What Wars did you/your ancestors fight in?

[Marla_Singer]

All my great grand fathers had fought World War 1 :

• One died for France at the "Chemin des Dames" in 1917.
• One died for Germany near Montdidier in 1918.
• One fighted for France and got wounded with a piece of metal in his brain. It was too dangerous to take it out so he kept it. After that, he was a bit slow according to my mother who knew him.
• The last one also fighted for France and got deaf because he was at the Artillery. The noise was so high he simply got deaf.

My grand father fighted WW2 and get in working camps in Austria, he met my german grand mother there. My other grand father (the father of my father) was a jew from Morocco and he engaged himself as volunteer in 1939. He hided himself after June 1940's debacle. He has lost a brother of him who had been sent into Drancy before going to Birkenau-Auschwitz II where he died in 1944.

 

[Silverflame]

During the communist takeover of China my grandfather fought with the Nationalists and Jiang Jieshi against the commies. He later fled to Taiwan.

That's all I really know, I hardly know anything about any ancestors before my grandparents.

 

[naervod]

My great-great-great grandfather (or something like that) was killed fighting for the Union in the Civil War. Some of the relatives on my mom's side fought for Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War. My great-grandfather was a Marine pilot in WWI. My mom's father fought in the Pacific as an infantryman in WWII, and my dad's father was an engineer in Europe. My great-uncles both fought in Vietnam. My mom's brother and sister-in-law served in the Army during the 1980's, but didn't experience any combat, however, went all over the country and were stationed in West Germany. That's about it.

 

[Emp.Napoleon]

My grandfather was found in America illigaly for a 3rd time so he could go to jail for 2 years or be a Muchent Marine for 2 years. So he shipped good during WWII in Europe and the Pacific. My other grandfather was in Koria after being drafted.

 

[The Yankee]

Maternal Grandfather fought in the Polish Cavalry from the beginning of World War II when it started on 9/1/1939. Then fought for the Polish resistence movement and ferried out Jews and others out of the country until he was captured in 1941.

Maternal grandmother did not fight, but her extended family had some members in the Soviet Army during the war, though she was in Poland. German Luftwaffe bomber her home and the Wehrmacht captured her in 1941 when Nazi Germany invaded Soviet-occupied Poland.

I'm sure people from my maternal grandfather's family way back when fought for Poland during its wars and its rebellions against imperial powers in the 19th century. They were a noble family and there are war materials still preserved to this day back in Poland, if only I had more contact with the family there, the Cold War severed ties when my grandfather emigrated to the US.

I believe my paternal great-grandfather fought for the US in World War I. Don't know anything about my grandfather, though he was of age to fight in some part of World War II.

Not sure if anyone fought in the US Civil War.

Ancestor on my father's side fought when Texas rebelled against Mexico. Killed at the Alamo.

Beyond that, I don't know.

 

[Inter4]

My grandfather fought for Italy in WWII. He was even capured but managed to escape.

 

[Death]

I had a great-great-great uncle,on my dads side, who fought for the south in the civil war. I also had a great-great grandfather,on my moms side who fought for Britain in WW1, and a great-uncle on my dads side fight in WW2 for America.

 

[SanPellegrino]

My Great Grandfathers fought in WW1 and my Grandfathers fought in WW2 for Germany. they gave me a general hatred for uniforms with me on my way.

 

[sysyphus]

My Great-Grandfather fought in the British Army in the First World war,

My Paternal grandfather fought for Germany on the Eastern Front in the Second World War.

 

[BorgeoisBuffoon]

My relatives, if I remember correctly, fought in every American war since the Revolution up to Korea. We chose Patriot in the Revolution and Unionist in the Civil War. We're such patriots!

 

[aaminion00]

I had several relatives fight in the 92-95 war.

My grandfather and his brothers were part of an independent unit of Partizans fighting against the nazis (obviously), in the Fojnica region of Bosnia.

Before that my great grandmothers uncle was in the Austro-Hungarian army. Not sure if he served in any wars.

Considering that military service was mandatory for Muslims in the Ottoman Empire, its safe to assume I had some relatives in those wars.

My mothers mother's family can trace their ancestry to some Kapetanovich fellow who had 8 sons in 1700's Bosnia. If I understand well enough, he had the job of guarding the fortress at the city of Kljuc.

Before the Turks came my best guess is we were a peasent family in Hertzegovina.

I'll edit this post in a second once I ask my grandparents about any other wars we might have served in.

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@Xen - How'd you manage to trace your ancestors back to Hastings?

@G-Man - Had no idea your family was originally in Croatia. What was the city, and your last name there if I may ask.

