SO WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS DO IN THE BIG WAR

Eric added these comments in the current discussion du jour ...

I never found out exactly what my father did, other than he
and my grandfather were electricians for the "government" (as
they called it) in New Mexico during the last couple years of
the war. I have several pictures of them in the desert
without any sort of landmarks in the shots.

Eric, did you suffer the loss of your father either during the
war or when you were too young to remember his story?

My mother worked at a factory in Saint Louis, to this day, she
has never talked about it.


"SHIVER ME TIMBERS" wrote in message
...
Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad
naseum, I thought I'd come into the group today with one of
my curious questions.

What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.

Mine worked at the Canada Car foundry in what was then called
Fort William, Ontario.

They were inspectors helping to make Hawker Hurricanes and
later other types of figthers including the Curtis Helldiver.

How about your folks.....






--
HP, aka Jerry

Dan Edwards added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

How about your folks.....

My grandfather was a 1Lt. in the U.S. Army Infantry, Americal
Division, Pacific theater during WWII

Dan, have you made any headway in your search for your
grandfather's history?

--
HP, aka Jerry

David Hartung added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

How about your folks.....

I must have some young parents. Both my parents were still in
school. Dad graduated high school in 1948, and joined the USAF
about 1950. Dad was in the pipeline to go to Korea as an F84
pilot when the Armistice happened.

My father was over 30 when he was drafted into the Marines in mid-
1943, I was born in 1947. Many of my friends' fathers were much
younger, so it was their grandfather that fought in WWII. All of my
uncles on both sides of my family were WWII vets. One was wounded
in the Battle of the Bulge, all the others were in the Navy. My
Uncle Joe was the 20mm gunner on the bow of the USS Massachusetts.

As to Korea, my father's best friend from the Marines decided to
stay in the active reserve and tried unsuccessfully to convince my
father to join with him. Turns out that Dad was "smarter", as his
friend was called up in the early days of Korea.

--
HP, aka Jerry

"Andrew Chaplin" wrote in message
...
"SHIVER ME TIMBERS" wrote in message
...
Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad naseum,
I thought I'd come into the group today with one of my curious questions.

What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.

Mine worked at the Canada Car foundry in what was then called
Fort William, Ontario.

They were inspectors helping to make Hawker Hurricanes and later other
types of figthers including the Curtis Helldiver.

How about your folks.....

Dad was a Canadian in the RN operating radar. Mum was a student at Lisgar
Collegiate Institute learning, among other things, to shoot in case push
came
to shove (the school had an indoor range on its fourth floor) and
occasionally
babysitting Adrienne Poy. Maternal grandfather was a sergeant in the Black
Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, until he was hit by a truck in
the
blackout in England and crippled. His wife was a social worker in Ottawa,
working with families who had lost loved ones or who were having them
returned
as wounded. Paternal grandfather ran the timber mechanics laboratory at
Princes Risborough for the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and was the man
who,
before the war, proved the concept for the plywood construction of the
Mosquito. His wife ran the household and prayed for a son running an oil
refinery in Egypt, another leading a troop in the Royal Canadian Hussars,
and
for my dad in the RN (she was spared having to worry much about her
daughter,
whom they packed off back to Canada in 1939 to finish her schooling in
Montréal).

Leading Seaman Philip Alfred Conrad Chaplin ashore in Mombasa, Kenya, between
his stint in battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH and in submarine depot ship ADAMANT.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)

On 2007-11-05 05:49:51 -0600, "HEMI-Powered" said:

SHIVER ME TIMBERS added these comments in the current discussion
du jour ...

Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad
naseum, I thought I'd come into the group today with one of my
curious questions.

What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.

Mine worked at the Canada Car foundry in what was then called
Fort William, Ontario.

They were inspectors helping to make Hawker Hurricanes and
later other types of figthers including the Curtis Helldiver.

How about your folks.....

If you recognize my handle, and my name, Jerry Rivers, then you
know my father fought on Saipan and Tinian, and is pictured in Joe
Rosenthal's follow-on group "gung ho" photograph after the 2nd flag
raising on Mt. Suribachi. I shan't repost my pictures as
(apparently) it annoys some folks around here.

My father was Supply Officer for the 73rd FS (Bar Flies). In 1944 he
became Supply Officer for the group (318th FG - yes, he ordered the
paint for the -real- "2 Big and Too Heavy").

My mother was a Public Health Nurse in Springfield, IL.

One of his brothers flew cargo aircraft (C-46s in North Africa). He
would "drop by" England to datethe lady who became my aunt, who was a
Londener.

His other brother was a civilian engineer reparing submarines.

His father worked at Western Electric, in Cicero, IL.

My mother's parents worked in Hanford, Oregon - my grandfather was a
Carpenter and my grandmother a House Mother. They were native to
Springfield, IL.

