How did the war effect your family

[rob]

First off, my apologies to the moderators if I'm in the wrong forum. I suppose responses will be from people from all over.
Anyway, I'm always intrested in first person accounts about this time so how about peoples family history during ww2.
concerning myself there isn't much to tell. My maternal grandfather was working in a papermill in Washington state, USA and he wanted to join the military after Pearl Harbor but his job at the papermill plus a medical condition meant that he was rejected for service. He was only about 30 or so at the time. I believe that his brothers served in the Navy. No casualities. By the way, both maternal grandparents were 2nd and 3rd generation German, and very pro FDR. My maternal grandmothers brother served in the air force and remembers that his crew bombed Vienna. Again, he came home uninjured. On my dad's side, my grandfather was probably too old to serve. Don't know if he wanted to. His parents were immigrants from Czechia (then part of Austro-Hungary, when they immigrated about 1900.). And I don't know if he was strongly anti-Nazi.
On my wifes side, one of her grandfathers served. He was a chaplain and participated in the Normandy landings. Don't know how close he was to the fighting and where he ended up. He too was from a German background.
The war also helped put California on the map as a military industrial super state, especially with aerospace industry which developed during and after the war. My father took a job with Mcdonald Douglas aircraft in Long Beach california out of college in the 1960's and that accounts for how I was born in California of two mid-western parents.
Finally, my step-father was impacted by the aftermath of the war. He served in the army and finished his tour in Germany in the 1950's. He stayed on in Germany and studied there courtesy of the GI Bill. None of that would have happened without the war.

[Luca]

Dear Rob,
sorry for my sure stupid question but my english is really very bad.

In the title you ask what was the effect of the war for ours parents.
This mean that you want know the effects of the war immediatly after the war or You want know what was the situations during the war of Ours parents ???

Thank You.
Luca

PS = why personals questions?

[A-Bomb]

Great Uncle-Major in the Pacific, took pictures of the Enola Gay(which I have in my posession)

Great Uncle-Staff Sarge in Patton's Third, fought from Normandy breakout-the end

Great Uncle-Submariner in Europe.


not WWII related

Great Granddad-Artillery man, WWI. Shook hands with President Roosevelt!

Great something-Fought in the American revolution

me- future veteran

[Dwight Pruitt]

My uncle, Sgt. James C Pruitt, of Cumberland County, Kentucky was killed in action in North Africa with the 1st Inf Div.

[rob]

Hello Luca,
I guess I mean both during the war, and after as well. Pretty much everything. Was their job effected? How many relatives served? How many casualties? Did they move after the war because of changes brought about by the war? etc. etc. Don't worry about your English by the way, if you have difficulties writing something we can probably figure it out anyway.

[johnny_bi]

1. My grandfather fought for 3 years 1941- july 1944 in Romanian army ; he's deaf and don't feel his legs' fingers . While retreating from Stalingrad his legs were frozen ... he almost lost'em ...
2. My grandfathern lost also 2 cousins durind Uranus Operation at Stalingrad
3. My grandmother had a brother who died in Tatra Mountains killed by the fire of a MG42
4. My grand-grandmother died cut to pieces by 2 honveds(soldiers in hungarian army) in Transylvania , slice by slice with bayonets, while whole family could just simply watch ...


That's all

BI

[Gott]

my grandpa was Luftwaffe fighter pilot with 62 kills. family from Koenigsberg, that means our family was uprooted. Painful experiences indeed.

my grandpa from my mom's side were supposed to go to university when Japanese invaded Hong Kong. He lost his education and fled to rural areas. That is also painful to experience.

[HJ Division Grenadier]

My Father as firstly in the Mechant Navy, he was attacked a few times while aboard ship by divebombers. While he was not at sea he helped with the A.R.P and pulled several people out of bombed houses anlong with body parts.
He then joined the army and was a sapper in the R.E. and served in Burma and India and did not return home until 1947.
I have a few of his bits and peices from his time there.
I had an unvle killed on HMS Hood.
I had another uncle wounded at Al Alamein.
I also had several other uncles who served in the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy, one of whom his ship was attacked and sunk, he was picked up as a p.o.w but rescued by a British destroyer before he got to Brest in France.
My mother who was about 13 when the war broke out lived virtually underground for 3 years due to the bombing, she also got straffed by a 109 whilst walking home one afternoon.
She then worked for Pirelli where it was compulsory to give blood to help the returning casualties from D-Day.
My respect goes to all that did their part in the war, whichever side they served.

