Triumphrat

HiDesert · 05-25-2007, 04:59 AM

Ancestry.com has digitized an amazing amount of data from US military records all the way back to the revolutionary war. They've made it freely available until 6 June.

Some of the data is in text format, and some of it is images of original documents. You have to download a viewer to get the images.

They also have a complete collection of WWII newsreels.

I know what I'm doing this weekend!

Oh, I guess I could include a LINK!

Shorty · 05-25-2007, 08:03 AM

Pretty cool...problem is my grandpa was on the wrong side :-D
I did find my stepdad though (twice Vietnam vet w. Bronze Star)...thanks.

Shorty

[ This message was edited by: Shorty on 2007-05-25 06:22 ]

Tbirdnz · 05-25-2007, 08:54 AM

Thanks for the link hidesert, I have a relative with the same name as myself that was in the US forces, on my search I found about 100 names ! Very uncanny, some dating back to the Revolutionary War. I have though a good idea which one it was.

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Ride on !

sweatmachine · 05-25-2007, 10:19 AM

Both of my Grandfathers served in the US Navy in WW2. My maternal g'pa was a machinist, and the paternal g'pa lied about his age, ran away from home, and joined the Navy at 16(?), but this was in the last years of the war. He has some funny stories about dumping ordinance and tools in the Atlantic Ocean. He served in the last 2 years of the war and the 2 years after that. They dumped a lot of rifles, pistols, and mechanic's tools into the ocean to get rid of huge surpluses. I think he has a stockpile of the stuff hidden away somewhere, he's probably still worried the Navy will come after him.

He also got to go around the world, it's a cool story too. He took a train from San Francisco to NYC, then got on a ship, went around the world and back to 'Frisco, then returned home to Texas.

Thanks Gramps!

omaz · 05-25-2007, 01:57 PM

Grandfathers in WWII? Both of my Grand dads were too old for WWI, LOL. My father and 5 of my uncles, one of whom was KIA when his B-17 was shot down in 1943, served in WWII.

Thanks for the link hidesert.

Ballacraine · 05-25-2007, 01:58 PM

No,

but me Dad was a dispatch rider in the Royal Army Service Corps ( later RTC ) around the time of the Blitz.

Nige.

ravnhaus · 05-25-2007, 01:59 PM

My grandfather served on a German U-Boat in WWI. My other grandfather served in the US Navy on a sub-chase during those same years. Lucky for me they never met up!

That is my grandfather sitting on the end of the gun.

TBirdVI · 05-25-2007, 02:11 PM

Great photo ravnhaus
Thanks for posting that.
vern....

SR1 · 05-25-2007, 02:40 PM

My dad was in WWII and Korea, his dad was probably in WWI but I'm not sure, and the other grand dad was a draft dodger during WWII. :evil:

lanwanman · 05-25-2007, 05:14 PM

Paternal grandfather and his 6 (including the 3 females) siblings all served in various theaters and stateside. Grandfather was in Burma in an engineering group and helped build the Burma Road. My Great Uncle Leander (Andy) was aircrew on B-24's in Europe. He participated in the project to insert agents to work with the underground prior to D Day and watched the fellow who ran the "Joe Hole" disappear out through the Joe Hole when the plane hit severe turbulence. He also was involved in the Ploesti Raid.

My maternal grandfather was too old to enlist but my maternal grandmother's brothers were in the war, one as a medic.

None of them ever talked much about what they had done or seen and I found out only recently about some of their stories. The last of that generation of my family passed away just this April.

Me, the country, and the world, owes all of them (from every country) more gratitude than we can ever possibly repay except by living up to their example of courage and sacrifice.

To all of my fellow vets, those who are serving or have loved ones who served or are serving let me say THANK YOU!

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. - Dwight D. Eisenhower