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Ah, I also forgot my cousin was in the Airforce stationed in Okinawa from '01-'04...fighting sobriety

During the cold war my grandfather would take a ship along the north coast of russia spying on their radar.

Anyway the journey from Murmansk to Novasibirskiye is not very pleasant due, unsurprisngly, to freezing temperatures and rough seas. As a remedy the crew would all get Blind Drunk every night. After a particularly intense 'sesh' during a storm the crew awoke to a completely ransacked interior, anything not nailed down was completely smashed, not to mention the crews many aches and pains. When they checked the instruments they were all stuck upside down, which only really happened in capsized ships.

Obviously people were tougher back then, Along with his 120 cigs a day my grandfather could drink enough to not notice a ship pulling a barrel roll!

Gitkikka wrote:I am from a long great military tradition. Somebody from my family has fought and died in every single American war. I guess you could say I have a lot to live up to.

Lieutenant Dan?

Five of my Great Grandfathers brothers fought in world war two, only one came back.

My Great Grandfather himself wasn't allowed to go as he was in effect the man of the family and there were younger siblings to take care of.

Not sure of any other besides that but i know there was an ancestor who died in a concentration camp in South Africa.

Easy E wrote:My Grandpa was a machinist on a Destroyer in the Pacific. The other one did not serve due to medical issues.

My dad served on the USS Enterprise during Vietnam as a mechanic. He was on board when the explosion hit.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/explosion-rocks-uss-enterprise

He said he didn't know about it until he read it in the ship newspaper the next day.

The Big E is massive. Depending on his rating (especially if he was in the engine room all day, or in mess duty, or ordinance, or whatever), I could see that being totally reasonable

My Opa fought in the 85th Infanteriedivision (but he himself was SS) while fighting against my Grandfather in the Caen/Falaise fronts (who married my Opa's daughter...) He fought in the 82nd Royal British Colombian Armoured Dragoons. Family get togethers were always nice...

My Great Grandmother was a ambulance driver in the 1st world war for the British on the three major fronts.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also... My Opa fought in Market Garden after he escaped through falaise

"Opa"? Sorry, not familiar with the term... Great grandfather? (if I guess from the text)

Opa, German for grandfather, also apparently an Irish term as well.

Andrew

Ah, but it this context I think it's great grandfather... since his Grandfather married his Opa's daughter.

Thanks AndrewC, appreciate the clarification.

Talked to family. Turns out, my dad's side married into Lee's family way back when. The more you know.

moom241 wrote:Talked to family. Turns out, my dad's side married into Lee's family way back when. The more you know...

...the fewer incestuous children you have.

dogma wrote:

moom241 wrote:Talked to family. Turns out, my dad's side married into Lee's family way back when. The more you know...

...the fewer incestuous children you have.

+1

KingCracker wrote:

Gitkikka wrote:I am from a long great military tradition. Somebody from my family has fought and died in every single American war. I guess you could say I have a lot to live up to.

Lieutenant Dan?

I clocked that too!

Aussie/British Grandfather fought in the Pacific. Russian Grandfather on the eastern front, not sure where, he didn't really talk about it.

Father in Vietnam.

Albatross wrote:

KingCracker wrote:

Gitkikka wrote:I am from a long great military tradition. Somebody from my family has fought and died in every single American war. I guess you could say I have a lot to live up to.

Lieutenant Dan?

I clocked that too!

Its either great minds thinking alike, or we are so lazy, that movies is all we do. Im gunna go with the first one

My paternal grandfather was in the RAMC looking after Italian POWs after WW2, caused some controversy when he married my nan as the POWs formed his honour guard.

My maternal grandfather didn't serve on active duty but was in the Blues and Royals.

I apparently had some great-uncle or something who was on either a German or Japanese POW ship that got bombed, and sunk. Not sure on all the details.

One of my Ancestors helped take over Briton in 1066.

I have two Colonels, father and son in the 1600s who fought in the Indian wars. They are my 10th and 11th great Grandfathers.

Somewhere in the family tree are a few Captains, one of which died at sea also in the 1600 and 1700s

My Maternal Grandmother was in the Womens Auxillary Army in England during WWII.

My Paternal Grandfather was in Korea, My father was in Vietnam, along with one of my Uncles.


I am sure there are several others, whos history I do not readily have available.

I am unaware of my families heritage prior to moving to the US but we have quite the military history here.


My mothers side (great great etc grandfather) fought in the Continental Army and was at Valley Forge.

Fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

A part in the Navy in the Persian Gulf War I and III

The Irish side of my fathers side fought for the Union in the Civil war.

The Austrian side of my fathers side arrived in 1902 and proceeded to fight in WWI, WWII (1 of 3 dead at Omaha Beach, one fought at Okinawa), Korea, and Vietnam.

I know I had a Great Uncle who was on his way to WW1, but died of pnuemonia on a ship in New York before ever leaving... Also I think I remember having some ancestors who served in the American Civil War for the Confederacy. Anything before that I have no clue, it's not brought up a lot.

My dads side

Waterloo - 3 ancestors. 1 cannoneer, an infantryman and an officer, officer survived.

My moms mom was a nurse stationed at port morsby during the japanese invasion.

My grandad was a soldier who was in a squad that got cut off from the main withdrawal, assaulted by the enemy for 48 hours or something insane like that, got relieved and then got shipped off to the hospital that my grandma was at.

My grandfather was in the Hungarian army in WWII. He never talked about it, so we assume it wasn't pleasant. All we know is that he was captured by the Soviets, and eventually was allowed to return to Hungary, and he proptly emigrated to America to join his wife and daughter.

He hated the Soviets to the day he died, which makes me wonder a lot about what might have happened, before or after his capture. I'm just glad he survived, because if he hadn't, my father would never been born.

Great Grandfather stormed the beaches and kicked Nazi ass in WWII. He died before I was born so no idea what it was like for him. Hes used to talk about it all the time my mom said. He must have crushed some Nazi skulls and didn't give a feth.

My dad was in Normandy, 29th division. He got a purple heart outside of St. Lo, and a trip home as a result.
Yes, I'm old.

I had an ancestor who died at Gettysburg. I saw his grave there, and it was really moving.

Somewhere in my ancestry I'm related to George " I don't care how many there are they're just Indians" Custer.

My Grandfather served in WWII and survived the storming of Normandy Beach, then, interestingly enough after getting separated from his squad he was captured by American forces after due to his very german looks. They thought he was a spy and started asking him questions about baseball, which he didn't like, so when he couldn't answer any of their questions they were ready to kill him until someone recognized him by his ridiculously big ears.

Then I enlisted and partied my ars off for 4 years

Just me. Iraq. Fun times.

BuFFo wrote:Just me. Iraq. Fun times.

Kill anybody?

Bleak_Fantasy wrote:

BuFFo wrote:Just me. Iraq. Fun times.

Kill anybody?

Maybe I'm out of line, but that seems like a fethed up thing to askk someone you don't know.
If you had, would you really want to drag it out and discuss it with a bunch of people you don't
know? Granted it's us, but still, poor form if you ask me.

If I learned anything about vets its that there's one question you never ask and that's "Kill anyone?" Some vets don't have a problem talking about it, but plenty do and it is something you just don't ask.

Great grandfather fought in WWI, officer in artillery. I don't know what rank, but I think he was a Captain.

Grandfather took part in WWII, RAF Warrant Officer. But he didn't fight directly, his duties were on the ground.

And now my family has been soldier-free for two generations.