Veterans and children of veterans check in!

[MoonRiver]

I'm the child of two veterans, and today I am so happy to be an American! Finally, after eight years of shame, I have a President I can feel proud of! :patriot: :patriot:

[MADem]

1. I'm a retired vet and the child of a WW2+ vet who was also a retiree. nt

[wyldwolf]

2. son and grandson of vets

Father was in the Korean war.

Maternal grandfather lied about his age to join and fight in WWI
Paternal grandfather served in WWII

(Have a great great great uncle who served in the civil war)

ALWAYS been proud to be an American.

[Hepburn]

3. Daughter of a WWII Army Vet...

...my dad was in Germany as an MP when the camps were liberated. He was only 18 years old.

He died in November 2007 at age 80 and he never spoke about what he saw...ever.

Edit to add:

My uncle was a Navy pilot in WWII in the South Pacific. He flew Corsairs off of a carrier. My maternal grandfather got his US citizenship for volunteering to fight for the US in France during WWI.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. My father was in the Navy during WW2

Troop transport in the Pacific and in Europe. All of his brothers, my uncles, were also in the war, and two were part of the D-Day invasion.

[Catshrink]

22. My dad was also a sailor

Also in the Pacific and North Atlantic. One of his tasks was provisioning the submarines. He told some frightening stories about that. How about this? He gets dropped overboard into a lifeboat loaded with provisions and sent out to find the American submarine. He has no light, can't even light up a cigarette for fear of giving away their position to the Germans. Yet, he has to find the boat. Dad always had a weird kind of ESP and found his ship everytime and got back to the main ship.

He was an amazing man -- he would have been 90 this year but died nearly two years ago. Suddenly. I miss him terribly.

[elleng]

43. Ditto; daughter of Navy Legal Officer at Pearl,

and neice of his 3 siblings who were each involved elsewhere. Dad is 95, living in Iowa while I'm in MD/DC. Would like to be with him and his friends today!

[chieftain]

5. My father was a twice-wounded Marine in WWII.

He was shot while continuing to load his anti-aircraft gun on the USS Chicago when it was sunk off Guadalcanal in the Battle of Rennel Island. He volunteered to return to combat duty and was wounded after landing on Peleliu.
My Dad was a liberal Democrat who instilled in his children a regard for those less fortunate and a commitment to Civil Rights. He was as brave in peace time as he was in war. I get so angry when I think how shirkers like Limbaugh and Cheney slander heroes like him for their views.
I wish my Dad was here today to see our President speak so eloquently about his generation's courage.
Semper Fi, Dad and to all veterans.

[frazzled]

6. My dad was in the Army Air Corps, South Pacific, in WWII

He flew 60 missions as a bombardier. Never spoke about it when we were growing up; talks and thinks about it incessantly now--with both pride and some regrets about what he did. He is 92 years old.

[kiva]

7. Another daughter of a WWII vet.

Dad served in the army, New Guinea and the Philippines...he died in 2000. :patriot:

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Father and stepfather both fought Hitler in Europe, but...

the best thing about Obama in the White House is when I go to the VA health center I no longer see the portrait of his piece of shit predecessor that used to hang at the entrance.

[rasputin1952]

54. LOL...

:hi:

[Are_grits_groceries]

9. My Daddy was with the Old Hickory Division.

He landed +4 with the artillery. He fought through the Battle of the Bulge and VE Day.

[elocs]

10. The son of a vet who landed on Omaha Beach.

My grandfather lied about his age to enlist in the Army in WWI and enlisted and served in Germany in WWII when in his 40s.

Going way back though I did have an ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War.

[lamp_shade]

11. Here's an earlier thread on the same subject..........

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5794604&mesg_id=5794604

[MoonRiver]

12. Thanks lamp shade.

I hadn't checked other forums.

[Diamonique]

13. My dad is a WWII vet.

He drove trucks... getting supplies (food, weapons, ammunition, clothing, whatever... even soldiers) wherever they were needed whenever they were needed.

He's 91, and he's still here!

[old mark]

14. I am a vet, as is one of my brothers, both Army.

Our parents both worked in war production industries here in WWII, and all my uncles served.
Both my grandfathers were in WWI, one in the US Army, and my father's father in the Imperial German Army (he died in 1918.)

Obama's speedh and various other aspects of the ceremony moved me to tears, especially the missing man formation in the flyover.
It was an honor to see this.

mark
Former Sp4, 504 PIR, 82nd Airborne Div.

