WWII Photos (and Stories) of Our Loved Ones

[PADDY]

PREVIOUS TITLE: Photo corner & personal stories to salute our loved ones in uniform...

IT'S obvious how proud many of us here are of those relations who took up arms (some to pay the ulitmate price with their life) to give us the chance of a relatively free society that many take for granted. I feel it would be an honour to see some of the photos you cherish of your loved ones in uniform as young men or women.

I understand that by default this is a predominately WWII section here, but as it's vintage and we get enough questions and information shared about other 'not too distant vintage conflicts,' it seems only fair and downright neccessary to extend this thread back to the doughboy era of WW1 and upto Korea. Thanks for your support and interest with this guys!

I love this shot of my Uncle Joe at RAF Leeming (Yorkshire) in 1941, as it is so informal and shows the camaderie of these young blokes. Shortly after this they moved temporarily up to East Scotland to take part on the bombing of the German battleship "Tirpitz" that was moored in a Fjord in Norway.

Following "Tirpitz," he was shipped out to the middle east to bomb targets around the Med. My research has shown (speaking to an 84-year-old man who was in the plane behind) that Joe's plane was attacked by several ME 109 fighters and shot down. Only three lads got out alive. He was lucky to be picked up by a Cretan who was in the resistance. They were working with SOE (Brit equiv of OSS). Joe worked with SOE for approx 12 months on the island and this is a pic of some of his mates (he's bottom left, with the dog).

For various actions he was decorated with the DFM and MM at Buckingham Palace by King George VI and commissioned.

I miss this guy, because once they are gone, so are many of the memories and emotions and feelings of those times, that no amount of research can ever recapture. "Uncle Joe, I cherish the pints we had at the Red Lion and will miss you very much. Enjoy your R&R up on Cloud 9 and I'll catch you later."

I look forward to your photos, ladies and gentlemen.

 

[PADDY]

The sad thing is about family photos...

So many of those old treasured photos of loved ones in uniform have been lost, thrown out or destroyed over the years, as many folk, unlike us, do not attach any great wealth of value to them. A case of "what is done, is done, and let the sleeping dogs lie..." Thankfully, by hook and by crook, I have managed to save 'some' of the family pics. I say "some," as sadly many of them have gone for good. Often, an old photo and an unkempt gravestone, is all that is left to mark the fact that we ever walked upon this earth of ours...

 

[Big Man]

My Dad, Bill Brown, Jr., at the end of his basic training at Keesler Field, Biloxi, MS.

... and a couple of months later somewhere near Bridgewater, England. Dad was a crewman on a C-47.

By the way, does any one have any good "nose art" photos from other C-47's?

 

[Hondo]

Hey "Big Man" great photo of your Dad, what year was that taken?
I think we should start a thread on reg. soldier/sailors they all played a part, support role, not every one is an Audie Murphy type of guy, but heros come from all walks of life. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Big Man]

I think I recall him saying he was at Keesler Field in the summer of 1943. He went to Europe in Jan/Feb 1944 I believe.

 

[jake431]

My Grandpa

My Grandfather in 1943-44. He flew B-24's in the 431st BS, 11th BG, 7th AF as a co-pilot (frustrated fighter pilot). 30 missions Here's a picture that I think nicely captures the stresses of combat flying.

And here he was, Christmas of 2003. He was 88.

-Jake

 

[PADDY]

Big Man and Jake...

Big Man and Jake, what great photos for you to cherish! Jake, your grand-dad looks great for his age, and you can still see the glimmer of that young man in his face! Jake and BigMan, you both must be proud to have those pics, display them with pride. Often for us to have an inkling of where we are heading to as people in the future, it helps to know the stock we come from. Looks like you two have quite abit of true grit running through your veins. I really appreciate you sharing those.

 

[jake431]

Thanks Paddy. I wish I had a little more of my Grandfather's blood in me - at 5'11", I'm the shortest Hennes. He was 6'2", 6'1" when he was 88. My Dad, my Uncle, all taller than me. Oh well.

-Jake

 

[Big Man]

Thanks, too, Paddy.

My Dad is 82 years old and not in the best of health these days (although don't tell him that!). I am eternally grateful for all he and others of my family have done to win and secure our freedom.

