My grandmother often talked about her family, so here's what she told me: Her father (this my great-grandfather) was a medic in WWI. When he came home, he wanted to be a doctor, but couldn't go to medical school, so he married and had three children. Of those, the oldest, a son, was drafted in WWII to be a pilot in Europe, despite being nearly blind without his glasses. He came home, also wanted to be a doctor but settled for studying dentistry in PA, married one of his sister's (my grandmother) high school friends, and had three sons. Just before graduating, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and died. He was in his 30s, I believe. My grandmother's younger brother joined the ROTC in college, became an officer, married his college sweetheart, and was stationed in Morocco during the Korean War. After his time of service was done, the army tried to get him to reenlist, he said no, went home, and had three daughters. Switching to my grandfather's family, he grew up on a farm. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, his older brother joined the Army. When my grandfather was old enough, he went to three different military recruiting offices and tried to join. Each sent him home with instructions to grow potatoes for the war effort. I think he was lucky, but I think he regrets having to stay home.
I didn't realize you had such a military history in your family! Had he gone, he may have regretted going, but we'll never know! Thank you so much for sharing.
Maybe. His brother speaking highly of having been in the army didn't help, but his brother didn't see any conflict. He was shuffled from one military base to another here, until he was about to be sent to the Pacific, then the war ended. No one had served since then until my twin cousins joined the reserves. One is out now, I think, the other was "deployed" to help with the COVID vaccination efforts. Neither has been overseas, to my knowledge.
My dad fought in the Phillipines, Battle of Leyte Gulf. He was terribly wounded, shipped back to the States where he met a beautiful nurse who took care of his wounds at Valley Forge Hospital. That nurse became my mom......
Personal comments ... my father (and his three brothers) fought in WW2. He was a liberator of Dacheau. He hated the war. All the stories were terrible. The PTSD, my mother said, was terrifying for a few years and the alcoholism continued till I was 13 (but he still hated anything veteran-oriented and we did not go to any Memorial Day or Veterans' Day events. I have his letters to his mother. Those, too, told an awful story but with many sweet parts about meeting Germans and Austrians in the months after hostilities ended. And my maternal grandmother, Minnesotan daughter of immigrants won a scholarship to Wellesley and had Katherine Lee Bates. They sang "the" song for graduation (after the change) they only sang "sisterhood."
My grandmother often talked about her family, so here's what she told me: Her father (this my great-grandfather) was a medic in WWI. When he came home, he wanted to be a doctor, but couldn't go to medical school, so he married and had three children. Of those, the oldest, a son, was drafted in WWII to be a pilot in Europe, despite being nearly blind without his glasses. He came home, also wanted to be a doctor but settled for studying dentistry in PA, married one of his sister's (my grandmother) high school friends, and had three sons. Just before graduating, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and died. He was in his 30s, I believe. My grandmother's younger brother joined the ROTC in college, became an officer, married his college sweetheart, and was stationed in Morocco during the Korean War. After his time of service was done, the army tried to get him to reenlist, he said no, went home, and had three daughters. Switching to my grandfather's family, he grew up on a farm. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, his older brother joined the Army. When my grandfather was old enough, he went to three different military recruiting offices and tried to join. Each sent him home with instructions to grow potatoes for the war effort. I think he was lucky, but I think he regrets having to stay home.
I didn't realize you had such a military history in your family! Had he gone, he may have regretted going, but we'll never know! Thank you so much for sharing.
Maybe. His brother speaking highly of having been in the army didn't help, but his brother didn't see any conflict. He was shuffled from one military base to another here, until he was about to be sent to the Pacific, then the war ended. No one had served since then until my twin cousins joined the reserves. One is out now, I think, the other was "deployed" to help with the COVID vaccination efforts. Neither has been overseas, to my knowledge.
My dad fought in the Phillipines, Battle of Leyte Gulf. He was terribly wounded, shipped back to the States where he met a beautiful nurse who took care of his wounds at Valley Forge Hospital. That nurse became my mom......
Very Hemingway-esque! Thank you so much for sharing!
Personal comments ... my father (and his three brothers) fought in WW2. He was a liberator of Dacheau. He hated the war. All the stories were terrible. The PTSD, my mother said, was terrifying for a few years and the alcoholism continued till I was 13 (but he still hated anything veteran-oriented and we did not go to any Memorial Day or Veterans' Day events. I have his letters to his mother. Those, too, told an awful story but with many sweet parts about meeting Germans and Austrians in the months after hostilities ended. And my maternal grandmother, Minnesotan daughter of immigrants won a scholarship to Wellesley and had Katherine Lee Bates. They sang "the" song for graduation (after the change) they only sang "sisterhood."
Wow, thank you so much for sharing...