My most direct connection to WWII

[resqgeek]

	Both of the other connections I've written about were great-uncles, but I am also a direct descendant of a veteran of the second World War. My grandfather was drafted late in the war and was serving in Europe when my father (his second child) was born in Feb. 1945. My grandfather served in the 102nd Infantry Division, which first saw action in the Fall of 1944. My grandfather has never really talked about his experiences during the war, and I don't have any firm idea of where or when he fought. I have seen his medals, which include a combat infantry badge (which indicates that he saw hostile action) and a purple heart.
102nd Infantry Division Patch
Combat Infantry Badge	Purple Heart

Growing up, we could occasionally convince him to pull out his war souvenirs. He had a large red Nazi banner, signed by all the men in his platoon, and a SS officer's dagger, as well as some German currency. Unfortunately, after my grandmother's death, he auctioned their farm and all the contents of the house. He was simply not emotionally able to sort through the contents to see what should remain in the family, so we had to watch as his uniforms and other war memorabilia was auctioned off. My youngest brother managed to outbid a collector for the Nazi banner, which is now stored in my parents' cedar chest. That is the only piece of his wartime possessions that has remained in the family.

My grandfather celebrated his 85th birthday last month, and many members of the family are concerned that his wartime memories will pass with him when his time comes. We've been trying to encourage him to share his experiences, but thus far, he has been notably reluctant to do so. I suspect my oldest uncle (who served in Vietnam) might have the best chance of getting him to talk. My uncle has talked about sitting down with my grandfather and talking to him about the war with a tape recorder running.

Comments

[martip.livejournal.com]

I hope your uncle is successful - it would be a shame for all that oral history to be lost.

[princessrica.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, my grandfather was also in WWII, sometime around 1945. I know the date because he was overseas when my uncle, his first child, was born in Feb. of 1945.

I know nothing of his division or the like, but I could probably find out from my grandmother. I was lucky enough to be the oldest of my cousins and evidently the one he entrusted with his memories of the war. He used to sit me down and show me his photo albums and tell me stories, over and over. Either he didn't remember telling me before, or he really wanted me to know. I only learned recently that I was the only one of the cousins extended this privelege. My youngest cousin was looking for more information on our grandfather and my grandmother couldn't find his albums. My grandmother was telling me about my cousin and looking for it and I said, "Oh, aren't they still in the office near the door?" (They were!) Surprised the hell out of my grandmother ;)

WWII memories

[bigjohnlefty.livejournal.com]

I sure hope your uncle is successful - I have no living grandparents and many stories have been lost, I'm sure.
First of all, when my father was in the Army Reserves (a unit in my hometown of Quincy, IL) he wore a patch identical to the one you pictured - somehow I had it in my head that the name was "Ozark Company" since the letters O, Z, and C appear in it, and since Fort Leonard Wood, MO, close to the Ozarks, was some sort of headquarters for the unit.
My Uncle Eddie was in the unit also - he served in WWII (where he received a bronze star), Korea, and stayed in the reserves unitl 1980. He died last month a few days shy of his 86th birthday. I gave the eulogy at his funeral; I did make reference to Tom Brokaw's "greatest generation" book.
My father was born on December 8, 1932; his memory of his ninth birthday (the day after Pearl Harbor) was of some of his brothers going off to enlist. He said, "son, birthdays aren't always happy times". I don't know how many of his brothers served, but another one got a bronze star in the Air Corps. Hard to find out now, with almost all of them gone, including my father, felled by cancer at 58.
A few years ago I visited a baseball museum run by Bob "Rapid Robert" Feller, a legendary hurler with the Cleveland Indians who, despite being in his thirties at the time, enlisted in the Navy right after Pearl Harbor; the museum also has lots of memorabilia from his ship. As I was in the Navy myself (mid-seventies, tail end of Vietnam, though I spent my time in Spain and the Meditarranean), we swapped some sea stories. And I got him to autograph a picture, "from one former sailor to another".
So those are some of my connections to WWII. As a people, we should do what we can to keep them alive.

Re: WWII memories

[resqgeek]

The 102nd Infantry Division of WWII was originally a Reserve unit from Arkansas and Missouri, activated for the war and built up to Division strength with draftees, including my grandfather. It was known as the Ozark Division, because of its reserve origins.

Re: WWII memories

[bigjohnlefty.livejournal.com]

thanks for filling me in - I thought I remembered my dad and uncle referring to it as that.