 

[Xen]

Originally posted by aaminion00

@Xen - How'd you manage to trace your ancestors back to Hastings?

the familly recorde back to ye olde viking Warren is rather complete, but I havent really investigated it in-depth any

 

[Hitro]

One of my grand-grandfather's was in the navy in WW1 another was in the army, the two others were younger and fought and died in the Wehrmacht in WW2. My grandfathers were both children during the time, though one of them was drafted in the last months of the war at age 15 to stop the British army with a bunch of his school buddies, which apparently failed...

 

[cgannon64]

My...great-grandfather fought in WWI, IIRC. In fact he nearly died from a gas attack. He was knocked unconcious. They kicked people before buring them in a mass grave, but he didn't wake up. Then, as he was on the bottom of the pile, he couged. They dug everyone up and found him.

My grandfather (mother's side) was drafted in WWII but he has a glass eye, so when they found out he was a good mechanic they had him build and fix tanks.

And I beleive I have an uncle or great-uncle who fought in Vietnam. I also beleive he was never the same...really quiet now. I'm not sure since we don't really see him much.

What can I say, our family doesn't have much military history.

 

[The Yankee]

It's odd how militarized my family has been throughout time.

Almost makes you wonder if or how history would have changed if that person wasn't there at that time. Although, especially in the case of the Alamo, probably the same thing.Every fighter in the Alamo was killed, IIRC, and he died early in the fighting.

 

[Marla_Singer]

This is the kind of thread where we want more to tell about our stories than to listen others stories... so I should listen you more. However , I know my German great grand father fought at the "Chemin des Dames"... Even if I know it's stupid, I still wonder if he killed another of my great grand fathers there.

According to my German grand mother, He was a cavalry captain on the Eastern Front at the beginning of the war. He came on the Western Front only later in 1917. I actually don't really know what he did there... I would be surprised if he were still in a cavalry since there wasn't anymore at that time !! Well anyway, he died in 1918.

A funny thing is that wars are awful but I must confess that probably if they had been avoided, none of us would be here to talk about it ! A simple example is that my great grand father who died in 1917 did so before the birth of his son who's the results of a "permission" (french word, dunno the translation... maybe soldier holidays ?). The same about WW2, since my mother's grand parents met each other in Austria (one as prisonner, the other as a nurse). Ain't it weird to believe that we wouldn't be there if the most awful events in the Human History didn't occur ?

 

[Scrimshaw]

On my dad's side of the family my relatives have fought in pretty much every american war there was up to vietnam. He personally saw combat in both Vietnam and Korea which I don't hear happening often. And he volunteered for both

CFC useless Factoid. My dad fought in the same (shoot can't remember now, division?, company, battallion?) as an certain ex cfc moderator who shall remain nameless for we don't dare utter that name here anymore.

Of course my dad was good few years before said moderators time but it's a still a semi interesting useless fact.

Now I still have cousins and such that still fight for the states but they aren't direct ancestors of course.

 

[ltcoljt]

I know that ten generations ago a widower and his some sailed from Germany to settler less than 25 miles from where I live. This is my ancestor from my father's side of the family. We had family fight for the Confederacy and in both world wars, but none were notables. On my mother's side, yes to World War II but more interesting is the claim that a vice president was a direct ancestor. Not confirmed.

 

[Johann MacLeod]

My Swedish ancestors probably fought in the Thirty Years War And my French Ancestors probably fought many wars since they lived in Lorraine ... I don't know how much the MacLeods fought in Bonnie Prince Charlie's campaigns against Britain, but they di fight the Vikings a lot way back. The only modern war that I know of is my great uncle fought in India during WWII. since my Goddard relatives were Quakers since they came over from Wales, that sort of discounts them from war...

 

[Drewcifer]

I had a great uncle who was very interested in our family geneology and did extensive research into it.

Supposedly one of my ancestors was a bastard child of Harold II, loser of the Battle of Hastings.

One ancestor fought for the British / American colonial side in the French and Indian war (also known as part of the Seven Years War). He was at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham where the French lost Quebec. He died in camp soon after from smallpox.

I have several ancestors who fought in the American Revolution on the American side.

My great-great-grandfather fought in the US Civil War on the northern side. We still have several letters written by him during the war. He was with an artillery unit that went down the Mississippi with General Grant. He participated in the seige of Vicksburg among other things.

Two of my great uncles went to France before the US entered WW I and fought for the French.

Another great uncle was with General Persing when he chased Pancho Villa through northern Mexico.

My grandfather spent WWII in Florida with the FBI. He hunted down spies that the Germans were landing from U-boats. A cushy but necessary job.