Folks Of Interest D-Day 6/6/44,Do we have any WWII veterans on here?

On the same day as the Normandy Invasion, thousands of miles away, the Marines launched a invasion of the Mariannas (saipan, Tinian, Guam,) they were warmly recieved by the japanese.My father was there. In life back home he raised us had a affinity for American cars only and I got my license in a 1965 Impala.
For all our veterans, then and since, but especially the Greatest Generation, God Bless them with peace andrest.

 

Ran into a WW2 vet (identified by his hat) at a swap meet a year ago. He was obviously very old. He looked a little tired so I offered him a seat and a bottle of water. I asked him about his service. He landed on the one of the beaches at Normandy. He said he was alive today because his Captain was really short. The Captain noticed that the guys jumping into the water in front of them were disappearing. The landing craft operator stopped, dropped the ramp and told then they were close enough, he was going back. The infantry captain pulled his 45, put it to the operator's head and told him you will go until I tell you to stop. Obviously, he complied and the short guys had a chance. just read yesterday that more Americans died on D day than have died in the last 12 years of our current conflicts. I say this not to compare sacrifice, but to give a little perspective on the scale of the invasion. We owe all veterans a debt that can only be paid by honoring their service and preserving our liberty for future generations.

 

Ruff..

My dad flew as a top turret gunner on B-25's and A-20's with the 3rd Attack Group from late 42' through the fall of 43' before being grounded. the 475 flew cover for the 3rd many times!

 

Not me, I am a Vietnam War Era Veteran. My dad served in WWII though.
He was a Chief Petty Officer manning an anti-aircraft gun on the USS Indianapolis.
That ship carried the atomic bomb parts to an island where they were later assembled and placed on the bombers that dropped them over Japan. The seamen aboard did not know what was in the classified crates, and the rumor was it was toilet paper for a General or Admiral. He shot down several Kamakazi planes, and the ship was eventually torpedoed and sank. He was one of the survivors that hung onto floating wreckage for days in shark infested water before being rescued. He recovered (on Guam I think) from severe sunburn and dehydration. I'm glad he survived, or I wouldn't be typing this. He passed away in 2006, and would have been 98 years old next month. Thank you dad and all the others that served bravely for our country,

--- Steve ---

 

First of all I'd like to thank all the vets who served to keep me free.
Those men who stormed the beach paid the ultimate price.
Gramps served in WW1 with the red arrow div. My father served in Korea.
My friends father from my childhood served on a destroyer in the pacific WW11.
Another buddies father was on a boat attacked by a kamakaze.
Another was in Okinawa. Let us not forget Nam and the Gulf.

My father who is disabled in his mid 80s is still here. The rest have passed.
It has been my pleasure to have known each of these men. None of whom were PC. They would tell you like it was and is, and they weren't worried about hurting somebody's feelings. They apologize to no one. They made the world a better place and I am grateful to them.

Thanks again.
Gas and Guns

 

My Dad was a Sgt. in the 93rd armored field artillery. He saw much action but does not talk much of it unless asked. He was decorated with the silver star and the bronze star. He is 94 years old and still lives on his own. He is my number one hero......

 

My mom built those P-38s during the war. I still have a 1/4" drive Plomb ratchet and socket set that she bought during the war and used in the Lockheed factory. I still use it all the time.

 

June 6, 1944 Tom Stanton was one of the troops storming the beach on D-Day. June 6, 2015 he passed away in Dunnellon, Florida.

I met him through my wifes grandpa and loved talking to him and hearing his stories of the war and later as his career in NYC as a police officer and detective.

RIP Tommy and thank you for your service.

 

I knew there would not be many, if any, left by now. Just threw this out there to see if anyone still left ever read the HAMB. My dad made it through The Solomons and Guadalcanal with a couple of Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. He used to tell me some good stories. Lost him in 2001 and wish I could hear those stories again. He would have been 100 this year though.

 

Ruff.. I do have some P-38 shots from New Guinea if you're interested.. Drop me a PM!
pic taken bu dad at Kila-Kila, or 3 mile

 

Here's some, from my brother in laws scrapbook. He was the pilot & flew 57 missions in the Pacific Theater.
When he returned in 1943, I was 11 yrs. when he gave me this leather flight jacket patch which was also the nose art on his B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.

 

I have known Dick Willis my entire life,he and my dad use to swap story's about their exploits during WWII and flying during the war.

Dick made his first jump from a plane was when is was hit and he bailed out,,his second jump was May 27,2015 at the age of 89 just a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday.

He did a tandem jump to raise funds for local veterans,sadly very few of these man survived today. HRP