There have been only two generations in my family that have not had to be in a war. My fourth great-grandfather was in the Revolution, my third great-grandfather was in the War of 1812, my great-great-grandfather was "between wars", my great-grandfather was in the War Between the States (fought on both sides - interesting story!), my grandfather was in the Spanish-American War, my Dad was in WW 2, I missed Viet Nam by one year, and both my sons were active duty Army until just a couple of months ago. I'm hoping my grandson (who is 4 years old now) will be the be the third generation who will be spared the horrors of war.

 

[Hondo]

Thanks Paddy. I wish I had a little more of my Grandfather's blood in me - at 5'11", I'm the shortest Hennes. He was 6'2", 6'1" when he was 88. My Dad, my Uncle, all taller than me. Oh well.

-Jake

Jake, Size does not matter (theres a joke somewhere in there) 5'11" isn't short, I stand over 6'1", my Dad is 5'11". Grand Father looks like the actor Kirk Douglas, looks outstanding dude.
I feel honored to be in such company with all. Tribute is one of the greatest honors we can give, for real war isn't fun and games but survival. I forgot who said this "War is Hell" Real heros are the ones who never came home.
I missed Viet nam due to accident, have two brothers who are VN vets. Like some of you, just born the wrong time, WWII for all who served was our proudest time, Thank a Vet.

 

[Danny L]

Great topic.

My uncle flew as a Radio Operator/Waist Gunner on B-24s in the Pacific. He flew with the 90th BG (Jolly Rogers), 319th BS (Asterperious).

First picture, he's in bottom right corner. Picture was taken in San Francisco the day before flying out to the theater. Two of the guys in the photo sadly never made it home. They never made it out of the aircraft when they had to ditch over water.

Second picture is the tail of my uncles B-24J. Tail #344 before they ditched it in the sea.

Third is a great shot in color of their aircraft taking off. Again, same aircraft they went down in.

I sure do miss my late uncle. He was so proud of me when I decided to join the Air Force. He never talked about his experiences to anyone, not even his own kids till I joined the Air Force. Somehow it made him open up.

All in all, I have a grandfather that served in WW1, three uncles in WW2, Father in Korea, two more uncles in Vietnam and myself in Desert Storm, and Kosovo.

Interesting note- My German wife had MANY relatives serve in the German Army in WW2. Only one servived. Got to speak with him only once before he passed away. He drove Panzer IV in Grossdeutschland Panzer Division in Russia and finally in the Bulge where he was wounded badly. My wifes parents were in their teens during the war and have some REALLY crazy stories about life in a war zone. :cry:

 

[PADDY]

Firstly, welcome to the forum Danny!

Sounds like you come from quite a military family and are carrying on that tradition of service. Often, through the years, photos of family become lost or damaged, so it's great that you still have photos like those of your grandfather's to remember him by. Sometimes when we look at these elderely folk, we forget that just under the skin, is still a young fella beating away! The shell might be a bit more battered when you hit 70 or 80, but the spirit is still of a young lion!
Those are great photos Danny, and I'm sure I speak for the rest of the group here that we feel honoured by you posting them up for us to see. If you have anymore, then keep them flying!
Oh, I had a B10 jacket with the insignia of your grandfather's BS and BG! Can you imagine that? Sadly I sold it a number of months back (see attached), but that would have been a good one for you.
Hope to hear from you in many more posts.

And as some of the fellas will testify to, this is one of my favourite pics of Carole Landis modelling an A-2 whilst visiting the troops. Wonder if your grandfather ever got to see her?...

 

[Jake]

Jake, Paddy, Big Man, Danny, thanks for all the pictures. I can't get enough of this stuff. You all must very proud of your families contributions to our freedom. Keep posting, I'll keep reading......Jake

 

[Danny L]

Paddy, thanks for the kind thoughts. I'm definately the strange one of the family. I started reading WW2 books when I was around six or seven. Still have a huge library of books. Not sure why, but I was just facinated with anything military!

It really upsets me these days that younger generations just don't understand what our older generations went through. I know guys that can't even tell me approximately when Pearl Harbor was bombed! Not even what dates WW2 was!

I remember your B-10 jacket. You posted a picture of it on another board. When I finally do get a B-10, I'm debating if I should put the same patches you had on yours which are the same Group and Squadron my uncle was in. Thanks for sharing Paddy. Oh yeah, I too agree, Carole Landis was HOT!!!

