What is your closest connection to WWII?

http://www.trailblazersww2.org/

This is a website dedicated to The men of The 70th Infantry Division "trailblazers"

It's one of the best maintained, and informative WWII unit history site I have seen on the web.

It's full of Unit history info, pictures, stories of conflicts, documents, maps, and a Memorial of all the Trailblazer soldiers who died in combat during WWII.

My closest tie to WWII ...is my Grandfather, Cpl. J. W. Pauling, squad leader and M-8 driver. 70th recon troop (mechanized)

While I was researching my grandfathers records and his unit history, I was contacted by the site adminastrator with a message for me to contact this Veteran who had some info for me about my grandpa.

It turns out... he was my grandfathers closest friend and his 50 cal. gunner on their M-8 and was with him from the begining, all the way up till the end of the war and were sent home.

It was an absolute treat!!!

To sit on the phone for over 2 hours and listen to a WWII vet who sat side by side with my grandfather for the duration of their tour of duty, and fill me in on several bits of their routines, activities and missions, was more than I ever hoped for.

He reminenced about several recon missions they carried out which earned them the nickname "sneakers,peakers & intel takers".

Towards the end of the war they were attached to a support recon regiment and provided protection for Gen.Patton's fuel supply convoy "the Redball Express" which kept the tanks moving pushing the Germans back across the Rhine and Saar rivers and eventually helped put and end to the war.

My grandfather passed away when I was 10 and never talked about his time in WWII, so all this info that has being given to me was like uncovering xmas presents.

Thanks to Cpl. Elmer Wolfe for shareing his memories and stories with me of my grandfathers miltary past and helping fill in the blanks

Priceless! I'll never forget it

My father was in the Army Air Force during WWII and was a flight engineer on B-29's in the Pacific Theatre. The JROTC instructor at my High School was also in the Army Air Force during the war, he was a navigator on B-17's. Both him and my father were career military and were two of the many people that were in the Army Air Force when it became the U. S. Air Force in 1947.

As far as relatives or people I know who fought, I actually have no one. My great-grandfathers were essential to the war effort at home (one owned a lumber mill, the other worked in a factory calibrating machines used to build motors). My grandfathers were too young to fight.

My main connection is an intense interest -- almost an obsession -- with the stories of Resistance fighters and the Holocaust.

Of those, the Shoah Foundation, started by Steven Spielberg, actually has recorded thousands of survival stories, so that they are not lost in the form of the spoken word.

Interesting story: I had an ex-boyfriend who had a very old, very senile "Daddaw" (grandfather), and he lived with us for a short time. We were watching Saving Private Ryan, and he was sitting there in his chair, as usual not paying attention to anything -- or so we thought. Then we started watching him, because in the first scenes of the invasion of the beaches of Normandy, he started tearing up. Apparently it was so realistic that it transported him back in time, and he just said really quietly "I saw that" over and over again.

My Grandfather on my Mother's side.

He enlisted at 17 (lied on his application) and was sent to Italy where he joined the 10th Mountain Division Alpine Ski Troops. He fought in several of the heaviest battles the 10th went through ( Assault on Mt. Belvedere, Battle for Mt. Della Spe, etc..) His unit was pinned down below the crest of the hill at Mt Della Spe. He and about a half dozen others volunteered to ski right down the slope straight into the German lines to break up the enemy defence. It was a near suicidal mission but they won and freed up the rest of their unit and won the day. Grandpa was awarded both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart that day ( He took Morter Shell Fragments to his back and neck).

My other Grandfather served in the Merchant Marines in the Convoys to Europe and dodging German U-Boats. I dont know much about him as he died when my Father was still a teen.

Aside from Family...

My own personal connection to WW2 is from my time in the Navy and visiting the battlesites and participating in memorial services.

I made it a point to visit the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor EVERY VISIT.

I have participated in the Burial at Sea ceremony on two different occasions for WW2 Naval veterans

I have taken part in a wreath laying ceremony at Iron Bottom Sound commemorating the anniversary of the Battle of Savo Island. (off of Guadalcanal)

I have been to the Phillipines and have seen some of the old WW2 battle sites and relics and I have been to Guam and Okinawa.

And the most emotionally chilling of all for me was standing in the middle of a modern bustling city, in a beautiful peaceful park, and knowing I stood at GROUND ZERO at Nagasaki.

The role of Pope Pious and the Nazis/Holocaust is a huge issue of debate in the historical community. If you talk to Catholic scholars, they argue he did a lot of stuff to save Jews behind the scenes. If you talk to secular scholars, they don't believe he did anything and should have done more. Here's what can be said: If Pope Pious made too many waves against Nazism, he feared for the Jews and Catholic in Italy and Vatican city. Nazis didn't support Catholicism, but by having a quasi-religious facade they could attract more people to their cause.

My father. He served South Pacific, first as platoon Sargent in the infantry. Made many beach landings under fire, and saw his men died under that fire. Lost all his teeth when a Japanese solder ran at him with the butt end of his rifle, Dad told me he emptied his carbine into him. When I was young I witness old scrapnel erupt out of his skin from the war. He was later transfer to the Army Air Corp where he became machine gunner. One time his plane was shot down and crashed on island in the Pacific. Half the crew had been killed. Bananas were their main staple of food. It would be 3 months before they were found.

My father, father-in-law and an uncle served in the Navy, Air Force and Army respectively. My mother served on the homefront as an airplane spotter. Numerous special memories and connections are being recorded on the World War II Memorial in Washingtn D.C everyday. Google it and you'll see. It's a wonderful site. If you know someone who served you can create an account and add them to the on-line memorial.

My closest connection are my two grandfathers and my great uncle. My grandpa on my mom's side was on a ship in the antlantic. His ship was sunk by a U-boat and they were drifting for a while when they got picked up by a russian ship. My granpa received the russian equivalent to the medal of honor. My granpa on my dads side signed up and was training but the war ended before he got there. My great uncle flew B-17 bomber over germany his wingman was shot and killed right in front of him in the plane. He was never shot down though.

My uncle was at the Battle of Monte Cassino. My father was on the USS Wasp and a man I befriended was on the Indianapolis when it went down. My father ,uncle are both deceased they told me many stories of the war. My friend on the Indianapolis told me of how he survived the sharks and the horror of the nights in the water. Another friend of mine was a POW during WWII. He was shot down in a B-17.

My grandfather was a member of one of the 'all Filipino' brigades which helped to kick the Japanese out of the Philippines. He was a recipient of several military honors for his heroism. He died about 18 years ago in his mid-80's. He entered the US Army from Hawaii during the War. I would imagine it was after the invasion...after the War, he came to California where he met my grandmother. He was one of the Manongs from that era. I am proud of my Ilocano heritage and wish I could speak the language.