[handmade34]

15. rich history

grandfather - army
father - army
grandmother - retired after 40 years as housemother at VFW Home
deceased husband - U.S. Marine
current partner - Air Force medic in Vietnam

I too am extremely happy to have a fine President.

[handmade34]

16. edit dup.

[Undercurrent]

17. First of all,

I want to thank all your family members for their sacrifices. The world would be a starkly different place if it were not for millions of ordinary people who did so many extraordinary things.

Thank you.

I'm the daughter of a WWII vet. My dad is 90 years old now. He was in the Army Air Force, and flew photo reconnaissance missions in the European theater, based mainly in North Africa.

My dad is on the far left wearing the zip flight jacket.

[ellie]

18. Daughter of

a former Merchant Marine and Army veteran from Korea. My dad's brother was in Merrill's Marauder's in World War II, later stationed in Turkey, Panama, and Vietnam during that war. My dad's other brother and one of my brothers went to West Point. My oldest brother was a Marine and was stationed in Lebanon in the 80s (when the embassy blew up) and later in the Special Forces in Desert Storm. And my nephew, my oldest brother's only son is in the 82nd Airborne. He recently completed several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is back at my brother's now, safe and sound.

A funny story about my oldest brother during the 80s. He could never tell my parents where he was or what he was doing. Just that he was OK. This was during the shit storm in Lebanon. We hadn't heard from him in months. Then one day, a family friend called and said that he was OK. He just saw my brother's photo on the front page of the New York Times in a story about the conflict. I think my mom still has it somewhere.

[JimWis]

19. Quite a few of my family -

WWII - My father, 3 uncles, 1 uncle was a tail gunner on a bomber who was shot down and a POW in Germany.
Vietnam - Me, my brother, 4 first cousins.
Iraq - another 1st cousin is there now.

[Irishonly]

20. Daughter of WWII Vet n/t

[otohara]

21. Dad WWII Iwo Jima

Suffered sever PTSD - turned to alcohol and died when he was only 49.

[OswegoAtheist]

23. US Army, 1997-2001

Satellite Communications Operator/Maintainer (31S), and protecting the nation's paperwork from incompleteness :D

Oswego "Chairborne Ranger" Atheist

ETA: Oh, my Paternal Grandfather was also a pilot with the RCAF during WWII, and his brother was a Canadian Army Japanese translator stationed in Vancouver.

[Peacetrain]

24. My Dad.. veteran of Omaha Beach..D-Day.. one of 9 survivors

of his platoon.. over 2/3 rds lost in one day..

My Dad passed away in July of 2007.

He was one of the first supporters of Obama when he began his campaign in Iowa. Dad would have been so proud today. I cried, as I listened to the President, and felt so guilty.

In his latter years, Dad revisited his army days on a daily basis. After while we stopped listening as close as we should have. He had so much to tell us, and we were too busy to listen more than once. But Dad, I remember, and I always will!

[Johnyawl]

25. Vet, son of a vet, grandson of a vet

Johnyawl USMC 1968-17 (Vietnam)
Dad ARMY 1941-1945 (Pacific)
Granddad Army 1917-1920 (western Front)

[tabbycat31]

26. grandchild of 2 WW2 vets

[40ozDonkey]

27. My dad was in Korea, I called him anyway.

My dad served with a lot of COs and NCOs who served in WW2, he told me they were tough as hell and damn near mythical. He doesn't talk much about his service, the only days I can get anything out of him are the days commemorating veterans.

It should be every day we commemorate veterans, but unfortunately that's not the case... so I'll take what I can get while he's still here.

[cliffordu]

28. Grandfather in WWI. uncles in WWII, dad(?) in Korea, I was in Vietnam....

:patriot:

In my family EVERYONE went. It was called 'duty' and I believe in it.

[Froward69]

29. gold star family

Member, Thrice over

Fathers Cousin still on the Arizona...
Uncle buried in Normandy...
mothers Cousin blown to oblivion in Vietnam.

Vets include...

Father was Wounded in WWII.
Mother served in Air Force. until her retirement in 1982.
Another Cousin Wounded in Vietnam.

Currently serving, Is My nephew in The Navy.

