Currahee Chris
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 4,776
Great Thread Pat!!
I got a few- the first off being my grandfather. He was a combat medic- a lot of mystery surrounding his service in WW2. We know he received 2 Purple Hearts- My grandad was a big man- 6'5"- one he received in Normandy shortly after the landings- got rifle butted over the hedgerow by some overvealous 101st guys. The other one was when, of all things, he was assisting a mortar team and a shell dropped out of a deuce and landed on his knee and hobbled him somewhat. He passed away in 1995- couldn't speak for the last few years as he had one of those handmike things because he had his vocal chords removed from throat cancer. I never spoke to him after that happened to him- I heard he had a hard time dealing with that so I just felt it was better to keep my distance.
But like I said, his past is kind of a mystery. He had a "6 day marriage"- got married to some broad before he shipped off and then they divorced or got annulled sometime there after. When my dad gave me all of his medals, there was a Distinguished Service Cross enclosed. We have yet to find any orders but it was old and worn. A researcher looked into it for us and said he couldn't find anything on it.
Funny quote got back to me from my grandad- "When I was in Europe, I was making decisions about people living or dying, in korea I was treating frostbite, during my tours in Nam, I was keeping the hookers clean for the rest of the guys." It was kind of interesting looking at his medals- his WW2 campaign medals are very worn, can't find any Korean service ribbons and his Nam stuff was never removed from the box.
My grandfather is my hero but not so much what he did during the war, it was what he did in life and his bravery there. To call him an alcoholic was an understatement and he was a chain smoker. Being born and raised in Mississippi during the 20's and 30's he was what we what term here a "racist"- just hated black people. My aunt, his daughter, married a black man and he didn't talk to her for years. Eventually, he overcame this mentality and called her and him up and restored their friendship and everything was forgiven. They were both there at his funeral.
But his biggest demon was booze. It was shortly after I got off active duty that he just up and decided one day to stop the drinking and smoking. It was too late by then and he knew it but he didn't care. He started getting up in the morning and either going for walks or riding his bike.
I was under the strictest of orders to not ask him about the war- kind of hard thing as ever since I was 8 and lived in Nuremburg, I have been fascinated by WW2. But, as I got older, I understood the reasoning- spending 4 + years of your life in some of the worst depravity mankind has ever witnessed isn't something to be discussed.
But like I said, he was and will always be my hero- my dad is always my "idol".
I got a few- the first off being my grandfather. He was a combat medic- a lot of mystery surrounding his service in WW2. We know he received 2 Purple Hearts- My grandad was a big man- 6'5"- one he received in Normandy shortly after the landings- got rifle butted over the hedgerow by some overvealous 101st guys. The other one was when, of all things, he was assisting a mortar team and a shell dropped out of a deuce and landed on his knee and hobbled him somewhat. He passed away in 1995- couldn't speak for the last few years as he had one of those handmike things because he had his vocal chords removed from throat cancer. I never spoke to him after that happened to him- I heard he had a hard time dealing with that so I just felt it was better to keep my distance.
But like I said, his past is kind of a mystery. He had a "6 day marriage"- got married to some broad before he shipped off and then they divorced or got annulled sometime there after. When my dad gave me all of his medals, there was a Distinguished Service Cross enclosed. We have yet to find any orders but it was old and worn. A researcher looked into it for us and said he couldn't find anything on it.
Funny quote got back to me from my grandad- "When I was in Europe, I was making decisions about people living or dying, in korea I was treating frostbite, during my tours in Nam, I was keeping the hookers clean for the rest of the guys." It was kind of interesting looking at his medals- his WW2 campaign medals are very worn, can't find any Korean service ribbons and his Nam stuff was never removed from the box.
My grandfather is my hero but not so much what he did during the war, it was what he did in life and his bravery there. To call him an alcoholic was an understatement and he was a chain smoker. Being born and raised in Mississippi during the 20's and 30's he was what we what term here a "racist"- just hated black people. My aunt, his daughter, married a black man and he didn't talk to her for years. Eventually, he overcame this mentality and called her and him up and restored their friendship and everything was forgiven. They were both there at his funeral.
But his biggest demon was booze. It was shortly after I got off active duty that he just up and decided one day to stop the drinking and smoking. It was too late by then and he knew it but he didn't care. He started getting up in the morning and either going for walks or riding his bike.
I was under the strictest of orders to not ask him about the war- kind of hard thing as ever since I was 8 and lived in Nuremburg, I have been fascinated by WW2. But, as I got older, I understood the reasoning- spending 4 + years of your life in some of the worst depravity mankind has ever witnessed isn't something to be discussed.
But like I said, he was and will always be my hero- my dad is always my "idol".