Military family members in the service of their country!

[Value Buy]

This happens to be about Veteran's Day observance on Monday.

On another board there was a suggestion we start a thread about posters listing family members, past and present, who have served in the military. It can be for deceased members, currently retired, or members currently serving our nation.
List as much info as you feel comfortable with.
Hopefully moderators will leave the thread here to get it started and if they feel it should be moved to the politics suboard of military discussions after we get it some activity, that would be fine.
If the thread catches on we can also get into some discussion of our time in service, pro's and con's, good and bad times, but for now I suggest we just list military branch, maybe the unit, and time of service. 

We do have many posters with direct ties to service members and by everyone listing someone we might have an interesting thread that literally covers the ends of our Earth, from sea to shining seas....... 

[Value Buy]

I will start.
Company C 716th Battalion, 18th MP Brigade.
Fourteen months in Vietnam at MACV Headquarters outside Saigon across the highway from Saigon International airport, December 1969 to February 1971.

Drafted in the summer of 69. 

[Gardening Grandma]

My father (deceased) was on the USS Utah at Pearl Harbor
Three uncles (all deceased now) served in the Navy in the South Pacific in WWII
Oldest grandson currently stationed at Norfolk VA (Navy)

[Value Buy]

On my mother's side, we had a grt grt, maybe one more grt  grandfather in the Civil war who was a pow at Andersonville in the Civil war.  My mother's uncle was a Navy veteran in WWII
Her sister's kids, two in the Navy from the early sixties. One became an officer and retired after 20 years, two tours in Vietnam as well as time at the Pentagon. His brother had a four year uneventful stint in the Navy also. Father's side, two nephews in the Navy, and another my age, drafted into the Army, served basically in offices in D.C. and Virginia. A niece of his was married to  a lt col. in the Army with two tours in Nam.
  

[ken a.k.a OMK]

My father was in the Army during WWII. North Africa doing intelligence photo map making.

FIL, Naval Aviation WWII radioman on TBF Avenger torpedo bomber.

Myself, Naval Aviation active 69-73 at Willow Grove Naval Air Station, Pa. Reserves 73-95 at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Chief Aviation Electrician on P-2 and P-3 patrol aircraft (sub hunters).


Value Buy thanks for your service and this thread. 

[dannylion]

My dad: Army medic, WWII.

Uncle on Mom's side:  Marine Corps: WWII.

Cousin #1: career USAF.  

Son of Cousin #1:  Currently serving (major, USAF)

Me: USAF, Intelligence Service, 1970s.

Cousin-in-law:  USMA West Point, Army Rangers   

[weltschmerz]

Dad served in the Russian military.  No idea which branch or unit. He was 14 when the army came to his little village and told him "You're in the army now, boy!"
He never saw his family again.

[billisonboard]

We have two flags in the house honoring wife's father and brother service in the US Navy.

I have a picture of my uncle in his Army Air Corp uniform in our living room.

My father did four years Navy then a full time career support position in the Idaho Air National Guard.  He retired as a Senior Master Sargent.

I did a couple years Navy mainly on Guam, 4 years full time Naval Reserve support staff - 3 years at the Seattle Reserve Center when it was at the southern tip of Lake Union and a year on the Reserve minesweeper USS Enhance.  I also did about 1/2 a year having no fun as a Naval Reserve Recruiter.

[Value Buy]

Nov 13, 2019 13:53:36 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Dad served in the Russian military.  No idea which branch or unit. He was 14 when the army came to his little village and told him "You're in the army now, boy!"
He never saw his family again.

Just so you know I am giving this post a "like" regardless of the situation he had. He survived the situation and thrived  imo.
Many of us in the US have no proper realization what other people go through around the world in comparision to here at home. 

[weltschmerz]

Just as an aside....

Dad came to Canada after Liberation as a Displaced Person, or DP. All DPs had to work off the price of their passage, and my father was immediately sent to the far north to work in the lumber camps. When these DPs were led into the dining hall and saw the tables groaning with food, they immediately started stuffing their pockets with bananas, oranges, boiled eggs and bread. They had never seen so much food in their lives!  The head of the lumber camp said "Stop! You don't have to do that! This is not a special occasion! You're going to eat like this every day!"

They didn't believe it. They had been hungry for so long.  This went on for weeks, until it sank in that they weren't going to be famished while working there.

[dannylion]

Nov 13, 2019 17:06:02 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Just as an aside....

Dad came to Canada after Liberation as a Displaced Person, or DP. All DPs had to work off the price of their passage, and my father was immediately sent to the far north to work in the lumber camps. When these DPs were led into the dining hall and saw the tables groaning with food, they immediately started stuffing their pockets with bananas, oranges, boiled eggs and bread. They had never seen so much food in their lives!  The head of the lumber camp said "Stop! You don't have to do that! This is not a special occasion! You're going to eat like this every day!"

They didn't believe it. They had been hungry for so long.  This went on for weeks, until it sank in that they weren't going to be famished while working there.

In the darkest years of the Cold War, defectors and the few folks who were able to emigrate from the Soviet Union had similar reactions to their first exposure to an American supermarket.  They were used to shortages and limited choices, and it took some time for them to understand that they didn't have to buy as much as they could that day because it would all be there any time they wanted it.  The book about the Viktor Belenko, the Soviet pilot who flew his MiG-25 to Japan ("MiG Pilot") offers an excellent perspective on the psychological effects of being thrust into a completely different world.  

[weltschmerz]

Nov 13, 2019 17:54:07 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Nov 13, 2019 17:06:02 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Just as an aside....

Dad came to Canada after Liberation as a Displaced Person, or DP. All DPs had to work off the price of their passage, and my father was immediately sent to the far north to work in the lumber camps. When these DPs were led into the dining hall and saw the tables groaning with food, they immediately started stuffing their pockets with bananas, oranges, boiled eggs and bread. They had never seen so much food in their lives!  The head of the lumber camp said "Stop! You don't have to do that! This is not a special occasion! You're going to eat like this every day!"

They didn't believe it. They had been hungry for so long.  This went on for weeks, until it sank in that they weren't going to be famished while working there.

In the darkest years of the Cold War, defectors and the few folks who were able to emigrate from the Soviet Union had similar reactions to their first exposure to an American supermarket.  They were used to shortages and limited choices, and it took some time for them to understand that they didn't have to buy as much as they could that day because it would all be there any time they wanted it.  The book about the Viktor Belenko, the Soviet pilot who flew his MiG-25 to Japan ("MiG Pilot") offers an excellent perspective on the psychological effects of being thrust into a completely different world.  

^^This^^
When I was there, living in a small village during the Cold War, you never knew what the local store would have in stock.
-Do you have any bread?
-No bread today!
-Do you have any fruit?
-No fruit today!
-What do you have?
-Mayonnaise! You want it or not?

[sesfw]

Father: Marine.  Served in cavalry in China in the 1930s.  During the depression lied about his age to go into service.  One less person at the dinner table.
Step-father:  Navy during WWII, south Pacific
Brother #1:  Air Force, Cold War
Brother #2:  Navy, Vietnam
Dear hubby #1:  Navy, cold war Pacific
Dear hubby #2:  Army, cold war Germany
Son-in-law:  Navy, Germany

I could add my G-son-in-law:  He is on the state police force now

[gambler]

Grandfather ww1 army 
Father ww2 navy
Brother army
Me air force(I was the smart one).central america, middle East more times than I kept track of