I don't mean Vietnam, or the Gulf. Nor Korea, or 'The War To End All Wars.' Whenever anyone mentions 'The War' at a Benson Family Reunion, there's only one War they're talking about.
World War II.
My Grandfather -- George C. Benson -- had sixteen brothers and sisters. Two brothers served in Europe in WWI, and my Grandfather -- a Captain in the National Guard -- landed in Europe a few weeks after D-Day. He doesn't talk about what happened over there much, but the top half of his ear is still over there somewhere.
Other Great-Uncles and assorted Cousins also served in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. My mother's father (he died before I was born, so it's hard to think of him as 'grandpa') went to Pearl Harbor after the attack and ran a Navy supply depot. Ironicly, quite a few cousins of his -- his parents came over from Germany after World War I -- served in the Germany army.
I don't think I've ever known anyone as strong as my Grandpa -- I've got great memories of him cutting paths through the woods on his farm in his mid-eighties. He's in his late nineties now, having outlived all his brothers and sisters (the first of whom died in a trench in France so many years ago). It doesn't cease to amaze me with such reverence they speak about Franklin D. Roosevelt (my grandfather to this day refuses to believe he couldn't walk), General Eisenhower, and the men they served with.
What did your ancestors do during the War?
[ November 05, 2001: Message edited by: Malnurtured Snay ]
posted
My grandfather fought the Japanese and China Communists.
He didn't really avoid the topic of WWII and the fightings he's been in, but he did forbid me to went professional military.
According to him, he's got some pretty close encounters, but amazingly, he came out of all these war without a single scratch.
After retreating to Taiwan, he was in charge of a island very close to China mainland where he organized special recons deep into mainland with Taiwanese army special units.
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posted
I think my grandfather was part of the resistance group in the Philippines but I'm not sure. I'll have to ask my grandmother when I see her later this week.
-------------------- "It speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow, it's not all going to be over with a big splash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans." -Gene Roddenberry about Star Trek
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posted
Well, I know my paternal grandfather was in the US Army Air Force, and I think he was somewhere around India, at least for a while. Other than that, I don't know.
My maternal grandfather was in the US Marine Corps, on a ship at Okinawa. A kamikaze plane crashed into it, and he had to jump overboard, injuring his back. After that, he was part of the occupation force in China.
As a matter of fact, this link has a picture of the airplane-shaped hole in the side of the ship...
posted
My father's father served as an ambulance driver in the swedish readiness forces. Our hundred year lasting neutrality notwithstanding, there were some bad times in Sweden as well, especially at the border to norway.
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MIB
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posted
I know my grand father served in Europe during WW2. One my ancestors was a rum smuggler in Australia while it was still a prison colony. Hey! The inmates needed rum! What can I say? I also have ancestors that were part of the Catabwa (spelling?) tribe of Native Americans.
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Shik
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A shitload of foraging & gathering, I'd imagine.
I would think that somewhere back in the line, some of my ancestors were dying in showers & ovens. Others closer up to my twiglike nature in the tree were no doubt shopping a lot in New York.
I never bothered asking anyone. Everyone of then is dead, & anyone who's not I'm not much in the mood for talking with.
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posted
My grandfathers were on opposite sides. Not the same theaters though thankfully. I'd hate for them to have had to shoot each other before my parents were concieved.
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My maternal grandfather was a Seargeant during WW2, stationed at a base in Mississippi. His brother was killed in the invasion of Normandy. My paternal grandfather drove jeeps in Europe. He never spoke a word about it to anyone after he came back. Not one word.
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posted
My father served as a second lieutenant in the US Army Air Corp during World War II. He was stationed at a base in Australia, I believe. He didn't see any action during the war. During a flight, the engine on his airplane failed, and he and his plane crashed into a barn. My dad broke his an arm and a collarbone, I think. This was around 1942 or so. His brother served in the US Navy during World War II. I can't remember which ship or rank, however. I know that he wasn't at Pearl Harbor on December 7th. He was part of the occupying forces for the small islands in the Pacific (nope, can't remember for certain either). My dad's other brother also served in the US Army, but he was a medic and not a soldier.
As an interesting side note, I was rustling through some stuff in my room this weekend and found the enlistment document for my paternal great-grandfather. He served in the Union Army during the US Civil War.
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posted
I honestly don't know what they did, much less who my ancestors were.
The only ancestor I do know of is my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Aleksandr Pushkin. Well give or take a great.
I know my grandmother was just a child during WWII. Fled Russia just before the rise of the Soviet Union to France. Where, years later, met my grandfather, an American Air Force officer. After my mom was born in Paris, they came to America.
That's pretty much it.
[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: Hobbes ]
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