[pink-o]

30. My Dad is 85. He was in the army, but didn't go to Europe until after the fall of Hitler.

Dad was a first-generation American, grandson of a powerful Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, who was a Dean of Rabbis in Baltimore. Dad never enjoyed being a fringe-dweller in society, hated going to Hebrew School while all his gentile friends looked at him like he was a freak. And I,as a big firebrand anti-Vietnam war leftist in the 70s, never understood why Dad was so pro-military and never acknowledged his ethnic roots. Now that I'm 54, I have a far better understanding. We'll never agree on social issues--I scream at him to turn off Fox News every time I walk through his door--but he told me that President Obama did him and the other veterans proud with his D-Day speech.

Yeah, Dad's a Republican, Dad wants to conform and be mainstream because he was singled-out and the target of Anti-Semitism when he was young. The army was the great equalizer, the first place he found friends who were rich Anglos and poor African American alike. However negatively I feel about the destructive purpose of a military, I can't invalidate my father's experiences.

And I'm proud of his generation for defeating a real enemy, not just fighting for profit or to advance a different idealism. I am only 2 generations up from dirt, from spit-on peasants in Russia and Lithuania, and it's America that has given my family the ability to walk freely through society. Those values are what the vets fought for.

And it will be Americans like me who reach back to other Americans so that they can get here too! None of us will be truly free until we are all equal!

edited because, frankly, it needed it!

[rasputin1952]

55. This brought to mind a friend of my childhood who's father was

a rabbi.

Once, when feeling really "down", this man asked me why I was so blue, I said, I've got some problems", and didn't elaborate. He went on with the task he was doing, and then slowly turned around and asked me, "Are any of these problems going to kill you?" I was surprised at this question, but answered, "no".

"Then you don't have a real problem, you have a quandary. See, if you are not going to be killed by what you facing, you have time to work things out".

A VERY wise man...:)

I grew up in NYC, surrounded by people of all types, many of them Holocaust survivors. I can relate easily to your father's and your situation, and am proud to have you had a moment to post to you. As for your dad being an R...that happens. But as long as he remains a humanitarian, the "R" means little, it's what's in his heart that matters...:hug:

[pink-o]

58. Thank you! Your post is really touching.

I've found Rabbis to have a certain warm wisdom, a knowledge of human nature and the ability to cut to the heart of the matter with compassion and a preternatural understanding. I'm actually Agnostic, but my friend who is a Conservative Rabbi, is totally accepting of our different philosophies.

As for Dad, well we agree to disagree. I'm hoping to have him around for at least another 5 years--his family, and most Ashkenazi Jews are notoriously long-lived--but time is short so we don't waste it on arguing!

[yy4me]

31. My late husband served in Korea, many of our relatives were

in WW II, my husband's brother was career Army, flying Med-evac helicopters in Vietnam.

I never knew until about 20 years ago that one of my uncles was in a German POW in Belgium camp at the time his brother was in a plane doing a bombing run and accidentally dropped bombs on the camp.

The incident was not talked about for years. The uncle in the plane was devastated by the accidental bombing of our own guys, let alone his brother in the German camp. He didn't even know his brother was a POW until the end of the war.

[nolabear]

32. My father died of Agent Orange exposure

Or at least, that's what the AF is paying widow's benefits for. Another unnecessary war in which we killed theirs and ours and everyone's without reservation. Here's to the end of all war.

[Cass]

33. My Dad is a Navy SeaBee veteran...served in Saipan during WWII. nt

[AwakeAtLast]

34. I am the wife of an OIF Veteran and the daugther of a Viet Nam Vet

:patriot:


:kick:

[Aristus]

35. Veteran. Son of a veteran. Son of a son of a veteran.

[Drunken Irishman]

36. Father served in Vietnam. Grandfather in WWII. Great-grandfather in WWI.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

37. Daughter of a WW II veteran.

He was going to be drafted b/c he was a union organizer (and therefore a commie). :D

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps (now the Air Force) at Ellington Field.

Was a lowly staff sergeant, but was too valuable to go into combat. He was trained to work on Norden bombsights, which were the great technical achievement of the war. He scored in the top 1% on IQ and top 1% on mechanical aptitude in tests at Ellington Field. He was in France and Italy.

His brother was a navigator.

One time his friend, a navigator, had a box camera and carried it into St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He draped a coat over his arm to hide it. At the time you could not take pictures inside St. Peter's. The first day they got some nice pictures. The second day they got the bum's rush from the Swiss Guards.

