Author Topic: Any WW2 history buffs out there?  (Read 3722 times)

Offline Guzzistajohn

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Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« on: November 10, 2015, 12:08:12 PM »
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Offline PJPR01

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2015, 02:36:06 PM »
The stuff legends are made of...very interesting story.  Reminds me of the Alistair Maclean novels like Guns of Navaronne, Force 10 from Navaronne, Where Eagles Dare...all gripping war stories made up of tough characters.
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Offline Guzzistajohn

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2015, 02:51:16 PM »
The stuff legends are made of...very interesting story.  Reminds me of the Alistair Maclean novels like Guns of Navaronne, Force 10 from Navaronne, Where Eagles Dare...all gripping war stories made up of tough characters.

My old man made it as far as Anzio fought at La Defensa
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Offline Testarossa

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2015, 02:57:00 PM »
John, you look like your dad.
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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2015, 02:57:00 PM »

Offline Guzzistajohn

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2015, 03:10:26 PM »
John, you look like your dad.

Glad to hear you say that Seth, I was a foot taller. I guess the milkman was innocent :laugh:
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Offline PJPR01

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2015, 04:03:22 PM »
Nice pic indeed!

Seems many of us have history in our families back to WW II, I'll have to dig out some of his pics from my dad's days in the forces.

A short sharing:  My dad was Scottish (hence the Robinson name), was born in Katowice, Poland and was barely a teenager when the war started.  His family escaped to Romania first, then to Lebanon and eventually to Britain, but he was left behind as he was not with them when the war began and couldn't get back to join them. He stayed in Poland during the whole war, and eventually ended up in Warsaw, where he fought in the Warsaw Uprising (Aug 1, 1944), as part of the groups of youth who supported the AK (Armia Krajowa...the Polish Home Army).  When the Poles surrendered after 2 months of obliteration of Warsaw, he along with his group were taken prisoner by the Germans and at first was in a POW camp in Germany and then was moved to a POW camp Stalag XVIIIC in Austria (St. Markt am Pongau) until the war was over and the camp was liberated.  He had a great friend in Ortisei (near Bolzano in the Dolomites) and eventually ended up there for a while and spent a lot of time in Italy, but right after the war was over, he was stationed in Osimo, Italy and then Greece for 2 years before making his way to Britain to rejoin the rest of his family which had escaped only 3 weeks after the war had started in Poland.   Like many men of that generation, he didn't share a lot of the details of the things they saw or did, but snippets would come out occasionally, and we would always watch War movies together when I was a child.  Even to this day, I am still fascinated by that time period, and the stories are almost endless from so many theatres of war...
« Last Edit: November 10, 2015, 04:04:41 PM by PJPR01 »
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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2015, 05:47:02 PM »
Yes definitely a buff, personal family history is involved.  My dad and his two brothers served.  My mom was a secretary during the war living in Washington D.C.

Lots of stories.  Mom is still alive and can talk for hours about the war and her memories and experiences.  Dad and his brothers are all gone now, very few are left.

I was just cleaning my closet today.  Turned up dad's "Eisenhower" jacket.  Glad I still have it.  He went thru a lot of hell. Each ribbon and battle star and patch tells a story.

Offline PJPR01

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2015, 06:04:05 PM »
All of which proves we are all just specks of destiny, if not but for a stray bullet or any other random circumstance, many of us might not even be here had our parents not survived the war. 

To that end...best to live each day fully and enjoy our time on this side of the earth!
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Offline fubar guzzi

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2015, 06:30:14 PM »
Thanks for posting,yes you do resemble your Dad,I am proud of him an I am not even related!!!

Offline sign216

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2015, 07:08:21 PM »
My family left eastern Europe (Poland + Russia) just before the war.  An uncle stayed behind.

After the war no one ever heard of him again. 

I guess it makes sense.

A male.  Of conscription age.  A Jew to boot.


In that time, in that place, life was different.  It was tough.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2015, 07:09:02 PM by sign216 »
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Offline Guzzistajohn

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #10 on: November 10, 2015, 11:27:06 PM »
Interesting conversation and stories fellow Guzzisti, thanks for commenting! Sorry I had to go to work and miss out.

Dad was a the son of German immigrants, I can remember visiting his aunts and uncles as a kid in Iowa, They spoke German mostly around the house, I don't know if that had an impact on Dad or not, he never mentioned anything about his time in Italy although he did tell me one time after he was wounded he got to ride home to NY on the Queen Mary (it had been converted into a hospital ship)

He was then moved to Springfield, Mo. to O'rielley Army Hospital and was in a body cast for several months. After he'd recovered he met my Mother LaBelle at a local park. They were married and had six kids. Mom just had her 90th birthday last June.

We really didn't know much about dad's Army history until long after he had passed.

john s
« Last Edit: November 11, 2015, 12:04:33 AM by Guzzistajohn »
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Offline krglorioso

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2015, 11:50:54 PM »
I was 5 years old 5 days after Pearl Harbor and the War was very real to me.  I continue to be an avid WWII history buff and for any who might be interested, the best book I've read is "The Second World War", by Antony Beevor.  Many, many little things I'd never read elsewhere. 

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2015, 12:10:16 AM »
My mom was a nurse officer in the Royal Canadian Army, stationed at one of the Hospitals in England during the War.

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Offline Tom

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #13 on: November 11, 2015, 01:37:15 PM »
I have a BA in American history.  I'll leave it at that.  On the family WWII side.  My Dad didn't talk too much about his service.  Sometimes I'd get a story now and then about his time in the Pacific.  Having his convertible and camera shot up Dec, 7, '41.  Fighting the kwai lo in his unit.  Shelling by the Japanese Navy.  Runway bomb clearing detail.  etc. 

One piece that got answered was when I was able to get more info on his unit/Bomb Group.  Seems the numbers match up to being on the ground crew that worked on the B29's in Saipan.  I think he got pay back big time for his shot up Chevy and camera.  He had a very personal interest in the start of the U.S. involvement in the WWII.
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Offline Chuck in Indiana

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2015, 07:42:12 AM »
Thanks for that, Tom. Interesting.
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Offline Chuck in Indiana

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #15 on: November 12, 2015, 07:49:30 AM »
When I was building the '30 Great Lakes, and aircraft historian came to look at it, document, etc. He brought a guy with him that was a WW2 buff. He asked if I'd like to have some historical WW2 pictures. "Sure." They are from a no doubt well known photographer (I don't know who) because there are many famous people and events in these pictures. The cool part is each is annotated by hand.. who it is, where they are, which battle, etc.
If anyone would like to have a set, I'll burn you a disc. Below is a typical picture, but there are *many*. Airplanes, tanks, grunts in the trenches, cities,  you get the picture.. :smiley:
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Offline Guzzistajohn

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Re: Any WW2 history buffs out there?
« Reply #16 on: November 12, 2015, 10:01:31 AM »
When I was building the '30 Great Lakes, and aircraft historian came to look at it, document, etc. He brought a guy with him that was a WW2 buff. He asked if I'd like to have some historical WW2 pictures. "Sure." They are from a no doubt well known photographer (I don't know who) because there are many famous people and events in these pictures. The cool part is each is annotated by hand.. who it is, where they are, which battle, etc.
If anyone would like to have a set, I'll burn you a disc. Below is a typical picture, but there are *many*. Airplanes, tanks, grunts in the trenches, cities,  you get the picture.. :smiley:


That's pretty cool chuck!   Js
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