Do you have a military history in your family?

[Milspec]

I don't any history beyond my Grandfather, before that our family was still in England.

My Grandfather served with Patton in WW2 as a mechanic. He was wounded twice and walked with a limp his entire life that I knew him. When Patton crossed the Rhine into Germany, a photographer for Time Life Magazine was with the group. The photographer's Jeep broke down and my Grandfather agreed to repair it quickly if he could have his picture taken as the column crossed the river. So, he fixed the Jeep and jumped onto an open bed truck to pose for the picture....he is the one standing on the right with the helmet on.

My Father (standing by the car to the right) served in Vietnam with the Air Force as a crewman on aircraft that dropped agent Orange. He became the first person identified with ulcerative colitits in the country and was given last rights before an experimental surgery. He had dated a girl a few times before becoming ill and his buddy convinced her to travel to the hospital to see him. She was actually dating another guy at the time and only went out with my Father because he was a good dancer and looked like Elvis, but from his death bed, he asked her if she would marry him if he survived? The doctors said he had about a 5% chance of survival, she agreed to in order to make him happy prior to surgery. He lived, they got married and remained married for 55 years before dying of ALZ at 73.

I enlisted on my 17th birthday in the Marines. I always intended on joining the military, but only went Marines to try and impress a girl....it didn't work. I spent 17 years with them to include deployments for Desert Storm and the Iraq invasion. I broke my neck in a training accident getting ready for Afghanistan. That was end of my era. Being single no kids, I guess that is the end of the line for military service.

 

[TxSouthpaw]

My dad was Army in the mid-50s. Grandfather served during WWI, but I haven't dug to see if he made it to France. For direct lineage, I have an ancestor that served in the 115th Volunteer Illinois during the Civil War. He was at Chickamauga, then when north to watch John Bell Hood make mistakes. Farther up the line, another ancestor fought in the Revolution. Every decade or so I look into joining SAR, but then I drop it. I guess it's about time to pick it up again.

 

[NHFlyCaster]

My father was Army during some part of WWII. We had his dress uniform service picture and a picture from training camp in Louisiana. From what I gather it was near the end of hostilities. Information about any deployments are unknown.

My service was 2 active RA, and 4 Reserves in the 80s.

 

[Festofish]

My grandparents were invited to the White House for having all 11 sons in the military. That record may still stand. There’s a news segment on YouTube somewhere. My dad is the youngest of 13.

 

[tbp0701]

My uncle, one of the most jovial, kindest people I recall from childhood, was a US Marine drill sergeant. It's still difficult to process my image of him from what he had to be like for recruits. But I also wonder why a normally exceptionally healthy Marine suddenly took ill with a disease doctors couldn't figure out and passed away within a couple weeks.

Many other relatives were in different branches, but they don't talk about it much.

 

[telleutelleme]

Curious how do you trace that far back?

My niece does ancestry or geneology research. She did he mother's and fathers side to the 1400' s. She wrote a book on the families and even traveled to Europe to visit the cities of her ancestors and distant relatives. She just hosted a reunion here in Texas and several families she met in Czechoslovakia came to the reunion. She is trying to get a job doing this type of research. She did my father's side of my family for me.

 

[ZackyDog]

My great, paternal uncle (paternal grandmother's brother) came back with a purple heart from WWII.

 

[MyLittleEye]

Turns out I'm descended from a clan of Border Reivers...

It's a very a H.P. Lovecraft thing; to research one's ancestry and discover that one's entire family has been excommunicated from the church and damned to hell but so it is for certain clans of the Scottish Borders. It turns out my progenitors were all so appallingly rumbunctuous that we found ourselves subject to Glasgow's Archbishop, Gavin of Dunbar's Great Monition Of Cursing.

Consequently, it would appear that I and all my kith and kin are damned for all eternity, as are the likes of Neil Armstrong, T.S. Eliot and Linden Johnson amongst many others descended from the Reiver clans of that time and place.

" I curse their heads and all the hairs of their heads, I curse their faces, their eyes, their mouths, their noses, their tongues, their teeth, their chins, their shoulders, their breasts, their hearts, their stomachs, their backs, their sexual organs, their arms, their legs, their hands, their feet and every like part of their body, from the top of their heads to the souls of their feet, before and behind (fronts and backs), within and without.