My response was, "You're the only person I've ever met that can't say 'I've been thrown out of classier places than this!'". :rofl:

He was a great admirer of the artwork in Rome.

He also said he had to frisk and disarm those "ugly Italian girls". :rofl:

Suuuurrrreee.......

[Manifestor_of_Light]

40. BF comes from a distinguished military family.

His dad was a Lieutenant Colonel.(Jr.)

Grandpa was General McLain--3 stars. (Sr.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_S._McLain

[ShortnFiery]

38. US Army Veteran & daughter of WWII Combat Engineer, 34th Infantry Division.

Red Bull Division:
34th Infantry Division
(WWII)

http://www.custermen.com/ItalyWW2/Units/Division34.htm

http://www.ihffilm.com/708.html

(North Africa and Italy, 1943-45) The lot of the common infantryman is hardship, suffering, cold, heat, rain, and death in many forms. This authentic documentary will chill the viewer with its depiction of stark misery in the mountains of Italy.

[ShortnFiery]

39. + older brother who served in Army, 101st Airborne, Screaming Eagles, Vietnam.

[Milspec]

51. OMG my father was in the 34th

His brother was captured in the Philippines (he survived the POW camp). My grandfather was in France in WW1 and I had a great uncle in the Spanish American war.

[TahitiNut]

41. Viet Nam Veteran, son of WW2 Veteran, descendant of Civil War Veterans (both sides) ... all combat.

:patriot:

[ThatsMyBarack]

42. I have a VERY distant cousin....

On my mother's side of the family who was a POW in WWII! :patriot:

I think he's dead now. I haven't seen him in years, and he was pretty old last time I saw him....

[Skittles]

44. I'm a veteran and child of veteran

and my grandfather was at Dunkirk; yes INDEED

[IndianaGreen]

45. Present and accounted for

:patriot:

Fighting for peace now.

[FloridaJudy]

46. My father spent his birthday on Omaha Beach

As part of the D-Day invasion. Every June 6 I remember him.

He's been dead for almost thirty years, but I believe he'd be proud of the President we have now, and have been dismayed by the last one.

[abq e streeter]

47. My 91 year old dad was in the army in Europe ...he was lucky ; never really saw heavy combat

was only wounded once (not much more than a flesh wound, from a German sniper) but admitted only fairly recently that he was very scared of the possibility of being captured, with the nazis finding out he was Jewish and that he'd be sent to a concentration camp and tortured and/or killed. So he was there, and did his small part and is still a hero to me for being willing to be put in harm's way even though he ended up having it easier than a lot of his fellow servicemen. Oh yeah, and just for the record, he's a lifelong Democrat and we still talk politics several times a week. I'm maybe a little more lefty than him, but not that much.

[pink-o]

59. See my earlier post! My family is Jewish as well, but my dad rebelled and became a Repug!

Anyway, the reason I'm commenting is cuz you're proving a point I made: Jews are incredibly long-lived. Your Dad is 91 and he sounds sharp as a tack. My 85 year old Dad still talks politics with his like-minded friends as well.

That long-life, sound mind bodes well for you and me! I'm just worried I'll have to work till I'm 79 to insure I won't go broke if I live to be 100 or more!!

[abq e streeter]

61. Hello pink-o( although in my youth it was always commie-pinko)

I'm lucky, I look like and seem to take after my dad's side of the family.His brother died at 70 , but his sisters lived into their 80's. My mother, on the other hand died of breast cancer at 48.. My dad's parents died young too, but as you no doubt know, since we seem to be a similar age, that they had a hell of a harder life than we did. My grandfather was a fruit and vegetable peddler who worked brutally long hours for very little money, and my grandmother had an equally hard life; they both died before I was born...I abused this body pretty unmercifully when I was younger, hopefully the 180 degree turn I've made in my later years ( good diet, lots of,and really almost fanatic amounts of exercise) will result in a long healthy life... And yeah, my dad's a freak of nature--despite a pacemaker, emergency bypass surgery and prostate cancer( 20 years ago), he's pretty damn sharp; puts on classical music appreciation presentations at his retirement ( and not even assisted living) apartment and does 30-40 minutes on the exercycle 6 days a week ( at the highest possible tension on the wheels; says anything lower is too easy!). Sorry to hear your dad's a republican( sorry to hear ANYONE is) but obviously you love him just the same.Fortunately no republicans in my family till you get to a couple of 5th or 6th cousins who own a McDonald's franchise or 2. Everyone else is at the very least a moderate Dem. My dad ,and all ours, at least in Europe, went over to fight fascism, and my dad has no more use for fascists , (which he correctly sees a too large element of the republican party as being), than he did then.........:hi:

[pink-o]

63. So listen up, Parents! Take care of your health and live a long time so your kids

will write about you like Abq e Streeter and me!!!