[Kurasier]

Hi,
my grandfather was in on of the HJ-companies of Feldherrnhalle. He was cought by the russians before he saw action.
my other grandfather was a Zahlmeister in the Wehrmacht and served in Sudetenland, Poland and France. He never fired a weapon upon a enemy.
My grandfathers father, a WW1 veteran, was a Kompanietruppführer of the German Volkssturm. His battalion was sent to the front without any weapons. He had luck and was cought, without taking part in any battle.
My fathers uncle, was a Gebirgsjäger and served at Murmansk and Lappland. For a short time he was in Schörners Stab.
Cheers
Christoph

[David E M]

Family legend, my dad after being de-mobbed from the RAF got off the train in south wales along comes a military patrol guarding Von Manstein they ask dad to step aside he says ' No way , if I had seen that Bastard a few months ago I would have shot him' Manstein says - in English ' its all right' and walks around Dad , Later the seargent of the patrol comes up to Dad and says ' Yes Sir you are quite right - but we are still gentlemen' Dad says he never felt so ashamed in his life.
cheers.

[Davey Boy]

One grandfather on the western front, another in the east. One great uncle in Scotland, a couple of great uncles in the Polish Home Army (AK).

Half my family in Siberia courtesy of Uncle Jo, the other half under German occupation in Poznan dodging the Gestapo and SS.

Remarkably, only one member of my family was killed in the war. He was shot during an exchange with Wehrmacht stragglers in the Lublin region.

One of my great uncles survived the Majdanek concentration camp. He ended up there after the Gestapo accused him of stealing grain from the local train station. Apparently, he survived because he was really short, and it was the tall guys who were beaten the most. Don't ask me how that worked, that's just waht he said. He's still alive actually. A real tough bastard if ever there was one.

[The Desert Fox]

My Great Grandfather was an ANZAC at Gallopoli and then survived three years of war in Europe until 1918. He was menitioned in despatches a few times and a family story says he was recomended for the Victory cross at one stage but belted a officer and ithe recomendation was lost.

His son and my grandfather was a Paratrooper in the Australian Airforce in ww2, and was part of the Unit known as Z force. He trained with some of the people who raided Singapore harbour in 1942? He too survived the war and died in 1989.

He had a cousin an Australian Machine gunner captured at Singpore in 1941 who then surived four years working on the Burma Railway before dying in Changi in 1945, three days before it was relieved.

My stepfathers, dad was in the British Army and was wounded on day one of the D day landing and was sent back to england. His brother was a British Paratrooper captured at Arhnem in 1944. He escaped by convincing the germans he was Irish. He was in fact Welsh.

regards
The Desert Fox

[Smert-Fashistam]

- two of my grand-uncles were killed in the 1941 on eastern front, from what I heard one was killed in a cavalry charge against german Tiger tank group, and other in the infantry charge against german machine gun position (hail to soviet war tactics)
- my grandfather in maternal line, fought germans 1941-45, he made it from leutenant to major over these five years, and he still is alive today, a retired general, he was commanding an AA artillery implacement during the war, participated in liberation of Ukraine and Prague among other battles; has 7 confirmed kills - 3 bombers and 4 mesershmidt fighters
- my grandfather and grandmother in faternal line were participating in defense of Stalingrad, granmother received a medal for bravery when faced, and outnumbered with her partisan squad by 2 SS battalions; they had both survived the war

[Daniel L]

I think it's a bit too personal to talk about my grandparents here.

However I can tell you this, it's all according to hear-say. During the thirty year war, it was in the 17th century, a german knecht (soldier) changed side and joined the swedish. So I have prussian soldier-roots.

[kim vachon]

Two of my great uncles lost their lives during the second world war.One was a flight sergeant with the 428 sqdn in the RCAF, he died in May 1943 at 25 yrs old. The other was an able seaman on the HMCS St. Croix and he died in Sept. 1943 at 19 yrs.