WWII Photos (and Stories) of Our Loved Ones

RedShoesGirl · Dec 10, 2006

WWII in south america

i am not sure what my dad was doing, but he spent most of WWII in south america; brazil, nicuaragua, etc. i have his military records and they are rather obscure sounding, courier, flying off to far away places delivering pieces of radar and or other things. he was in radio communications and always told us he had something to do with codes. of course to us kids he must have been some sort of spy!

1945 Natal, Brazil

roberts%2C%20ben%20natal%20brazil%201945.jpg

San Fernando Island, about the same time period

out of uniform in Montevideo (i posted this in an old photo thread in the powder room too) love the suit and the attitude!

he was career air force and spent time in korea during the war there, indochina (pre-vietnam) and iceland.

he was in charge of the radar installation at Tachikawa Japan and that's where he was promoted from Captain to Major. he has been gone since 1962.

rsg

Dixon Cannon · Dec 10, 2006

My Dad, USMC Nicaragua c.1925

-dixon cannon

Dixon Cannon · Dec 10, 2006

His brother Ed, Guadalcanal 1942

Gen. Vandergrift's staff. Col. Edmund J. Buckley dead center, second row.

-dixon cannon

RedShoesGirl · Dec 10, 2006

Dixon Cannon said:
-dixon cannon

you look just like him!

Mojave Jack · Dec 10, 2006

Those are great pics, DC and RSG! Dixon, that shot of your dad in Nicaragua is awesome. That period of Marine Corps history is a fascinating one, filled with really colorful personalities.

Story · Dec 11, 2006

RedShoesGirl said:
of course to us kids he must have been some sort of spy!
rsg

RSG,
Little known today, but South America was riddled with Japanese spies during WWII. I think you might enjoy getting this book through inter-library loan:

Mercado, Stephen C. The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army's Elite Intelligence School. Dulles, VA: Brassey's, 2002.

Jonkers, AFIO WIN 30-02, 29 Jul. 2002, notes that the Nakano School provided training in "intelligence collection, propaganda and irregular warfare." The author is "a former CIA analyst and Asia expert," whose work "sheds light on a special niche of intelligence activities in World War II and postwar Japanese affairs."

For Seamon, Proceedings, Nov. 2002, the author "manages to keep his scholarly report moving through a sea of Japanese names that could well drown a non-Japanese-speaking reader."

Nish, I&NS 18.1, says that "[t]his is an intriguing book,... packed with interesting facts.... It is well-grounded in Japanese sources and research in the American archives.... Mercado provides a comprehensive survey of an important element in prewar Japan's Army intelligence network."

To Bath, NIPQ 19.3, "[t]hat portion of Shadow Warriors dealing with the post-surrender period and the relationship between the American military government and the remaining Nakano graduates is of particular interest." The author traces the influence of the Nakano "old boys" well into the postwar years.

Peake, Studies in Intelligence 48.4 (2004), comments that "n addition to being an interesting and impressive work, The Shadow Warriors of Nakano is the only scholarly account of this subject in English and thus a unique contribution to the intelligence literature."

Fletch · Dec 11, 2006

A close family friend and eyewitness to history passed this year.

Born in 1915 into the Knopf publishing family, Alvin M. Josephy Jr. was one of the first Marine combat correspondents. As a S/Sgt with the 3rd Division he saw and reported action on Guadalcanal, Guam and Iwo Jima - at one point hitting the beach with Springfield rifle and 30 lb of wire recorder. Shortly after the war he recounted these campaigns in a memorable book, The Long and the Short and the Tall.

In later years Alvin became editor in chief of American Heritage magazine, and one of the premier historians of the American Indian. He spent nearly every summer with the Nez Perce on their lands in eastern Oregon. He lived a hearty and seemingly ageless life till his sudden and swift fall to cancer at 90.

LadyDeWinter · Dec 20, 2006

Hello,

I am not sure if it is allowed to show a person in a German uniform if not, feel free to delete the post.
Here is my uncle Willi. He disappeared in 1944 on Crimea in Russia and nobody knows what happened to him. My grandmother (his sister) was very sad about it, she had a very close relationship to her brother. Here he is:

Harp · Dec 20, 2006

It is unfortunate that your uncle did not return from the Crimea.
War's sorrow affects all sides to conflict.

