Anyone here ever met anyone that actually fought in Normandy?

>>32027011
No, but I met Paul Tibbets who was the pilot of the Ebola Gay.

>>32027070
Fucking kek. Enola*

>>32027011
Yes, at the D-Day museum when it reopened after Hurricane Katrina

My great grandpa.

i had a great uncle that landed on utah. met him before he died, got his field jacket he wore through that at the bulge

Janitor at my middle school landed on Omaha, never spoke to him though.

>>32027097
Same, anon.
He's still alive too. Every time we meet and he gets to telling war stories, i record them and transcribe later. Im hoping i can write a little biography of my family in the military one day.

I talked to an old guy in a hospital who didn't land on the beach or fight in the hedgerows (much).

He said he spent his entire time in France riding in various trucks and jeeps chasing Germans but they retreated so fast he never saw any. He said it was just like a vacation and he drank with the locals and cucked their men until winter.

He only saw combat at the Battle of the Bulge and even then he doesn't think he ever hit any Germans though he shot at their general direction.

My grandmas nephew, so a variety of a cousin to me. He was a nice man sober but a purely mean drunk, possibly because of his experiences. My dad told me once he literally had a small box filled with medals.

My grandpa was in the 82nd Airborne. He took a shot to the leg during the invasion. Don't know much else.

>>32027011
My only family in that area of the war were in the 8th Air Force and missed Normandy completely. My grandfather that was a pilot was in Europe from 1943-44, and left Europe in April. While my other grandfather was there in 45 late into the war.

>>32027011
My great gramps was in D day, 2nd wave, was an officer. Just got done fighting in africa kicking the shit out of rommel.

His boat hit a mine in the way in, thats how he got his 2nd purple heart. He would earn his 3rd and a silver star in france, retired as a colonel.

Rest in peace grampa the great.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mrt/obituary.aspx?n=col-james-barclay-carvey&pid=174849308&

>>32027011
My grandfather was an Army Engineer NCO who landed on D-Day. I can't remember for sure which unit or beach it was, though. My parents have his service records and I've been meaning to read through them at some point.

Sadly I was very young when he died so I never got to talk to him about it, and he never talked about it when my mom was young - she didn't even know he'd been at D-Day until we looked at his records.

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>>32027011
My uncle's father Landed on Juno beach. He fought all the way to the Rhineland. Always told me stories and dirty jokes at Christmas when both families got together.

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>>32027070
I like to imagine the Ebola Gay as a 9/11 style attack where an airbus carrying Ebola virus is hijacked and crashed into the Gay pride parade in Toronto.

>>32027011
My grandfather on my dad's side was there. Only met him a few times before he passed.

My oldefar on my mom's side was a member of the Norwegian resistance, though.

>>32027011
My grandpa fought at Guadalcanal.

Woken up by a nip killing his foxhole buddy and he wrestled him and stabbed him repeatedly like Martin Sheen.

One of three of 100 to return alive, albeit shot in the quadriceps

My great uncle was a barrage balloon.

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Great grandfather was medic in wave one at Omaha. Took photos that I sadly haven't scanned yet. A lot of them are very disturbing.
This Luger he brought back (a rare one with Kü marks and pristine condition) was used to kill several men in his squad. Though he was a medic he killed the German and took this.

>>32027011
While granted, most WW2 vets are going the way of WW1 vets and disapearing from the earth, it technically in the big grand scheme of things not so long ago and most of us guys in our late 20's or older have had grand parrents that fought in WW2

>>32027011
My far off aunt was married to an old british guy who was in the first waves in the normandy landings apparently he was a nice man very tolerant to other races and shit

>>32027011
When I was a kid, my barbers were brothers. One landed on Utah and was a cook (he landed on D+3, I think) and the other was a medic on Omaha and landed on D-Day.

The cook would talk about the war, what he did. The medic said he didn't like to think about it. As I grew up and realized what he probably experienced on Omaha in one of the first waves, I know why.

Allegedly, his son (who my dad went to school with) has his entire medic uniform on a mannequin in their house. I sort of want to see if he'd sell it to me.

>>32029481
SCAN THEM
WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?

>>32029481
You do know there are not a lot of stuff from d day those photos could mean a lot to history

>>32029513
>>32029568
Theyre kept in my grandfather's home about two hours away from me, and every time I go I forget to ask. I haven't seen them in a few years, next time I go I'll make sure to ask.
There's one in particular I remember. It's a German leaning against a French house, his stomach split open. It looks like someone gave him a mercy bullet, because he was shot in the head and you can see the bullet hole behind him. I've always wanted to go find where it was taken and see if that house is still there and if the bullet hole is still visible.