"SHIVER ME TIMBERS" wrote in message
...
Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad naseum,
I thought I'd come into the group today with one of my curious questions.

What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.

Mine worked at the Canada Car foundry in what was then called
Fort William, Ontario.

They were inspectors helping to make Hawker Hurricanes and later other
types of figthers including the Curtis Helldiver.

How about your folks.....

My mother rivited radio operators seat mounts and camera mounts in B-24's at
the Willow Run Bomber Plant. She gave a speech at the Yankee Air Museum,
across the field from the Willow Run Bomber Plant when the US Postal Service
issued a commerative stamp to honor all of the "Rosie the Riviters" in 1999.
She also appeard in a Modern Marvels episode about aircraft production in
WWII.

My uncle was a B-17 flight engineer in New Mexico under the command of the
late singer John Denver's father.

Another uncle landed at Normandy and fought to, and through the Battle of
the Bulge.

One aunt worked at Packard Motor's plant in Detroit making Rolls Royce
Merlin engine cylinder heads. Two other aunts worked at Ford Rouge making
other items for the war effort, possibly making machine gun mounts.

My father was still living in Ireland during WWII.

"SHIVER ME TIMBERS" wrote in message
...
Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad naseum,
I thought I'd come into the group today with one of my curious questions.

What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.

Mine worked at the Canada Car foundry in what was then called
Fort William, Ontario.

They were inspectors helping to make Hawker Hurricanes and later other
types of figthers including the Curtis Helldiver.

How about your folks.....
My father was in the RCAF during the war. He enlisted in 1939 and was
honourably discharged in 1946. He was in a Repair and Recovery Squadron
(don't happen to know which one though). He and his brother older brother
Roger ended in England in the same squadron (somehow) and served together
for the rest of the war in France, Belgium, Germany.

His two other brothers served in the RCAF (Maurice and Andre) in Canada and
in Newfoundland.

SHIVER ME TIMBERS wrote in news:shiver-
:

Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad naseum,
I thought I'd come into the group today with one of my curious questions.

What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.

Mine worked at the Canada Car foundry in what was then called
Fort William, Ontario.

They were inspectors helping to make Hawker Hurricanes and later other
types of figthers including the Curtis Helldiver.

How about your folks.....

My dad was in reserved employment in Edinburgh, but was in the Home Guard
(appropriately Dad's Army). Don't know how he did it but he started with
one stripe on his uniform, next week there were three and the week after he
had a pip (Leftenant) on his epaulettes. He told stories of practicing
street fighting on Prices Street on a busy afternoon. That was when they
only had wooden toy guns for practice and had to shout "Bang" as loudly as
they could. How we ever won that war ....?

HEMI-Powered wrote:
David Hartung added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

How about your folks.....
I must have some young parents. Both my parents were still in
school. Dad graduated high school in 1948, and joined the USAF
about 1950. Dad was in the pipeline to go to Korea as an F84
pilot when the Armistice happened.

My father was over 30 when he was drafted into the Marines in mid-
1943, I was born in 1947. Many of my friends' fathers were much
younger, so it was their grandfather that fought in WWII. All of my
uncles on both sides of my family were WWII vets. One was wounded
in the Battle of the Bulge, all the others were in the Navy. My
Uncle Joe was the 20mm gunner on the bow of the USS Massachusetts.

As to Korea, my father's best friend from the Marines decided to
stay in the active reserve and tried unsuccessfully to convince my
father to join with him. Turns out that Dad was "smarter", as his
friend was called up in the early days of Korea.

My Dad's dad served in the Marines during WWI. To my knowledge, he never saw
combat. My Mom's dad was a Lutheran school principle, and my guess is that he
was on the high side of 40 in 1941. He also had, at that time, 5 kids. I'm not
certain if that had any bearing on his service status or not.

I lost him when I was 7 and my grandfather when I was 43. My grandfather
never said anything other they worked for the "government."

"HEMI-Powered" wrote in message
.. .
Eric added these comments in the current discussion du jour ...

I never found out exactly what my father did, other than he
and my grandfather were electricians for the "government" (as
they called it) in New Mexico during the last couple years of
the war. I have several pictures of them in the desert
without any sort of landmarks in the shots.

Eric, did you suffer the loss of your father either during the
war or when you were too young to remember his story?

My mother worked at a factory in Saint Louis, to this day, she
has never talked about it.


"SHIVER ME TIMBERS" wrote in message
...
Well after watching the Ken Burns series THE WAR ad naseum ad
naseum, I thought I'd come into the group today with one of
my curious questions.

What did your parents, family, etc. do in the big WWII.

Mine worked at the Canada Car foundry in what was then called
Fort William, Ontario.

They were inspectors helping to make Hawker Hurricanes and
later other types of figthers including the Curtis Helldiver.

How about your folks.....






--
HP, aka Jerry