Hondo · Dec 20, 2006

Very True Harp. I don‚Äôt believe its wrong to add your photo, and I feel for your family, but‚Ä¶he was in with German army, with the Nazi‚Äôs calling the shots, I would consider it a blessing not to know what happened to him in Russia, just recall the good times.
The era was filled full of hate, Russia really had it with Germany in WWII.
Its nice photo and I thank you for sharing.

GOK · Dec 20, 2006

Gosh Sabine, he looked so young. So tragic.

PADDY · Apr 26, 2007

What a great thread showing your loved ones in uniform

I've just read through ALL of this thread again. What fine photographs :eusa_clap

RAF Man · Apr 26, 2007

LadyDeWinter said:
Hello,

I am not sure if it is allowed to show a person in a German uniform if not, feel free to delete the post.
Here is my uncle Willi. He disappeared in 1944 on Crimea in Russia and nobody knows what happened to him. My grandmother (his sister) was very sad about it, she had a very close relationship to her brother.

LadyDeWinter it is not wrong to show the photograph. Everyone is somebodies loved one, what ever side you were on. It is only a matter of chance in which national boundaries that we all find ourselves born within a particular country. However, wrong the attrocities that were carried out by the nazis, fascists, communists etc we now have no right to take away or condemn someones personal tragedy or loss that was just as real for a German family as it was for say a British or American family.
The politicians were the real criminals and most paid for their war crimes in the courts after the war.
Had anyone of us been born and lived in that country we would have had to go along and agree with the party line, in fact we would not have known what was going on in that country until after the war ended.
It's just a case of there but for the grace of God go I.
Be proud of your Uncle, he was only doing what he was told to, by his superiors. He could not do anything else.
Just another sad tragic loss of a young life that war will always highlight.

PADDY · Apr 26, 2007

Uncle Joe.

First pic is photoshopped of me and my Uncle Joe (when he was stationed at RAF Leeming in the early 40's).

Second one is him after being decorated by King George VI at Buckingham Palace for his work with SOE on Crete.

Third is when he was working with SOE on Crete (he's the chap kneeling on far left petting the dog).

RAF Man · Apr 26, 2007

Great photos, could spend all day loooking at shots like these.

PADDY · Apr 26, 2007

Lady DeWinter honoured me.

By allowing me access to these very personal family photographs of her loved ones who served in uniform during WWII.

I absolutely adore the photo of Willi and Hanni (what a beautiful name!) on their wedding day. What a lovely looking couple and what a frightening time to be getting married, not knowing what the future might hold!

Thankyou so much Sabine for sharing these with me and now with your friends on The Lounge here

Photo (Heinrich.jpg):
This photo shows her uncle Karl Hofmann (on the right hand side) he was her granddad's brother.

Photo (Hanni_Willy.jpg):
This is uncle Wilhelm Wyrembek (Sabine's grandma's brother) and his wife Hanni. She doesn't know when this was taken, but what a lovely photo of two young people in love during very difficult times.

Photo (Onkel Willi Krim):
This is uncle Willi during WWII. He was warrant officer class II .This photo was taken on the Crimea. Uncle Willi disappeard in 1944 on the Crimea and nobody knew what happened to him. It's so sad. He died a very young man.

BeBopBaby · Apr 26, 2007

I have a picture of my husband's grandfather and his B-17 crew (he was the ball turret gunner) standing in front of their B-17 that I've been dying to post.

PADDY · Apr 26, 2007

Post Away!!

Looking forward to seeing this photo of the B-17 and its' crew!! :eusa_clap

LadyDeWinter · Apr 27, 2007

Paddy, thank you so much for posting the pictures.

Spitfire · Apr 27, 2007

Thank you all for sharing these personal pictures. Especially thank you to Sabine. "After a war, there are no winners and looser. Only the dead and the surviving".
I know, that I - somewhere among my belongings - have some photos of my father as a very handsome young man in the resistance. Photos taken on may 4th and 5th 1945. When Denmark became free again...I will try to find them. Promise.

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