his sons sort of Uncles to me, were military too
John 1 Army lt. Green Beret, clearing rat hole & weapons stashes
what a ******* badass he was
(he was my real introduction to Hot Rods Muscle cars, outside of my stepdad)
Jim 1 Marine lt. Recon, big dude too 6'5' 260
both in Viet Nam
Pete 1 Army Infantry, lil' brother following in their footsteps
unfortunately he died over there, like his 3rd tour
the other 2 died of complication from being over there

My Uncle Ron was an Army engineer, forward bases in Korea
my Uncle Tink (Marine) was in Korea too

none of them really talked much about any of it
not that I remember anyway

My Dad was pilot, flying a B -24 in the south pacific. He told me very few stories. The one that stuck out, they went to bomb the Yamato. Absolute limit of their range. No battleship. Whoops. Diverted to the nearby airstrip to bomb. On the the way home, low on fuel hear the other planes running out of fuel. Got the navigator to find him a place to land. Small atoll with a tiny strip. Long enough to land, but not take off again. Sub picked them up. Plane stayed. Dad didn't talk much about his experiences. Like most of his time.

My Dad was a photographer with the Army Air Corps. Told me how strange it felt to have the camera in one hand, his M-1 carbine in the other, the Japanese sniping at his outfit in the New Guinea jungles. He photographed terrain with potential for landing strips, then worked on the crews when the strips were built. He got a purple heart for burns when a fire got out of control clearing brush, but he was lucky to not get shot. He brought home multiple photo albums, incredible documentation of his time there. When I was a kid, if I begged hard enough, he would put on a slide show of the strips being cleared, the B-25s being staged, and his buddies, who had all managed to get the job done and get home alive.

His best story was about a centipede he saw hanging from the screen on his tent one night. Always the artist, he marveled at it's incredible coloring, and size (nearly a foot long!), then smashed it with his boot. The next morning, the copper screen had completely dissolved. Like so many others of his generation, he never made a big deal of his service. If pushed, he would say that he was happy to have made a contribution to a job that needed the be done, and eternally gratefully that he never had to take another life in the process. He received a bronze star, and gave it away.

Ron H said:

My dad was deferred from the draft as he was a tool & die maker working for the American Can Co. The experience he had making can dies was thought to be rather useful for munitions so he was sent to work at Amertorp during the war. Immediately after the war, he was drafted (Army) and sent to Japan as part of the occupation.

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Very interesting, as I had heard of deferments for tool and die makers, but didn't know if it was true.

padam said:

Very interesting, as I had heard of deferments for tool and die makers, but didn't know if it was true.

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My dad was so-so lucky as his uncle, only 10 years older than him working at Canco in Chicago, was able to get him a job there as an 18 year old in 1935 when jobs of course anywhere were nil then. He entered an apprenticeship program working his way up. In 1950 he married (met his gal in the payroll dept 9 years younger than him - after a long ordeal getting a date with her, lol) then was given the opp to become part of a team to open a new can plant in beer city-Milwaukee. He worked his way up assisting with other plant openings/expansions and retired around 1976 (early) but they talked him into coming back as a temp on a special project but...then sadly this morphed to assist with closing some plants down around the country and beyond to consolidate with plants to remain open...yet. I worked there a couple summers while going to college. Eventually Canco was bought out or merged with another huge can company that's still around in some form.

Side note: My dad was part of a design group bringing out pop-top beverage cans in the 60's back when it was only church keys. I remember a stack of can lids on our kitchen counter with two holes, one to drink from, other for venting. They would push down and hang with some sort of liner beneath the lid. Don't think they lasted long before the pull off tabs that some beer buds would drop into the can (I never did this hearing a few got those lodged in their throats).
My apologies for going off the thread guys; just a few memories 'popped' pun intended.

God bless every one of them, and to all of you that served this country, I thank you.
My dad, USS Phelps DD360, Feb 1943 to June 1945, Fireman 1st class.
Support/bombardment of Makin, Saipan, Kwajalein and a few other conflicts I can’t remember

My dad was with the 103rd infantry in Europe. If I remember correctly h e fought in Belgium through France into Germany. He received the Purple Heart and a bronze star with a V. We had to pry anything out of him about it. I still have medals hanging in a frame on display. He buried at Arlington.
He talked once about walking into bar and a German officer was there and started some stuff.
Now my father never cussed.
I asked what he did then
He said I shot the SOB

My dad served in The 10th Mountain Division, Company A,of the 86th Regiment. He was a 60mm mortar man, and fought in the Battle of Riva Ridge in February 1945.

My father was a Korean War veteran. He was fortunate to stay stateside and train people to operate tanks. He said you joined the military because you got three meals a day. He grew up in a poor family during the depression and WWII.

I have known some WWII veterans. Never pressed them on their experiences in the war. When they opened up about the war you sat back and listened.

Pops served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, wasn't the type to talk about it so I don't know much, I know he was in Europe.. Picked up a Bronze Star with V.... Got out after WWII but reenlisted for Korea & stuck around for Vietnam.. In Korea he got a Purple Heart & Nam he got a second Bronze Star & a second Purple Heart...

My dad wasn't born yet but both my grandpa's and a great uncle fought the germans in WW2. My dad's dad received the bronze star. Don't know many stories cause it was never talked about. Just know he was in the 4th infantry division. My other grandpa and great uncle were 101st airborne.

Budnicks said:

WWII

It wasn't my dad, but my Granddad
1st stationed Port Chicago,

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Not a good time to be there if you know the history.....