World War II Photos Pacific

[CajunCandy]

My dad was a medic.

 

I'm always interested in history.

 

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/03/18/captured-blog-the-pacific-and-adjacent-theaters/#more-1547

 

 

 

 

mike

[moondog]

My dad was a medic.

 

I'm always interested in history.

 

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/03/18/captured-blog-the-pacific-and-adjacent-theaters/#more-1547

 

 

 

 

mike

 

My Uncle was a landing craft pilot in the Pacific - started out in the Higgins boats at Guadalcanal and later drove the tractors at Tarawa and Saipan.  The attrition rate was high and he made Chief at the age of 19.  After Saipan, he was transferred back to Camp Pendleton to train new pilots for the eventual invasion of Japan.  Eddie Albert of Green Acres fame served with him.

 

I visited with him in Tulsa about twenty years ago and he told me, and my three cousins, about the campaign in the Solomons and Gilberts (there were a lot of landings on small islands you've probably never heard of).  When he got to Tarawa, he just kind of tailed off.

 

Later that day one of my cousins told me that this was the first time my uncle had ever talked about the war with them - we were all in our thirties at the time.

 

In the meantime, my father had dropped out of high school, and was training in P51's.  If they hadn't dropped the bomb, he'd have been in the last wave.

 

Much different times considering we've always been the "Big Dog on the block in our lifetimes.  At the beginning of WWII,  the American people weren't overly confident of ultimate victory.

 

As for me, I was number thirteen on the draft list for Nam but missed it by probably two years as they were pulling out by the time I hit eighteen.

[snack dude]

Thanks for the pics,

My uncle was in the second wave at d-day and told me one time that the only reason that they got on the beach was they were landing more guys than the germans could shoot. I have heard all kinds of stories growing up about going across france and having to shoot german kids toward the end of the war because the germans would barricade 13 and 14 year old kids in old buildings with wooden bullets and alot them would not surrender so they had to shoot them. I also invited him to go camping with the family once and looked at me and said that he swore that if he ever got out of france he would never sleep on the ground again, and that he hadnt. He did come to the campout and got a room at the nearest motel. I am not a very religious person, but i do believe in god and having survived combat myself 20 years later I can tell you that i am sure that god has reserved aspecial place for those guys

sorry to be long winded

[mission vending]

Here is a related video..

 

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/TneYPcyGbbY%26autoplay=1%26rel=0

[CajunCandy]

I wish I could say my dad served in the war, but at the age of 28 dad was considered to old and was kept here in the states at the training grounds, which camp he never told us. I do have pictures of his unit which he trained with to be a medic. In Arkansas is where he was station.

 

He passed away at the age of 85 in 2001. His sister passed away at 98 in OKC, OK. this year.

 

mike 

My Uncle was a landing craft pilot in the Pacific - started out in the Higgins boats at Guadalcanal and later drove the tractors at Tarawa and Saipan.  The attrition rate was high and he made Chief at the age of 19.  After Saipan, he was transferred back to Camp Pendleton to train new pilots for the eventual invasion of Japan.  Eddie Albert of Green Acres fame served with him.

 

I visited with him in Tulsa about twenty years ago and he told me, and my three cousins, about the campaign in the Solomons and Gilberts (there were a lot of landings on small islands you've probably never heard of).  When he got to Tarawa, he just kind of tailed off.

 

Later that day one of my cousins told me that this was the first time my uncle had ever talked about the war with them - we were all in our thirties at the time.

 

In the meantime, my father had dropped out of high school, and was training in P51's.  If they hadn't dropped the bomb, he'd have been in the last wave.

 

Much different times considering we've always been the "Big Dog on the block in our lifetimes.  At the beginning of WWII,  the American people weren't overly confident of ultimate victory.

 

As for me, I was number thirteen on the draft list for Nam but missed it by probably two years as they were pulling out by the time I hit eighteen.

My two older brothers made it there (Vietnam), both came back and will not talk about it.

[snack dude]

[My two older brothers made it there (Vietnam), both came back and will not talk about it.

I understand.....All I can tell you is its hard.

There are things that I havent told anyone, not even my wife of 29 years or my kids. (I was inmy thirties before I did the whole get married have a family thing).

I really feel sorry for the guys coming back from the middle east because these guys have emails and facebook and 24 hour news cycles and cameras on phones. When I came back all i had to do was stay away from a tv

[CajunCandy]

[My two older brothers made it there (Vietnam), both came back and will not talk about it.

I understand.....All I can tell you is its hard.

There are things that I havent told anyone, not even my wife of 29 years or my kids. (I was inmy thirties before I did the whole get married have a family thing).

I really feel sorry for the guys coming back from the middle east because these guys have emails and facebook and 24 hour news cycles and cameras on phones. When I came back all i had to do was stay away from a tv

Thanks for your service snack dude!

I just wish the boys coming back from there was treated better.

 

mike

[snack dude]

AMEN MIKE

[CajunCandy]

http://www.freep.com/article/20131021/BUSINESS0101/310210134/Willow-Run-GM-General-Motors-bomber-plant