OT: Real Life Connections to War in the Pacific

[denisonh]

My biological maternal grandfather served in the Marines in the Pacific, and my Grandma's cousin was on Bataan(MIA)

[Tanaka]

My grandfather flew in B-29's out of Saipan.

[homer82]

Giving a sailor a platform to tell stories can be dangerous but I'll limit myself.

1983 or so a buddy and I are in a train station somewhere between Yokosuka and Tokyo studying the train line map when my buddy lurches forward as if pushed from behind. We both turn around to see an older Japanese man covered in burn scars scowling at us. We figured he survived firebombing and so we just walked away.

A couple of years later, I learned my uncle's father (by marriage) was a Bataan Death March survivor. I only learned this after being told by my uncle that introducing his father to my new Japanese bride wouldn't be a good idea. I get it.

I was a Cryptologic Technician (CT) in the USN and in 1999 was assigned to CINCPACFLT (N3DC). That year we moved our offices from the 4th deck of our building to brand new offices in the totally renovated basement. This is the same basement known as Station Hypo in '42. No ghosts that I sensed but as a lover of history it was strange being there.

[Moltrey]

My father served in the USN beginning in Nov '41 with basic at Farragut, ID. Later as AO2 or Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class he taught gunnery school at Pensacola, FL before joining the fleet on Bon Homme Richard and lastly Randolph.
Assigned to Fighter/Bomber Squadron 16 (VBF-16) with SB2C Helldivers and took part in the Philippine Sea and raids on Japan as part of TF 58. He nearly walked off the bow one dark night after missing a deck light heading to his berth up forward.

I still have all his Navy items, ranging from his skullcap and red cap, CV News copies published on ship and a Pratt & Whitney engine ID metal cap from a wrecked aircraft and lots of pictures. The highlight is a folded pilot's Sea of Japan silk map with all the names of the squadron crews that were killed around the edge.
Dad passed in Dec '12 from Parkinsons complications at 89.

[orabera]

Both of my grandfathers were 4F during WWII, so no close relations in the war. One was a farmer with kids (mom) and the other was a small farming town cop with kids (dad) who tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor but was rejected. Flat feet supposedly. He apparently fought several "battles" against drunken Mexican farm workers who had been brought in during the war for harvests.

My paternal grandfathers cousin was a B-29 gunner flying missions out of Saipan. When the second big fire bombing raid raid hit Nagoya on March 11/12 no B-29's were shot down, but one did suffer an engine fire on takeoff and crashed off Saipan with no survivors. Grandpa's cousin was the one gunner on that flight.

And then there was one great Aunts husband was a pre-war Marine who served through the Pacific as a crewman on 5" gun on a Treaty CA. Don't remember which cruiser, I remember he claimed he was at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal and his ship wasn't sunk. Which would put him on the Portland probably. His fondest memories were of docking in Panama before the war, NSFW memories. Graduated college after the war, received a commission and commanded a Marine company guarding hospital during the Korean War.

[Don Bowen]

My grandfather was a Lt Col in a quartermaster unit and I know that he was in the Philippines in '45. Unfortunately, he died in 1960, my dad died in 1985 (was a teenager during the war), and my grandmother passed in 1988 so I have no one to ask for more information.

My Father was a Master Sergeant and chief clerk in the 1st Quartermaster Depot, Philippines 1945. Is Quartermaster Depot was the quartermaster unit responsible for rearming the Philippine Guerilla Units in Luzon. Perhaps the same unit??

Also my cousin was in the 60th Coast Artillery, original garrison of Corregidor 1941.

Both are gone now. Hell, us Vietnam war guys are growing very old as well.

[rockmedic109]

My father-in-law was on a plane for Australia when the war ended. He stayed in and eventually became a Lt Col. He was originally a pilot and then switched to something to do with electronics before retiring.

A weekend neighbor {my parents had a house on the coast that we went to on weekends} flew P-38s. I believe he served in China at some time.

I've transported elderly vets to the hospital over the years. One served in the Solomons. He was surprised that I knew of the places he recalled.

