Memorial Day memories

MarcieB

Hi, everyone! I have been unable to access this site for the last (almost) month! I will tell you my family stories another time. Today I am challenging everyone to tell me the names of people in your family who have served our country and deserve to be honored today. Last names are not necessary, but please tell us how and when they served? I will begin.

MarcieB

Arthur Wood (Wood was his middle name) - my father served in the army in WWII, Both the European and South Seas theaters. He became the company translator when serving in Germany because he knew conversational German from having lived with his German grandmother in the house since he was a boy.

James - my uncle also served in the army during WWII and was part of the company that liberated the prison camp, Dachau. He was the radio communicator and went into radio when he returned to civilian life.

William Robert - my first husband served in the navy on the USS Duluth, a helicopter landing ship, and saw a lot of action in the two years he was in Viet Nam

William Scott - my friend who served in the marines and was in Viet nam during the siege on Kaison - very awful.

Heros to me!

legaljen1969

Emory Martin- my grandmother's brother who served in WW2.

Battlecat- a guy who served with my husband in Desert Storm. He and my husband were very close and they were together when he was killed. I don't know his real name, because my husband always just called him Battlecat. This was before my husband and I met.

I am fortunate that I do not know many people personally who have died in combat. I know plenty who have been there, but few that gave their life on the field of battle (or in the infantry, or serving in the support roles related to combat).

All who have given their lives in service to our country should be honored today.

Bengal

Sorry to see more folks haven't posted here. My mother's 3 brothers, Storrs and Milton in the army and Robert , navy, all served in WWII era. My father's oldest brother Raymond actually served in France in WWI. He was in the medical corp.

My father's cousin Stanley did aerial recognizance over China in WWII. Very dangerous.

My great grandfather's brother served in the NY Volunteers in the American Civil War and was woundeded in the Battle of the Wilderness.

A great great, great grandfather fought in the American Revolution.

I had cousins who served in the Navy and the Marines. So may have done there part to secure this nation for Democracy. Everyone should have the right and opportunity to vote.

legaljen1969

Bengal, I too wish more people had posted on this thread. I wish more people were posting in WN in general.

Please keep posting. Everyone that comes back is another link in the chain.

Molly72

My partner was in the Navy during Vietnam, he still has issues about the way the men & women who returned were treated. He also is bothered by loud fireworks from uncaring neighbors.
My uncle was also in the Navy during WW2.
A great, maybe great great grandfather was with Sherman during the Civil War (Sorry Legaljen!)

legaljen1969

Molly, The Civil War was over LONG before I was born, so no cause for me to be bitter about you saying your relative was with Sherman. I married someone from Ohio, so I am pretty used to taking a little kidding. It may surprise you to know that some people in geographically southern states actually opposed the ideology of the Confederacy and fought for the Union Army. It may further surprise you to know that a vast majority of people who live in the southern states today have little to no connection to any policies or ideologies espoused by the Confederacy.

As the niece of my uncle Emory who was a fallen Marine, the daughter of a Marine (just did two tours before Vietnam really heated up) and the wife of a retired Marine who has seen combat and done many peacekeeping missions while on deployment, it is appalling to me how people were treated when they returned from Vietnam. There was absolutely no excuse to be treated that way.

I did not mention my husband in the post because he did not lose his life in combat, or to a combat related condition. I only mentioned a couple of people we knew that were to be memorialized.

As to the fireworks, I am sorry that is bothersome to your partner. I know that is the case with a lot of veterans. It is unfortunate for sure. My husband and many others we know who have returned from combat zones have the same issues with loud fireworks. We know, though, that there is no intent from OUR neighbors to cause undue stress and anxiety. We don't hide my husband's service, but there is nothing that is really overt in our yard to indicate his service. Most of our neighbors came to his retirement ceremony and party in 2004 and many still live nearby. My point being that if someone moved into the neighborhood and didn't know we lived there and they started to shoot fireworks, there is no way we could hold them responsible for being uncaring. That is just us though.

Anyhow, thank you to those in your life who answered the call and served the country.

Carool

I’m late here but:

I have a small family. My uncles Abe and Norman fought in WW2. This is on my mother’s side, born here.

My father’s side was in Vienna or Poland until the Holocaust. And my mother’s parents were in Russia until her parents fled here before she and her brothers were born here.