Communisto
Condottiere
Great Uncle was in the IRA
Other Great Uncle died at Ortona as an infantryman.
Other Great Uncle died at Ortona as an infantryman.
Your family and WWII
- Thread starter philippe
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CaptainF
The Professional Poster
GuitarHero
Caligula II
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2007
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One Grandfather draft-dodged to Cuba, other was too young to fight.
Not much with my grandparents, considering. One side were farmers here, other side well my grandpa was in the Dutch Naval Reserves, showed up when he was called to and was promptly told to go home(along with everyone else) where he worked for the dutch underground, nothing spectacular like blowing stuff up just getting the right amount of food to every household that may of been hiding downed pilots and what not. At same time his wife was taking care of the family and one jewish child. Hid her in plain sight she said passing her off as a neice whos mother wasn't able to take care of her. Only way to do it considering the family is pretty Aryan in looks.
And noone served in WW1 for some odd reason
And noone served in WW1 for some odd reason
My grand-father was too young to serve during the war. After the war ended, he joined the Army and served in the Japanese occupation force.
My other grand-father was an Italian citizen in Ripi. His family's home was taken over by Nazi's as it had a sightline on Monte Cassino and Rome from it.
My other grand-father was an Italian citizen in Ripi. His family's home was taken over by Nazi's as it had a sightline on Monte Cassino and Rome from it.
Verbose
Deity
If they were Dutch, maybe not so odd, since the Netherlands weren't involved in that war.
Aramazd
Deity
Paternal Grandfather: US Coast Guard
Maternal Grandfather: worked as an engineer for Boeing
Maternal Grandfather: worked as an engineer for Boeing
My grandfather was a clerk with the Royal Canadian Navy, based in Halifax. His best friend served in the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (under Farley Mowat, for my Canadian readers) through Italy and the Netherlands. My great-grandfather was a gunner with the Yorkshire Regiment for the duration of the First World War.
Merkinball
Deity
On my paternal grandfathers and paternal grandmothers side, I had numerous relatives that were engineers on the Manhattan Project, and that's about it.
Our generations fell so that most of my relatives ended up in Korea, but their parents, aunts, uncles, were too old to serve in WWII.
Our generations fell so that most of my relatives ended up in Korea, but their parents, aunts, uncles, were too old to serve in WWII.
My maternal grandfather was in the Polish cavalry at the outbreak of World War II. After Poland was conquered, I believe he was forced to be some kind of local police. However, he was sheltering and moving people sought by the Nazis (especially Jews, obviously) and helped the Polish resistance. In 1941, one of the people he was hiding betrayed him to the Nazis and he was arrested and taken to a slave labor camp.
My maternal grandmother lived near Bialystok in 1939, which was later taken over by the Soviet Union when it and Nazi Germany agreed to divide Poland. One of her sisters later ended up in a Siberian gulag, but I don't know why. When Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union, her house was bombed and she was taken captive by the Nazis and was sent to a slave labor camp.
My grandparents met in the slave labor camp, where they stayed for three years until American soldiers liberated the camp. They were in a relocation camp after the war called Watenstadt (or something to that effect) in West Germany, where they were married and my mother was born in 1947.
I don't know about my paternal grandparents. They were in the US and I don't think my grandfather was old enough to be in the war, though he was in the Marines when he was young.
My maternal grandmother lived near Bialystok in 1939, which was later taken over by the Soviet Union when it and Nazi Germany agreed to divide Poland. One of her sisters later ended up in a Siberian gulag, but I don't know why. When Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union, her house was bombed and she was taken captive by the Nazis and was sent to a slave labor camp.
My grandparents met in the slave labor camp, where they stayed for three years until American soldiers liberated the camp. They were in a relocation camp after the war called Watenstadt (or something to that effect) in West Germany, where they were married and my mother was born in 1947.
I don't know about my paternal grandparents. They were in the US and I don't think my grandfather was old enough to be in the war, though he was in the Marines when he was young.
Communisto
Condottiere
Grandpa was a crew member on a B-25 crew. Spoiler tags for pics due to size. He passed away two years ago this spring. Note the Flying Tiger type paintjob. HE helped, at one point during the war, train Chinese crews in the B-25s.
Spoiler :
Looks to me like one tough motherf***er. Really cool pics!
Archbob
Ancient CFC Guardian
My grandparents were in China, running away from the Japanese.
Sims2789
Fool me once...
My step grandfather (who's 17 years older than my grandmother), was a pilot on a B-17. He only flew two missions since he got shot down over France. French resistance found him, and he gave his gun to them, saying that he's more accurate throwing it than shooting it so it's best that they have it, and they told him they'd give him seven dead Germans. They helped him escape to Spain, where he was arrested for illegally entering the country. However, the French Red Cross got him out, and he flew non-combat planes after that.
Pieman
Prince
Not sure what happened to my paternal grandparents but my maternal grandparents did what Fallen Angel Lord's did: ran away from the Japanese in China. After a ceartain length of time of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the family was terrified about what would happen to them since the Japanese soldiers were a very aggressive and cruel bunch and every now and then, the troops would randomly barge in to people's homes and do an inspection or search of some sort (or perhaps looting). What paticularly scared my family was that often enough if the Japanese soldiers saw a woman they liked the look of, they'd drag her away to force her into prostitution in a military brothel. So the family eventually ran out of Hong Kong and spent the rest (or most of the rest) of the war running and hiding from the Japanese in Southern China. It was quite scary at times as they had to dodge patrols and such and at one point, one of my aunts nearly died from malnourishment or a disease of some sort. Thankfully, as far as I know of at least, everyone made it through.
MjM
Deity
I think my paternal Grandfather was too young to fight, but I'm pretty sure my Great-Grandpa was in the RAF or somesuch. Don't know the specifics.
My maternal Grandfather was also too young, I don't know about my maternal great-grandfather.
My maternal Grandfather was also too young, I don't know about my maternal great-grandfather.
EconomistBR
King
Trully great story, amazing to know that they met in a slave labor camp. I had always thought they were separated in those camps.
I googled it and this came up..."Work Camp Watenstadt-Braunschweig"
"Watenstadt was a subcamp of Neuengamme located near Braunschweig. It was part of the Reichswerke Hermann Goring."
http://www.edwardvictor.com/Holocaust/2005/Watenstedt.htm
Do you know the name of their slave labor camps?
