What did you do in the war Daddy...?

[PADDY]

An old man or lady shuffles past you in the street, almost invisible to the rest of the world as it marches on with its own agendas...

Yet that old man might have been a paratrooper on D-Day, that old woman with the flowers might have worked with the French resistance. Heroes do not have it tattooed on their forehead.

What surprising things have you found out or discovered about a relation, a neighbour, a friend...?

I knew my uncle had been a wireless operator on Halifax bombers during the war. It was only at his funeral oration, that the minister mentioned that he had worked for the Special Operations Executive on German occupied Crete and was submarined out to Egypt later on!!

WHAT...???? COULD YOU JUST REPEAT THAT PLEASE..?

I couldn't believe my ears guys..! Is this the same guy we are talking about, my Uncle Joe?
I'm now researching him, as often so much dies when the person passes away!! it's alot harder when someone has gone, trying to research them. And you lose a lot of the human element too. But I have learnt that he got the Military Medal (US equiv=Silver Star), Distinguished Flying Medal and the DFC (Greek). Now this was all a surprise, but many years ago this old man had been a young fella bounding across the Cretan mountains getting involved in daring do, that Indy would have been proud of (like capturing German generals! movie later made called: "Ill met by moonlight.").

So next time, perhaps, give that old man or lady a second glance, you never know who you might be in the presence of...

(OH! and I have Uncle Joe's flying boots, so that's a nice treasure).

So...what about you...?

 

[up196]

I really can appreciate what you're saying. I'm in the Living History Corps at the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, and two incidents come to mind.

A year ago, we were doing British Airborne as part of an Operation Market-Garden program. One gentleman came up to one of the re-enactors and noted that the colors in his jump smock weren't as faded as he remembered. He was 14 when the action took place, and was living in Apeldoorn. He casually added that a bunch of teen-agers had stolen the optics off of a large number of German artillery pieces to prevent their use against the British.

The second incident involves a British Spitfire on display. It's a meticulously researched and restored aircraft that was actually flown to New Orleans and then hung from the ceiling of the Pavillion. One of the volunteers was talking with a visitor about it, and the man said he was a pilot and the Spitfire was a great plane. When the volunteer asked if he had flown Spits, the man replied "I flew that Spitfire right there." Sure enough, he is listed among the records that came with the plane!

You just never know . . .

 

[PrettyBigGuy]

Years ago I was talking with some co-workers of mine and somehow the topic turned to WWII. We started talking about our families' participation, if any, in the armed forces. I knew that two of my father's uncles had served in the army, and that one of them was killed in action after taking a piece of shrapnel in his back. The other made it home and I remember attending his funeral when I was in high school.
One of my co-workers told us that his grandfather, who was a german immigrant, worked as a spy for the U.S. Not only was he a spy, but he had gotten in so close to the Nazi inner circle when Berlin began to fall to the Allies, he PERSONALLY captured Herbert Himler! It sounded pretty unbelievable at first, but he went on to tell us that his grandmother, who is still living, kept letters that he had sent to her durring the war that are written on gestapo stationary. His grandfather grabbed a bunch of "souviniers" apparantly, including a Nazi tea set and Himlers nazi party ID card. His grandmother still has the tea set and a bunch of other stuff still stored away somewhere, but my co-worker did tell us that, sadly, his parents ran through some tough times finacially in the 60s and they sold the ID card to some collector.
Some tme later I related this story to my father, because it sounded so incredible to actually hear about an American spy. My father preceeded to tell me that the reason that his father (my grandfather) and his other brother (in addition to the 2 that served) didn't go to war, was because they were master machinists and were too valuable to send. At one point durring the war they were working on components for something that had to be so precise, that they were using pieces of paper as shims to get the calibration correct. It wasn't until years later that they found out that they were working on parts for the University of Chicago's contribution to the atomic bomb! Pretty amazing stuff,

 

[Forrestal]

Capturing Herbert Himmler must have been quite an accomplishment.

Second I would think, to capturing Heinrich Himmler. (Grins)

Regards,

Forrestal

 

[PrettyBigGuy]

My mistake. It was still a cool story though!

 

[PADDY]

"We" knew what you meant...

Cracking story too!

Not sure if I shared this with you guys, but about a year ago I was doing some research on my Uncle's Squadron (he was involved in bombing the Tirpitz and Scharnhorst German pocket battleships (before he was posted to the middle east).

