Memorial Day Karma...

My Father served in the Army in WWII. He was a Sargent in North Africa who commanded a half track with four 50's on it. During the landing a plane attacked the beach and he shot it down which saved many lives. He and another Texan were the first Texans to receive the Silver Star from Texas in WWII.

He later just missed getting killed when a 500 lb bomb landed near him. He made it to a fox hole just in time and was saved, but it messed up his hearing some.

Great Karma John.

My grandfather on my father’s side served in the 113th Horse Calvary prior to WWII. They were called to action and converted to a mechanized armored Calvary unit and he served under Patton’s Second Armored Division from D-Day (Omaha Beach) through the end of the war. They were one of the first units to meet up with the Russians in Germany and he was sent to scout German held villages several times throughout the campaign.
He received 3 Purple Hearts and 2 Bronze Stars for his various heroics throughout the war and was active with keeping his unit’s reunions going until he was the last surviving member of the troop.
He passed away last year and I was honored to have been left the majority of his war memorabilia including a Luger he took off the body of a German SS officer he had killed in hand to hand combat during one of his scouting missions when he stumbled upon my grandfather’s hiding spot.
I was honored to play the Saga of the Red Horse during his funeral and was asked, along with my father and my nephew to give 3 generations of eulogy.

http://redhorse.nl/113th_Cavalry_Group_in_WWII_video.htm

He served along with his 4 younger brothers (B17 Radio Operator, Marine in the Pacific theater, 2 infantrymen in the ETO). They all preceded him in death of natural causes well into their 80s and 90s.

His father, my great grandfather served as a mounted cavalry scout and sharpshooter in WWI and earlier in the Spanish-American war in Cuba and Puerto Rico.
The only real history I know of my great grandfather outside of that was that he was an accomplished boxer and a highly decorated sharpshooter who won countless medals in target shooting competitions and his competition rifles are still in the family gun collection today.

My grandfather on my mother’s side was a first generation Italian American and was one of the first from his area of New Hampshire to enlist in the Army leading up to WWII.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know him that well but was at his bedside when he passed in 1992 shortly after my aunt’s wedding.

My uncle John was an artilleryman in Vietnam.
My dad was injured in a car accident and lost his leg 3 weeks before he was to receive his draft notice. My mother was in the car as well and was pregnant with my older sister at the time. They were both unharmed. To this day, my father regrets that he was unable to serve and was actually looking forward to it having voluntarily attended Military school throughout Junior High and High School.

These men and women have always been my heroes. They are the reasons that I chose to serve as well. I feel that we owe those who sacrificed everything all the honor and respect we can give them. In this life and the next.

Not in but:

My grand dad on moms side was an anti-air gunner in the Navy in WWII. His mom signed for him to join at late 16 yrs old and he turned 18 passing through the Panama Canal of all places. He served in most of the major naval battles in the Pacific, and never talked about it till his last decade or so of life. Turns out he made friends with Ernie Pyle, and was floating offshore when he got shot. He also had to “fight in his birthday suit” once. He was lathered up in the shower, alarms go off, and he had to run to his 20mm AA gun and slip and slide buck naked on it while firing at Zeros.. He talked about a zero flying so low next to his ship that he and the pilot both locked eyes for a second and just stared at each other before fighting on. He ended up earning a bronze star, and had to sneak onto a ship on Japan to make it back to the states at the end of the war.

While his war stories were amazing, I’ve never met a more kind and humble man. Whenever I hear “You Are My Sunshine”, I can’t stop from smiling and thinking about you pepa.

My dad retired as an SMSGT in the USAF after 22 years of service. He joined in Vietnam and crew chiefed F-4s in Thailand during the conflict. He didnt spend much time actually in Vietnam, but had to go to a couple of bases there to rescue squadron aircraft that couldn’t make it back to Thailand. In addition to F-4’s he worked on A-10s, was an FTD instructor for F-16s at Nellis, spent 5 years working on the U-2/TR-1, and always put is family first.

I don’t have much beyond that bc he doesn’t really care to talk about it. When I ask, “how did you get this ribbon/medal?” The answer is always “I dunno, we just did our jobs.” Lucky to have such a great dad in my life.

World War II
Family Member on my mother's side of family
My uncle, Ruben (Bud) Long, joined the Army and was sent overseas on a troop ship through the North Atlantic to England. He told family of the treacherous voyage with gigantic waves and everyone seasick.