One was in the Philippines and captured. He spent the war in a Japanese POW camp and objected very strongly to being placed in a care home run by an Asian. I cannot even imagine what he went through or what memories it was bringing up. I got him to agree to go to the hospital with me and talked to discharge planning to get him to a place where he would feel safe.

[lopec]

My grandfather was an Army engineer that built airfields (and other facilities I assume) on Efate. So anyways, before and after the war he was a carpenter by trade and as a hobby built a lot of Sam Maloof replica furniture, he made chairs for family members etc. Well on the chair he made for me when I was about 1 years old in 1988, among other things he wrote "Dark Dowel Rosewood: Efate Island New Hebrides 1942-1944 Army Eng SWP."

So we have no idea how he got the wood back to the states or anything like that, but he kept enough of it for 40-some-odd years to use some of it in my chair. I haven't been able to fit in the chair for 35+ years but at least the cats still enjoy it.

I really need to try to get a hold of his service records to get a more complete picture of what he did. I think the family stories were he contracted malaria (like everyone else did in the South Pacific) so badly that he may have been sent home (he always said it nearly killed him.) I have found some hospital admission records of him being admitted to a field hospital on Efate in June of 42, and I know the first plane(s) landed on the runways there around May of 42, so I assume he must of been amongst the first elements sent to the island for base building. IIRC the first Marine elements arrived in April, and the Seabees arrived in May. Off the top of my head I can't seem to recall or find specifically what Army elements were there at the start, but there you go.

So anytime in game when I'm in the South Pacific and around the New Hebrides I can't help but think of my Grandfather.

[tonybot]

My wife's father served on the destroyer USS Lang. That ship escorted the US Wasp to deliver Spitfires to Malta and then served in the Guadalcanal Campaign. I regret never having met him before he died in 1986. My wife still has pictures of him that showed he was an avid boxer.

[Gilmer]

The one connection I have (possibly) of the list of men who died on the Arizona, there is someone with my same last name. It's a very unusual last name, so there's a decent chance I'm related to any of them in the USA. Did my section of the family know him? No. It surprised me when my aunt said she had visited the memorial and saw our last name (her maiden name) on the list of men who had died.

[chazz]

A close friend of my dad's served with the Winnipeg Rifles and was captured at Hong Kong. He was all of 65 lbs when he was rescued and had health issues for the rest of his life.

Dad was a Leading Coder on RCN Corvettes and a Frigate and was going to be transferred to a Canadian ship on the West Coast and join the war in the Pacific when the bombs were dropped.

[pmelheck1]

My dad fought in the pacific but don't know much about it as he's gone and he's one of the people affected by the fire that destroyed all the army records, saw his 214 at one point but didn't know what i was looking at at the time. Requests i've made have come back that his was indeed one of the effected records. Had one uncle who was a catwalk gunner on the USS Essex. Had another uncle who was engine crew of a sub don't know which. Had a father in law who was engine room crew in an LST. had a love affair with military aircraft when in first or second grade walking home one day say a flatbed parked on the walk home and it turned out to be a p-38 that was pulled from the jungle and was on it's way to be restored but the truck had broken down. It was their for several days and they were collecting donations for viewing and they let me in for free. Was stationed at Nellis where air gunnery was taught but WAY different from WW2. Was stationed at Clark AFB and chow hall was very close to last stand of Japanese defenders and it was still sealed when I was their. Had to be evacuated from P.I. due to mount Pinatubo and was evacuated on the USS Midway from Subic Bay and again was way different from WW2 both base and ship. When I was young my dad as part of the VFW managed to get us a tour of a ww2 sub that was still on active duty and they were leaving for patrol after our tour, even then was REALLY surprised by how small hatches were. My high school principle was a Bataan death march march survivor but I didn't know until A Lot later, all i remember was he mild and really heavy but his history explains a lot about both of those. One of the restaurant owners growing up was a U boat commander, another had been a German Soldier in Greece at the surrender and as he put it, it was fun to walk back to Germany with the whole continent pissed at you. A couple of friends of my dad i talked to all the time was a retired merchant marine captain and another was army air corp but he never told what he did but i assume he was ground crew as he told of life on base and losses but never any stories from the inside of the aircraft.