A young girl from Scotland had set up a website in memory of her Uncle Archie who had been on these raids as a pilot http://mysite.freeserve.com/archie_bombercommand/1039zac.html#march1039zac

And..she had a photo on the site of a group of aviators, all named bar one. As a long shot I emailed the photo to my mum, and she said it was her brother Joe. None of the family had ever seen this photo of him, and it's a nice relaxed one with his mates.

He's the chap second from the left (as you look at it)..!

 

[jamespowers]

Geez Paddy, I am sure you have heard it before but---I see a striking family resemblance between your photos and that photo of your uncle.
Funny how the internet brings information to us even if it was 60 years later. Did you make a nice photo of it and frame it? That would be my first inclination.

Regards and thanks for sharing all,

J

 

[PADDY]

James, we sing from the same hymn sheet!

Very first thing I did was to print it out onto good photo paper and frame it.

I'm very nostalgic and romantic about family things, so this came naturally to me.

And 'yes' a few people have pointed out that there is a resemblance there between Uncle Joe and myself, so thanks for that! Spooky eh!

 

[Renderking Fisk]

My best memories of the times with my dad were spent checking out old Word War II artifacts with my dad. What stands out tonight is the trip we made to see two bombers that were flown in Eruope and The Pasific. You could walk around them and talk with some of the pilots who actually flew them.

 

[PADDY]

Met a German girl with a WW2 skeleton in her cupboard...

Few years back I was camping in Scotland, just me, the dog, the tent and nature!

On my homeward leg I had to stay in a more civilized campsite and pitched my canvas beside a tent housing a German girl and her two kids.

Being the socialble gent that I am! I got talking to them and somehow, inexplicably, the conversation drifted towards homes, family and the war (don't mention ZE WAR!!).

She told me that things at home with her parents had been all happy families until five years previously. She came from a 'well to do' family and had gone to school at one of Germany's top private boarding schools..etc (although she looked pretty 'new age' with the beads in the hair..etc).

She knew her father had service in the armed forces during the war (WW2). It was always promoted that he had been a junior officer in the Wermacht (Army). The SKELETON in the family cupboard was just a 'tad' more sinister.

She discovered somehow that he had actually been a full colonel in the Waffen SS. She approached him about this and he first of all denied it and then owned up to it.

She hasn't spoken to, or seen her father since then, when she left the family home. It didn't help either when her father learned that she had become pregnant by a Hungarian Gypsy.

Maybe some things are better off not known, what do you think?

 

[MikeyB17]

Reminds me..

of an episode in a fairly little-known but excellent book I have called 'Dynamite for hire', about a U-boat commander during WWII by the name of Hans Fehler, by no means a Nazi. Apparently before the war the Nazi party were recruiting heavily, including amongst seamen, (Fehler was on cargo ships at the time). They made it all sound terribly attractive so they all joined up. After that their time was never their own, all their free time was expected to be taken up with political discussions and meetings, recruitment and rallies, and they never got any time off! Fehler's solution was to join the SS! The SS had no marine division, so when he was at sea he was free of all the political stuff. He then began bunking off parades, etc. to study for his mate's examination, then he nipped off to sea again. By the time the SS caught up with him he had already joined the Navy! Just goes to show that fanatical devotion to the Fuhrer was not the only reason for joining the SS!

 

[dalea]

I remember years ago when I was going to the University of Iowa (an education is a terrible thing to waste), I befriended an old German gent who was a custodial engineer (janitor) a very mild mannered man with a heavy accent. I was shocked when I found out he was a Lufftwaffe ace. If only I can remember his name. He flew bf-109's if my memory serves me correctly. I do recall that he was never shot down and that he liked the challenge of going up against the p-51.

 

[PADDY]

Originally posted by dalea
I befriended an old German gent who was a custodial engineer (janitor) a very mild mannered man with a heavy accent. I was shocked when I found out he was a Lufftwaffe ace.

What a change in fortune for that elderely gentleman, from the heady days of him flying in an operational fighter squadron as a young buck, feeling like a King amongst men in a country that was conquering everything before it!

I wonder how he would have felt, if someone back then in the early 40s had told him that in 40 to 50 years time he would be working as a janitor in the USA for a college..?Scary, when you don't know what the future holds!

 

[dalea]

I also remember stories my father told me of his exploits in WWII. He was with the 101st airbore from the first drop in normandy to Bastogne where he was wounded. I remember many stories about his time in England, France and Holland. He is my number one hero. I remember one time when I was a young child he told me about D-day +1 he was crawling through a hedgerow and came upon a German soldier that was in close proximity to him. A knife fight ensued. All I could say was who won? I can almost feel the thump to my noggin to this day. Man I miss that guy.