I also am a health-nut, ova-lacto veggie and if I don't run at least 4 times a week I get cranky! Also, in middle age I've gotten into lifting weights--being a tall skinny chick with the typical Semitic lack of muscle tone, I figure I need strength training. Staying healthy is how we'll go into our dotage without losing the quality of life. Because I, for one REFUSE to ever give a penny to Big Pharma and their chemical poisons!!!

Anyway, old people have a lot of stories, they're just waiting for someone to listen to them. And we do ourselves and our elders no favors if we shut them out. So it was great to see all the old WWII vets get honoured yesterday. When we're that age (hey, it won't be long! 30 years is gonna fly by, I guarantee it!) I hope our stories can be inspirational to younger people as well.

Albeit, most of us Boomers had to reconcile a "Generation Gap". The youngies today actually like hanging out with us--when I see a teenager wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt, there's a bridge right there! I doubt I would have worn Glen Miller or Frank Sinatra regalia at their age!!

[abq e streeter]

66. I wish I wasn't giving most of my $ to the "health" industry

unfortunately, just for one among several, I will be paying off the Heart Hospital till 2019.Also, on several meds, but one that I'm supposed to be on is 230$ a month and I do draw the line there, although may have no choice but to go back on it some day. My own fault I suppose; I lived a pretty wild, unhealthy life for a long time... But heading off to the gym in a few minutes to knock out about 3 miles (relatively fast treadmill walking; my knees don't much care for running anymore) and do some weights, crunches etc. Am counteracting what I can, but also know I did some real damage in the "wild years". Also, I know what you mean about the music. I remember a few years ago , talking about music with an 8th grade social studies class, and when I mentioned I'd seen the Ramones, some of the kids looked at me like I'd just revealed having had a personal conversation with God and said in complete awe "YOU SAW THE RAMONES?" . It was near the end of the period and they just asked me about it the rest of the class, and I actually gave an impromptu "history of punk" presentation to about half the class that was interested, on the ,I think, next to last day of school. They thought that was just "too cooo-el". And yeah , they like the pre-punk classic stuff too. Lots of kids who love The Beatles, Hendrix etc. Some hope for the world : Former ( thank god and/or goddess) Sen Pete Domenici's grand-daughter used to come to school in a Ramones t-shirt about once a week in 8th grade. ( great kid too)

[pink-o]

67. I was pretty wild in my youth, too. But I cleaned it up by 28--and I totally appreciate

that I dodged a bullet and don't need meds at this point in life! My sis, OTOH, is on more meds than Dad. I think it's the luck of the draw, sometimes.

Anyway, sounds like you're doing the right thing now! Have a great workout.

I actually met Led Zep, the Sex Pistols and the Clash when I lived in London. The kids either roll their eyes and say: "Who cares, you're old." or else do what your students did! My mom knew a woman who went to school with David Crosby and in the 70s I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.

For all the other DU'ers this thread is about Vets and generations. We're skirting the topic, but still there, I promise!

[abq e streeter]

70. On my way out the door to the gym when my dad called and

talked about having seen Matthausen and Dachau, but months after the liberation. He said it was still pretty horrible to see, but didn't say much more , and has never hardly talked about that so I didn't press him at all, and really didn't want to know any more than he felt like talking about.......Now its off to the gym; I was in my 40's btw, before I finally realized I had to start taking care of myself; still partied like a much younger guy till then. Luckily I'd always been pretty athletic as a kid and 20-something etc ( could play a pretty accomplished game of softball even while stoned out of my mind etc and in fact our catcher was only on the team because he had access to actual opium--this is like 35 years ago...), so my body responded reasonably quickly to working out again. And before I go, YOU MET THE CLASH !!!!!! I am now one of those 8th graders in absolute awe...( as you can see by my DU name I'm a hard core E Streeter .i.e. fanatical Springsteen fan, but to me The Clash are a solid close second for me as far as The Greatest Rock n Roll Band Of Em All). Ya never know (well I guess you do) but I'd think the Pistols would have been really weird guys(?) the Clash on the other hand always struck me as people that'd be more, for lack of a better word, "normal". Led Zep also had, for me, sort of a negative, dark vibe to em and is one reason I was never a big fan ( not that I don't recognize their enormous talent). Don't want to hijack this thread anymore re: music etc, but feel free to PM me if you feel like telling me more about your encounters with the above-mentioned bands.