I curse them going and curse them riding; I curse them standing and I curse them seated; I curse them eating, I curse them drinking; I curse them walking, I curse them sleeping; I curse them risen, I curse them lying down; I curse them at home, I curse them out of the home; I curse their wives and I curse their children, and their servants and all who participate with them in what they decide. I come against their friends, their cattle, their wool, their sheep, their swine, their geese, their hens all their livestock. I come against their halls, their bedrooms, their kitchens, their standings, their barns, their cowsheds, their barnyards, their cabbage patches, their ploughs, their harrows and the goods and houses which are necessary for their sustenance and their welfare.

All the maliciousness and curses which ever a worldly creature since the beginning of the world to this hour, might land upon them. The wrath of God which landed upon Lucifer (Satan) and all his fellow demons, that struck them from the high heavens to deep hell, may it land (alight) upon them. The fire and the sword which stopped Adam from the gates of Paradise (Eden) may they stop them from the glory of Heaven..."
(and it goes on...)

This would explain why all my efforts to sell my soul to The Devil at the crossroads for awesome guitar chops have come to nought - it's already 'in the bag' so's to speak!
It could explain a lot more if I'm honest...

Not a great inheritance perhaps but it's a kinda handy fall-back position when the Jehova's Witnesses come knocking. I just explain the situation and that I don't have any say in the matter.

 

[telleutelleme]

I don't any history beyond my Grandfather, before that our family was still in England.

My Grandfather served with Patton in WW2 as a mechanic. He was wounded twice and walked with a limp his entire life that I knew him. When Patton crossed the Rhine into Germany, a photographer for Time Life Magazine was with the group. The photographer's Jeep broke down and my Grandfather agreed to repair it quickly if he could have his picture taken as the column crossed the river. So, he fixed the Jeep and jumped onto an open bed truck to pose for the picture....he is the one standing on the right with the helmet on.

My Father (standing by the car to the right) served in Vietnam with the Air Force as a crewman on aircraft that dropped agent Orange. He became the first person identified with ulcerative colitits in the country and was given last rights before an experimental surgery. He had dated a girl a few times before becoming ill and his buddy convinced her to travel to the hospital to see him. She was actually dating another guy at the time and only went out with my Father because he was a good dancer and looked like Elvis, but from his death bed, he asked her if she would marry him if he survived? The doctors said he had about a 5% chance of survival, she agreed to in order to make him happy prior to surgery. He lived, they got married and remained married for 55 years before dying of ALZ at 73.

I enlisted on my 17th birthday in the Marines. I always intended on joining the military, but only went Marines to try and impress a girl....it didn't work. I spent 17 years with them to include deployments for Desert Storm and the Iraq invasion. I broke my neck in a training accident getting ready for Afghanistan. That was end of my era. Being single no kids, I guess that is the end of the line for military service.

Dropping Agent Orange was called "Ranch Hand" missions. My squadron stationed on Mactan Island flew those missions on C-130's in 1967, 1968. Many of my fellow Loadmasters flew those missions and developed serious medical issue later in life. I was lucky and never flew any Ranch Hand missions. During our Dyess AFB reunion in 2005, I pushed a good buddy all around in a wheel chair who could no longer walk. It was really bad stuff and caused a lot of medical issues

 

[Brad Pittiful]

my dads side
couldve had a great grandfather in the civil war unless he came over from ireland after 1865 but we think he came as a child during the famine...in the 1850s
my grandfather was in ww1...he was affected later in life from mustard gas he was exposed too
my dads brother war in the army in ww2...info we have suggested he was part of the d-day landing
my dad was in the air force during korea...he was stationed stateside
my cousin was in vietnam

my moms side (she had 5 brothers)
grandfather was in ww1
3 uncles were in ww2...2 in the navy...1 in the army
uncle 1 was in the army and was hurt by scrapnel at the battle of the bulge...it entered through his eye and out the back of his head...his is noted as one of the 10 worst injured people from the philadelphia area
uncle 2 was on the uss franklin and during a battle in the pacific he was trapped in the galley...not sure how long...but the ship made it back to the usa for repairs
uncle 3 was in the navy and unhurt as far as i know
uncle 4 was in korea as a medic
uncle 5 i dont think served

when me and my brother had to sign up for the draft in the late 70s my mom said...if we got drafted she would take us to canada...she didnt want us part of any war due to what happened to her brothers

 

[trandy9850]

My father was a retired USN Commander….he served 26 years.

My father-in-law served 24 years in the USN….he was also at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.

RIP Lt. Cmdr. Basil T. Morrison

 

[Colo Springs E]

My uncle served 30+ years in Army, two tours Vietnam, retired as a SGT Major. RIP Uncle Buddy

My dad was in for a short enlistment--two years I think?--in the Air Force.

I served two enlistments (7 years) in the Army during the 80s.