In England, he volunteered to be a passenger in one of the gliders as the gliders were being tested for the Normandy invasion. On D-Day, he was a member of the invasion force. He always hesitated to talk of the bloody aspects of the invasion.

As a member of General Patton's Third Army, he was was a member of the initial forces that entered Paris. Next, he fought at the Battle of the Bulge. There he was a member of the ski-patrol under Patton fighting in the snow.

Uncle Bud, made it home to family after the war. From Haralson County Georgia.
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Family Member on fathers side of family
My uncle, Samuel S Jones, served in the Army Air Force in the Philippines. He suffered from Malaria while serving there which doctors think contributed to his death by lung cancer later in life. Uncle Sam was my dad's brother and lived next door in the family's home place. Living across the field, my first cousin and I loved to play with the items in his Army green footlocker as kids. From Haralson County Georgia.

Family Member on fathers side of family
My uncle, Harold Jones, served in the Navy and was a crew member on the USS Battleship California that sank at Pearl Harbor. He was not on the ship on Dec 7. From Haralson County Georgia.



Korean War
Family Member on fathers side of family
My first cousin, Donnie Rogers, served in the Korean War. He was a member of the airborne and often talked of the thrills of parachuting out of a plane. Related: My next door neighbor is a veteran from the first Iraqi war and his wife is from Korea. He is from Porto Rico and was injured in Iraqi.



Vietnam War
Family Member on my mother's side of family
My cousin, Dewey "Wayne" Waddell, served in the US Air Force. Wayne Waddell was a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam after he was shot down on July 5, 1967 and was held until his release on March 4, 1973. He graduated from GA Tech with a degree in EE and almost immediately went to pilot training. He was flying a F-105 Thunderchief. He was awarded the Silver Star. During high school, I worked at the first modern huge supermarket in Bremen owned by my first cousin Donnie Rogers (above), and and I would see Wayne's mother every week. She was always strong. From Bremen Georgia in Haralson County Georgia.

Last year, I was watching some stories on TV about Vietnam, and here comes Wayne Waddell telling his own story. I knew about the written stories that I have linked to below, but seeing him on TV was great.

His story in own words (https://www.pownetwork.org/bios/w/w058.htm)
His story in Time Magazine (http://time.com/4932924/vietnam-pow-photo-story/)

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My classmate at Buchanan High School, Larry Hurston, was killed in action. He was a helicopter gunman. A wonderful, kind, gentle friend and neighbor. "Not a bad bone in his body". He was already on the school bus every morning when I boarded.




My friend from Bremen Georgia. Denver Johnson was killed in action in ground action. I will never forget walking into the funeral home and seeing him in uniform lying in the casket. I met him while he and I worked at the Bremen Supermarket. His dad was a barber next door.



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I would be remiss if I did not list this man from Felton GA in Haralson County.

I did not personally know him, but he was a hero. Everyone there knew his name.

A road between Buchanan GA and Tallapoosa GA was named in his honor.
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Thanks to all of you who served.

Sincerely,
Harry Jones
Marietta Georgia

Nice karma, and nice stories everyone.

My father and two of my uncles served in WWII. My father-in-law won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Korea and then later, he also served in Vietnam. His son also retired from the AF and I was in for 4 years during 'nam, but never had to go there, thankfully.

Father-in-law is second from the right.




My father painted some of the places he served during WWII on a captured Japanese flag. I really need to get this properly framed.

My grandfather was an ambulance driver in WWI. Yes, WWI. He had to drive with no headlights in pitch black conditions, picking up wounded on the battlefield and dropping off wounded at field hospitals. I cannot even imagine what he saw or went through to get the job done on a regular basis.

My brother served in the Marine Corps directly out of high school. He was involuntarily extended when the first Gulf War/Desert Storm took place. He doesn't talk about it much but it is amazing, and shocking, to hear what happened to him over there when he does talk about it.

My grandfather was on his way to WW1 when the armistice happened right after he landed in France. My uncle and father in law both served in Korea. None of them really talked much about their time in the service. In, please.

nooshinjohn, I meant to put "not in" on my post. I had never sat and written about the people who I knew had done so much for us. It was a humbling experience for me.

Thank you for initiating this thread.

Love me some Beatles. Thanks muchly!!

Congrats! Thanks to everyone who shared a story.