WWII Memories Thread

With today being the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor I thought this might be nice to share. My grandpa, Stan Wheeler passed away earlier this year and I was digging around to find anything from him online. I was really close with my Grandpa. He was given the honor of going to Washington DC with myself as his guardian on an Honor Flight out of PDX. Where we toured the WWII Memorial and various other memorials in the area.

I found this article in his church bulletin from the church's 100th anniversary in 2009 and thought I would share his memory of where he was when he heard about Pearl Harbor.

My grandpa served in the Coast Guard as a Radioman II on Saipan and Iwo Jima, building/working to keep Loran radio stations operational for airplane navigation. His role in the war helped many bomber pilots get back safe to landing zones instead of falling victim to grips of the Pacific Ocean.




Thanks to all who have served.

Here are some pics our Honor Flight trip.

At the WWII Memorial:


Marine Corps War Memorial


The group of Veteran we took:


Meeting a younger generation of Vets outside the Lincoln Memorial:


(Not to make this an advertisement, I'm not affiliated with the group)

I encourage any of you who know of a WWII/Korean/Vietnam veteran to look into the Honor Flight program. The flight is free for veterans and the cost for the guardian is approx. $1200. (that's what it was for me, traveling from Portland, Or to D.C., obviously that will vary.) It was a great time to connect with WWII veterans and hear their stories.

https://www.honorflight.org/

Anyone else have a story from Pearl Harbor or WWII to share? I'd love to hear them!

-Aaron

 

This was my wife's Uncle Jack Furey. He was a Patrol Bomber crewmember and flew off the USS Yorktown in WWII. He is listed on the Yorktown's Wall of Fame.




This was my father-in-law, Peter Favini. He entered WWII towards the end and ended up teaching aerial gunnery in Oklahoma and later aboard ship after the war ended.




And, this was my Dad. He enlisted in the Marines in June 46 when he graduated from HS. The picture is from boot camp at Parris Island. He was high shooter in his platoon and the picture was sent to our local newspaper - where my grandmother was a proofreader so I have the original photo and press release. I'm still looking for that M1 Garand - Springfield Armory SN 2860035. He never deployed from the US for WWII but remained in the USMCR and was activated and served in Korea.

 

Awesome stuff guys.

I have no photos but my grandfather landed at Omaha beach, Normandy on D-Day. Was in four major engagements. My other grandfather was in the army also and taught new recruits how to use the M1 Garand.

Both past away when I was 12.. Damn that was 23 yeas ago.. I remember the funerals the 21 gun salutes and military personnel around I really didn't know what was going on at that age..

 

So glad to see this thread.

 

My grandfather served in the coastguard as well, he never told me many stories of what he did, his ship, the LST 66 ( he said it stood for Long Slow Target) was hit by a kamikaze somewhere by New Guinea. This is him manning a deck gun.

 

Awesome thread. Thanks to all who serve and served.

My Grandfather was part of a squad responsible for transporting captured high ranking German officers from the front. Never talked about it much but heard a lot stories from my Grandmother.

The Greatest Generation, no doubt.

 

I always wanted to be an AA gunner on a destroyer or cruiser.

 

I helped a few times at the memorial...when I was active duty stationed in MD. Dont forget to register your loved one if you havent already...

https://www.wwiimemorial.com/

 

Another group is the British Commandos

 

Also as far as documentaries go World War 2 In color is my favorite by far

 

That's good, but you can't beat Victory at Sea..

 

Friends at SmugMug Films are in HI now finishing an project on the 75th anniversary. The short film will be released tomorrow (the 9th-they literally finished filming on the 7th). Here's a trailer if you're interested.

 

Looks good. When my 6 yr old came home from school yesterday I asked her about Pearl. She didn't know what I was talking about. I was shocked, they didn't even mention it.

 

I like this picture!

 

I'm not surprised. 6 might be a bit young for that.

 

Another great find I discovered this year, The only Coast Guard serviceman to receive the Medal of Honor is buried in Cle Elum, Wa. just off I-90. We drive by this several times a year and stop off in town for groceries for camping. but this year I was determined to stop and visit and it was really nice!

Here is Douglas A. Munro's story:
https://www.uscg.mil/history/people/munrodouglasindex.asp

I'll have to share some photos from my visit. It's very easy to find and just off the highway. I think it hides in plain sight sometimes. But well worth stopping in to pay respects if you're passing through.

Address:
Laurel Hill Memorial Cemetery
Cle Elum, WA 98922

 

They learned about 9/11..