>>32027011
I punched a danish guy at at bar there back in 07, does that count?

>>32029962
I really hope they are kept well cos if they were damaged or lost it would be a great tragedy pls make them safe or have it published some how

>>32029481
do the world a favor and scan them. Chances are nobody outside your family has seen them, and that needs to change.

>>32029962
>I haven't seen them in a few years
I sure hope you're talking about those photos anon...

Met a guy who was 1st Infantry Division and was part of the 1st wave. Was actually interesting to hear him talk, according to him the hard part wasn't gaining a beachhead. It was clearing the Germans out of the hedgerows once they started going inland, they'd dug in pretty hard and avenues of attack were very limited.

>>32027011
my uncle was one of the first on the beach and one of the first to eat it

so, almost but no

>>32027538
Same here (2nd wave nco, army corp of engineers) my gramps died the same day as Warren Zevon. I listen to 'Roland the headless thompson gunner' all the time and think of both of them.

Absolutely hated fireworks on 4th of July as it triggered his ptsd

while serving in the army in the 80's. i was required to attend a lecture at the old post theater. between 600 to 900 soldiers packed in
and out walks a tiny, frail old lady who ask if anyone in attendance had ever done any combat jumps and not seeing anyone raise their hands began to tell us of her time in the french resistance where she made numerous combat jumps into nazi occupied france. very humbling.

>>32027011
One, technically two. A great uncle who jumped into France with the airborne June 6th, and a grandfather who hit the beach June 8th to help set up and man a field hospital at the beach head.

>>32027011
I'm related to (and met) men who fought at the Somme (great grandfather, wounded) & Dunkirk (wounded)/North Africa/ Monte Casino (grandfather).

Yes, someone at my great-grandmother's funeral was at Sword beach. And my granddad was on one of the first bombers over France on D-Day. He was a WSop/AG on a Stirling and they took off at 2345 on the 5th. Also was in pathfinding over Arnhem

>>32029481
Your grandpa was a fucking badass

My eldest brother did. He was in the 1st Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment. A fair few of my SNCOs and officers above Major (and a few below) had also seen the Second World War for the first few years of my career. The staff at depot were of a similar vintage. Needless to say, we were in very good hands.

The furthest back I can go is my great grandfather, who died when I was seven. He fought at Atbara under Kitchener in 1898.

My great grandpa Neil was in 116th anti-tank regiment, 29th division. He drove a jeep right on to the beach. He almost died a couple times but came out of the army with a bronze star.

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>>32027011
>tfw no WWII (or any war) relatives

REEEEEEEEEEEE

I fought in Normandy. It wasn't that bad. Movies and books made it look worse than it actually was.

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My Grandpa landed on D-Day + 1.

He would say "D-Day? Yeah I was there..... the day after."

Obviously he still fought through Normandy and on to Germany, he just missed out on being slaughtered on the beach. (thank god)

Also, he stayed in the Army after the war and transferred to aviation school, flew pic related in Korea

>>32027011
You mean fought on D-Day? My grandpa (father's side) died from after effects of WW1 mustard gas exposure. My father-in-law went into Normandy (which beach?) D-Day+10, and fought Jerries in Germany. My mom's neighbor survived the Pearl Harbor attack.

>>32027011
My biological grandfather was a bombardier shot down softening up targets for the invasion.

>>32027070
I actually have his signature on a copy of his book. I found it in my basement along with my old mans other books. Thinking of selling it since he died a few years ago.

>>32032722
>>tfw no WWII (or any war) relatives

I know that feel.
>Grandpa enlists in WW2 but joins too late to see action
>spends 4 years in occupied japan beating gooks for digging in the base garbage cans

>Dad enlists in army 1965, his unit gets called over to vietnam
>Doesn't get sent because he was the only one on base that could handle order codes and shit
>ends up in harlem riots beating niggers

Apparently the family veterans have a habit of narrowly avoiding wars and beating civilians.

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>>32034375
topkek. did they use their gi bill after?

>>32034403
Of course.

my great uncle was in the battle of the bulge. I'm also sure he wasn't the infantryman he claimed to be. After the war he and the wife worked at a base that trained foreign officers. which lead to him traveling all over the world from the 50s till the late 80s.

my grandfathers were in the navy and the pacific.

>>32034375
My Dad and Uncle were in Vietnam. My Dad flew Hueys in the 1st Air cav, uncle had a desk job and spent most of his tour based in Taiwan. Over the years he's had a lot of resentment towards my Dad because the family kind of treats him like a war hero, and all my uncle did was type messages. But he's never been a fighter anyways so I dont know what he expects, but I guess stuff like that weighs on you