 

[CODDCOMMANDO]

HI THERE, LADS AND LASSIES I AM NEW TO YOUR FORUM AND ENJOYED READING ABOUT RELATIVES WHO FOUGHT OVER HERE IN UK DURING WW2,
SO I THOUGHT I WOULD PUT ON A PICTURE OF MY UNCLE [WHO I NEVER KNEW AS I WAS BORN OVER 20 YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE CONFLICT]
FLT ENG BOB GILBERT NUMBER 9 [PATHFINDER SQUADRON ] R.A.F KILLED IN ACTION MARCH 1943 OVER HOLLAND,

I WILL SORT SOME CRASH SITE PICS OUT WHEN I GET CHANCE

 

[PADDY]

Welcome Codd..!

Shrewsbury is not a million miles away from an old haunting ground of mine Codd. I spent many fine yomps up in the Brecons going up a peak called Pen-y-Fan (we called it the Fan Dance!, could be a killer dependent on the weather and distance we had done up to that point and I can still almost remember some of the horrific blisters I picked up there!! ouch!). Spent a wee bit of time around Hereford and that fine area and have some fond memories (early 80s).
Anyway! good to have you on board! Does your family have any mementoes of your uncle from his RAF days? like personal pics, kit, letters, medals..etc? Have you done any research on him via public records, MOD ..etc?
Thanks for posting, good to have another link to the RAF here :cheers1:

 

[jake431]

Jake, Paddy, Big Man, Danny, thanks for all the pictures. I can't get enough of this stuff. You all must very proud of your families contributions to our freedom. Keep posting, I'll keep reading......Jake

I am very proud and I thankful that my Grandfather was willing to share his experiences, journal, photos and valuable souvenirs with me when he had the chance. I was fortunate enough to be able to get him in touch with the nephew of his Navigator. My Grandfather's crew was shot down, captured and excecuted(http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-24/42-73013.html - although my Grandfather never called the plane by the name here - his journal refers to is as "old #013" and only does so once, and his journal says the mission took off on the 28th, not the 29th.) by the Japanese while my Grandfather was ill (G.I.'s... not usually a fortunate thing), so he never had a chance to meet his uncle. My Grandfather talked to him on the phone and was very happy he could do that for him. The internet is a wonderful thing.

-Jake

 

[The Wingnut]

My great - great - great uncle is the man seated in the front row fourth from the right. He was a colonel in the USAAF at the time of the photo and later became a brigadier general. Searches online revealed that on Jun 3, 1924, First Lieutenant Alfred J. Lyon was assigned to the 27th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field, MI. Later that year in October he took command of the squadron after his squadron leader was killed in the crash of the Verville-Sperry Racer at Wright Field, Ohio, at the start of Pulitzer Trophy Race.

Uncle Alfie was the lead technical liason and observer from the 8th Air Force to Great Britain under Hap Arnold. He was directly responsible for examining the Whittle jet engine and reporting back his findings, later spearheading the project to bring the technology stateside.

Here's where details get sketchy. Accoring to my grandpa, his great nephew, he died after exiting the heated compartment in the aircraft that he was flying an observation mission in. One of the gunners on board the aircraft was hit, and Alfred manned the gun, sans high-altitude gear, for the remainder of the mission...he later died in a hospital of pneumonia as a result.

The liberty ship Nathaniel J. Scudder was named after him when it was converted into a top secret aircraft supply and repair depot ship as a part of Operation Ivory Soap. The ship saw extensive service in the Pacific theater, island hopping and servicing airfields. I have found no record of her ever being scrapped..it's quite possible that's she's still afloat somewhere in mothballs.

I found a picture of his headstone a while back, but I wasn't able to find it again...should have saved it!

I do, however, have one very important piece of history. His wings, sent to me by my grandpa. They're very early wartime pattern N.S. Meyer Command Pilot wings with a pinback.

I need to somehow get his DD-214.

 

[PADDY]

Jake & AJ and the rest of you fine fellows...thank you for sharing...

SOME things on this forum, from time-to-time just seem to hit a nerve with me. This thread, unusally, has had that effect a couple of times now. Thinking of loved ones who were in the military and are no longer with us can raise a number of personal and private emotions within us.
I'll not belabour this guys, but in short, I feel honoured and humbled that so many of you can share your family in some small way with us here.

At times like this, I feel there is a kindred spirit among us, that in some small way disolves the oceans and space between us, and makes us a 'band of brothers.'

 

[airfrogusmc]

My father is the sailor carrying colors. He was in the 111 Construction Battalion and was on Omaha Beach H+6. (6 hours after the initial landing)