[KBlagburn]

48. Veteran, son of veteran, grandson of veteran

Desert Shield/Storm, Vietnam Era, WWII

[phoenixriz]

49. Veterans

My husband died of Agent Orange several years ago. Was in communication at Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam Also official honor guard during his deployment.

3 Uncles and Father-in-law in WWII in South Pacific

My uncle Jess was a Major in WWI and General Pershing's private secretary and was at his bedside when he died. Their friendship began when in the Calvary with the Buffalo Soldiers on San Jan Hill.

My dad worked for North American Aviation in Kansas painting bulls eyes on the B-25 Bomber. Of course they had to be perfect.

[abq e streeter]

57. I am so sorry to read that about your husband. I don't even know what else to say...

except that, in spite of this terribly tragic thing that happened to him ,and to you, that I hope that many moments of happiness and joy have come back into your life.........Awkwardly, but sincerely, abq e streeter

[Fire1]

69. Wow! Quite a history! I know you're proud. n/t

[Mopar151]

50. My dad was 100th Division

Army, WW2, France.
Your view of the world is profoundly different, as the child - or relative- of a vet. Those little bits of history that you learn, that aren't in books, become truth's the spin doctor's can't shake - touchstones in a sea of BS.

[HamdenRice]

52. My father was in the 332nd Fighter Group (Tuskeegee Airmen) in Italy during WW II

Not a pilot, but in the ground crews. It changed his life completely. I wish he were alive today.

[Fire1]

68. That is fantastic! It is an honor to be acquainted with you. n/t

[OneBlueSky]

53. Army brat here . . .

Dad was an air artillery observer during the Battle of the Bulge, and was awarded the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters (equivilant to earning the award six times) . . . he was also a career officer, retiring in 1964 as a Major . . .

I literally grew up on Army and Air Force bases, and while I was never in the service myself, I have a great deal of respect and admiration for those who do serve or who have served in uniform . . . and it angers me when I see mercenaries being hired by our government to do some of the work that service members used to do and get paid many times what those service members make . . . it's a disgusting and dangerous trend that should be nipped in the bud . . .

[madamesilverspurs]

56. Daughter of WW2 vet, Army Air Corps.

Family history goes back pre-revolution, but real documentation starts with Old Ironsides and Constellation. One of my great-grandfathers was among the first to be expelled from Annapolis for repeated AWOL, but he went on to do some remarkable stuff. My two brothers both served in the Navy, one did three tours in Vietnam, the other retired from service in 2001. After Dad's death a few years ago, Mom moved into a smaller place. In paring down her possessions for the move we came across a worn cardboard envelope; inside were the ration books from the WW2 era. Mom said they kept them "just in case."

[Fire1]

60. Daughter, Granddaughter and niece of Veterans.

World War I and Korea.

[AnnieBW]

62. Daughter of a Korea Vet here!

Kick for the Forgotten War!

:kick:

[amandabeech]

64. Daughter of WWII Navy vet.

Dad served on an escort carrier that was assigned anti-sub duty off the U.S. Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Carribean.

Dad, an aviation metalsmith 1st class, also fixed any and every kind of navy plane while stationed at various naval air stations in the northeast. At the end of the war, Dad was running two aviation metal shops at the old Philadelphia Naval Air Station and working on advanced designs.

I'm also the niece of one WWII army airforce vet who was a radioman and tailgunner in the Pacific;

a WWII navy petty officer stationed in Alaska (the Japanese attacked in the Aleutians);

a Korean war flight nurse;

a Korean war pilot;

I'm also the granddaughter of a WWI army vet and the grand niece of WWI army vet badly wounded in France; and

the grand, grand, grand niece of a Civil War vet of the Union forces.

To all my forebears, and to all mentioned here by others, THANK YOU!

[Dappleganger]

65. Daughter of a Viet Nam vet!

[Thothmes]

71. My dad is 86 years old

During WWII,he sailed on the USS Yorktown until she was sunk at Midway. He than transfered USS West Virginia for the rest of the war. During Korea he sailed on the USS Sitco Bay.