 

[Jake]

New to the lounge

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I also have a story about (you never know who your talking to). I was at an Iowa airshow about '91 or '92 when I was watching a flight of B-25s. As I was admiring the planes, I noticed an eldery gentelman also watching with a knowing look in his eye. I walked over to him and asked if he had flown them in the war. He replied yes and that he was the pilot of the #2 plane on the Dolittle raid. His name was Travis Hoover, I almost dropped my jaw on the ground,I was so fortunate to be talking to this man. He seemed surprised and happy that someone remembered who he was and what he had done. I had him sign my program from the show and thanked him for eveything he had done. I recently read that he had passed on.

 

[The Crewchief]

Stories of Heros

I had a second cousin whom was just 23 years old with 2 children and a wife lose his life in Iraq about 4 months ago. I remember him as a very happy and active 5 year old and this was the last time I saw him. He exposed himself to sniper fire in order to help two soldiers who were down. Heros are born every minute and you can never tell who it is going to be. It has a lot to do with timing. Heros are scared just like everyone else but most who are serving together under fire form a very tight bond. It is not bravery that makes you risk your life for a buddy in combat. It is humanity and loyalty and friendship. These things are a reaction to someone who you care about being in danger. Ask any soldier what there main job is and they will tell you nothing about politics or tactics or medals, he will say he was there looking after his buddies...everytime.
Bless all of the heros, but remember....new ones are created each and everyday we fight the present war. We must take care of our boys comming home soon, they will need our understanding, respect and patience as they adjust to being home. They deserve the best America can give them, regardless of how we feel about the present conflict.
Off soapbox....thanks for listening.

 

[Burma Shave]

It's not just WWII...

...either. As a journalist, I've had opportunity to meet a number of people with stories to tell. One of my favorites:

On one of my routine drives around North Georgia looking for stories about five years ago, I stopped to give a ride to a very elderly lady on an old country road. Her name was Bessie Messimer, if I remember correctly. She was 101 years old. I set up an appointment for three days later (you can't wait too long, if a person is that old!) and showed up at her house with a tape recorder and camera. Her grandson (in his 60s) and a few other family members showed up, as well.

As I talked with Mrs. Messimer, she casually mentioned that her father was a soldier in the Civil War, that he had been captured several times by the North and escaped, that he later deserted and was captured by the South, and that long after the war he started making moonshine when he was, himself, quite elderly.

Her family members had never bothered to ask her questions like I was, and they were drop-jawed to hear these stories. After the interview, I made a copy of my tape for one of her great-grandsons, so he could have a transcript made. You never know what you'll find out if you ask the right questions, are willing to listen -- and if you give a ride to a little old lady.

 

[StraightRazor]

You might remember Stephen Ambrose's book 'D-Day', well, in it he recounts the oral history of a young paratrooper who dropped in with either the 82'nd or the 101'st the night before overlord. I wish I had the book in front of me now so I could recount his story, but I gave it to my cousin a couple years ago. Anyway, this particular young soldier's story stands out because he dropped down into a farmer's field and right into a cow pie. (Or maybe he had to take cover and dove right into one, my memory is a bit hazy on that.) Anyway, rewind to many years ago in high school history class. We were learning about WWII, and one day the teacher played for us all a tape recording by a fellow student's grandfather recounting this very story! I didnt think much of it at the time, but imagine my suprise years later picking up a copy of Ambrose's book and reading the very same story again! I went to school with his grandaughter.

 

[Mycroft]

My dad was not born, but...

my Great Uncle was somehow in WWII, I want to say an officer of some type. My Grandpa, worked in a plastics facotry during the war and was never drafted even though he was of age, it turned out he was building parts for the Atomic Bomb.

 

[Jake]

At the small airport I fly out of, there is a volunteer worker who flew B-26's out of Cosica in Italy. He only volunteers on Wendsdays so I try to be sure I'm there on those days so I can coax more stories out of him. I can sit for hours and listen to what he has to say. He has told me his whole story from when he started basic flight training to ferring his plane across the south Alantic to Africa then up to Cosica. Fininshing up with his return home on a tanker that was converted to a troop carrier. Just before leaving Italy, they destroyed all the B-26s with a bulldozer rather than bring them back to the states. ..Jake