World War Two History

[BrunswickDawg]

I can remember growing listening in awe of my grandfather's stories from WW2 as a marine anti-aircraft gunner in task force 38. But after he passed away while I was in high school I thought I would never get to know more about what he and his fellow ship service marines did during the Occupation of Japan. Well I still have a lot to learn but I have found a lot on information to fill in some of the gaps. So please enjoy a few links to learn about the first occupiers of Japan. The United States Marine Corps (with some Navy and Royal Navy personnel)

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a438971.pdf

http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Pu...9000411500.pdf

Grew up with that same awe with my grandfather and his 6 brothers who all served. Granddaddy was 3rd wave at Omaha, captured near St. Lo, escaped by tackling a guard and propelling both off a prison train, and made it through to the Elbe River. 1 brother was a tank commander in North Africa, 1 was at Pearl, 1 survived a year shipwrecked in the Pacific hiding in caves from the Japs, and one was too old for the Air Corp and went Canada and lied about his age and joined the RAF. I wish I had been a little older before they started dying and I could have interviewed them more formally. I still heard wild stuff as a kid.

A couple of tips for more info - get his service records, the research his unit. A lot of units published unit histories shortly after the war with incredible pictures. I have my grandfathers.

[Bully13]

Grew up with that same awe with my grandfather and his 6 brothers who all served. Granddaddy was 3rd wave at Omaha, captured near St. Lo, escaped by tackling a guard and propelling both off a prison train, and made it through to the Elbe River. 1 brother was a tank commander in North Africa, 1 was at Pearl, 1 survived a year shipwrecked in the Pacific hiding in caves from the Japs, and one was too old for the Air Corp and went Canada and lied about his age and joined the RAF. I wish I had been a little older before they started dying and I could have interviewed them more formally. I still heard wild stuff as a kid.

A couple of tips for more info - get his service records, the research his unit. A lot of units published unit histories shortly after the war with incredible pictures. I have my grandfathers.

This thread is starting to rock. Thank you all for sharing.