I have no real connection to the military--it in no way is part of who I am, other than some friends I met while in--a couple guys I'm still in touch with to this day!

Im not much into military pomp and circumstance, recognition of, parades etc, just not a very big deal to me. I'm not particularly patriotic or nationalistic. Oddly, being stationed overseas in many ways contributed to my being this way.

 

[Milspec]

My uncle served 30+ years in Army, two tours Vietnam, retired as a SGT Major. RIP Uncle Buddy

My dad was in for a short enlistment--two years I think?--in the Air Force.

I served two enlistments (7 years) in the Army during the 80s.

I have no real connection to the military--it in no way is part of who I am, other than some friends I met while in--a couple guys I'm still in touch with to this day!

Im not much into military pomp and circumstance, recognition of, parades etc, just not a very big deal to me. I'm not particularly patriotic or nationalistic. Oddly, being stationed overseas in many ways contributed to my being this way.

I think that is a fairly common reaction serving in peace time. I felt the same way really until deployed to combat zones. Those experiences change you a lot in regards to your connection to your unit, your comrades, and your patriotism. It all gets wrapped up into one after that where your comrades (those injured or killed) become the same thing as the flag or your branch to you. It is especially true after seeing the flag draped over your buddy at his funeral and one handed to his family.

I still never got a tattoo or joined any VFW / American Legion / etc. groups after discharge. I rarely wear any branch identifying clothing or have bumper stickers, but I do fly flags at my house every day and always will.

 

[Twofingerlou]

Good stuff! Thanks for all the story’s and pictures everyone!!

 

[omahaaudio]

Your ancestor was Oliver Cromwell?

 

[Redheadlvr]

Direct descendant of Macbeth.
Had a relative that was a county sheriff in Scotland.
My GGGGGM is Dicey Langston,the 15 yo heroine during the Revolutionary War.
One of my wife's relatives was a Captain during the RW. She's related to Jim Bowie. She also has a relative that was a member of the Knights Templar.
As a side note one of my relatives showed Daniel Boone the Cumberland Gap.
GGGF was in the Confederate Army
One of his sons was a Rough Rider (he died in the early 70s). We talked a lot.
My maternal grandfather was on a ship headed to Europe to fight in WWI when they got a radio call the war had ended.
One of my great-uncles (my mom's side) was in on the first jump on D-Day. He was an officer and a Screaming Eagle.
My dad was the oldest of five. He was one of the first to fight in Korea. Got his eardrums blown out when a mortar round blew up next to him (the firing pin didn't disengage).
His three brothers were in 'Nam. One Army,two Air Force. The youngest one joined the Navy when the war was over.
My military time was in the USAF in the early to mid 80s.
The first four cousins (I'm third in line) served. Army,then Navy,me,then Army.

 

[scottser]

My father and my uncle both served with the United Nations in peacekeeping missions in Aden and Niemba respectively. My uncle was killed at 19 years old. My father joined the British Army, which was a huge source of conflict between us when I was growing up as a republican, left-wing idealist. Nowadays with the world the way it is, being able to handle a gun might not be the worst thing you can learn to do.

 

[CCK1]

My dad was in WWII for 3 years. He served as a radio operator and was initially stationed in New York City. Lots of Jazz and baseball (he was a tenor sax player).

He eventually was stationed at an air base in India for about 2 years. Here he is with a B-25 (I think)

GREAT Photograph! Much respect to those guys! I'd love to have that artwork on a white Telecaster!

 

[Tuneup]

My father served in WW2 in the European theater with the 89th infantry "The Rolling W".
He had a ton of great stories from that time, and his group were the first to "liberate" a **** work camp Ohrdruf.

 

[brookdalebill]

Dropping Agent Orange was called "Ranch Hand" missions. My squadron stationed on Mactan Island flew those missions on C-130's in 1967, 1968. Many of my fellow Loadmasters flew those missions and developed serious medical issue later in life. I was lucky and never flew any Ranch Hand missions. During our Dyess AFB reunion in 2005, I pushed a good buddy all around in a wheel chair who could no longer walk. It was really bad stuff and caused a lot of medical issues

Late, great local bass player Dale “Cowboy Dick” Dennis was a Vietnam veteran who passed too young.
He firmly believed his cancer was caused by Agent Orange.
Only one of my Vietnam veteran friends is still alive.

Cowboy Dick (Dale Dennis), far left, with Erik (Hokkannen) & The Offbeats.

Jon Emery, a brave and cool guy!
Puctured here with his friends Kelly and Matt, Tracie Lynn, and Leroy Preston (founding Asleep At The Wheel member) and Duane.