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How Many Of Your Dads Were Vets?


Subdeacon Joe

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Dad was offshore with the invasion forces when the bombs dropped.  He was used to help organize the Japanese rail freight system agqin.

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My father Served in the Navy from Dec. 1940 to Nov. 1966. He died on active duty in Rota, Spain 

He was one of the few survivors of the bombing of the U.S.S. Arizona. The pic is from between 1945 and 1949 he was at that time a Gunners Mate Chief. 

The other pic is a scan of his service record that was salvaged from the Arizona. You can see that in the 4th line down on the top right of the pic.

Dad--CPO.jpg

15350723_1286559654700654_594083500318514773_n.jpg

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This is my stepfather. GMTSC Robert D. Piquett. He joined just after Pearl Harbor. He had been working for Bethlehem Steel and joined very soon after. He started as an Aviation metalsmith but changed to Aviation Ordinance man.

The pic is of him after changing rate again to Gunners Mate Tech. That is when he made Chief, he retired in 1969 as a Senior Chief. The other pic is of him sitting on the wing of an airplane. I know he was a gunner in the Dauntless dive bomber I don't know if that is what kind of plane it is but it was from WW2 this pic was taken

54150273_134109133552.jpg

PetePlane.jpg

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My Father was a member of the Number 19 City of Hamilton Bomber Squadron (Auxiliary Air Force) until 1936.

He said he saw war coming and wanted to be trained and up to speed when it happened and joined the Regular RCAF, retiring in 1966.

The group picture shows he and the aircrew of the B-25 Mitchell when he was doing the mapping photos of Canada.

After his Air Force retirement, he became the manager (Canada) of the ERTS satellite program for a number of years.

73409300_10157831207451528_202212042457743360_n.jpg

Dad's Flight Crew B-25 Mitchell .jpg

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  • Subdeacon Joe changed the title to How Many Of Your Dads Were Vets?

My dad joined the Idaho State Guard in 1942, but they wouldn't let him go overseas because he was a school teacher (vital occupation), a new father (me), and was too short (5'5") for their tastes, so he served at the local headquarters on weekends for a year.  He was discharged because they found out he was one of very few men teachers left in the district and also ran the audio/visual aids equipment, coached almost every sport they had for both boys and girls, and was pretty handy at fixing things.

 

He was mighty proud of me when I got commissioned in the Ordnance Corps, but he told me that he was jealous, too.

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My dad was in the Army in 1935, him and mom got married in 1937 and my sister was born in 1939. He was exempt from WW2. I had 3 uncles that all fought in WW2.

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My Dad was a World War II combat veteran of the Pacific Theater.

He was drafted in 1942, into the Army.

He was sent to the west coast for basic training, and for advanced amphibious landings. He said it was a long ride from Texas to Washington/Oregon, by way of a troop transport train.

He was in the 96th Amphibious Infantry Division. He was in company H, which was the heavy weapons company...such as 81mm mortars, heavy Browning machine guns, light air-cooled machine gun, and the like. 

They made landings, and fought, on Leyte, in 1944; and on Okinawa, in 1945. 

He told me, they hit the beach on Okinawa, and had a lot of mixed signals. It was April 1st, or April Fool's Day, and also it was Easter Sunday, as well! :blink:

He said they landed on the beach, and got no enemy resistance, which was not a good sign. Infantrymen are very superstitious, it seems. They notice things that are out of the ordinary, or things that are a paradox...or so he told me. They all look for an edge to survive. They believe in luck, chance, and happenstance.  

He said after all the Navy shelling, and the Navy planes bombing and strafing the beach, and beyond, he thought nothing would have survived that...but...when they waded ashore, they were met on the beach by some civilians. 

He only received a skinned nose, during all of the combat he was in...when he had to run, and slide into a fox hole, as they were being shelled by the Japanese artillery. 

I asked him once, if he ever thought they would lose the war. He said no, none of them ever thought we would lose the war. He said they just thought it would take a while. Every single World War II veteran, I have asked, said the same thing. They never thought they would lose the war. 

After Okinawa was taken, Dad's division was then shipped to another island to begin refitting, for the invasion of the main Japanese islands. The officers told them that the Army expected at least one million casualties, initially. He told me he knew he would not make it home alive, after hearing this news. Later, they were told that the United States had a secret weapon, but were told no other details. Rumors, he said, were flying.  

They dropped the two atomic bombs, and the soldiers, that had enough points, sailed for home on transport ships.

Dad lived to be 92. 

Rest in peace all you veterans. You stepped forward, when others stepped back. You left your family, and all you knew, for the unknown, and to serve and protect strangers. You did it for low pay, and had hardship, and pain, on every level. Some of you gave everything you had, or will ever have.

A mere "thank you" is never enough. 

Those politicians, and others, that abandon and leave behind our service men and women, in harm's way....may they be tried and convicted for treason, and murder. 

 

 

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11 hours ago, Dustin Checotah said:

This is my stepfather. GMTSC Robert D. Piquett. He joined just after Pearl Harbor. He had been working for Bethlehem Steel and joined very soon after. He started as an Aviation metalsmith but changed to Aviation Ordinance man.

The pic is of him after changing rate again to Gunners Mate Tech. That is when he made Chief, he retired in 1969 as a Senior Chief. The other pic is of him sitting on the wing of an airplane. I know he was a gunner in the Dauntless dive bomber I don't know if that is what kind of plane it is but it was from WW2 this pic was taken

54150273_134109133552.jpg

PetePlane.jpg

Howdy Dustin, that’s a Curtis SB2C Helldiver. 

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My dad (on the left) getting his "Boomer Card" for having broken the sound barrier, back when that was notable. He learned to fly when the military was transitioning from props to jets and flew both types. He started as a Hurricane Hunter flying P4Ys (Navy B-24) which meant deliberately flying into Hurricanes (!) and finished as an electronic intercept/recon pilot flying A3D Skywarriors. While the Hurricane Hunters (VJ-2/VW-4) were disbanded in 1975, his recon squadron VQ-1 is still active.

 

3oqWoVd.jpg

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13 hours ago, Dustin Checotah said:

This is my stepfather. GMTSC Robert D. Piquett. He joined just after Pearl Harbor. He had been working for Bethlehem Steel and joined very soon after. He started as an Aviation metalsmith but changed to Aviation Ordinance man.

The pic is of him after changing rate again to Gunners Mate Tech. That is when he made Chief, he retired in 1969 as a Senior Chief. The other pic is of him sitting on the wing of an airplane. I know he was a gunner in the Dauntless dive bomber I don't know if that is what kind of plane it is but it was from WW2 this pic was taken

54150273_134109133552.jpg

PetePlane.jpg

 

That was a Curtis SB2C Helldiver, which replaced the SBD Dauntless in late 1944.

 

Helldiver:

Helldiver002.jpg&key=7c253d43646a94078ec

 

Dauntless:

SBD-Opener-640x300.jpg

 

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During WWII my Dad was Superintendent of the P 51 Mustang assembly line at North American Aviation in Inglewood, Ca. He tried to join several times and was refused every time. they told him to go make airplanes, he was more valuable to the war effort doing that.

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My dad and one of his best friends went into the Army Medical Services Corps in 1954. My dad got out and came home in 1956. His ol' buddy, James Duffy, also left the regular army that year, came back to Montana and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Montana Army National Guard. He worked his way up, and retired as a Major General in '89. Dad died in 1988 at 59, and Jim will be turning 92 in three months.

My granddad served in the Swedish military, then came to the US around 1915, and served in the US Army during WWI.

Me - USN, Aviation Electrician's Mate, 1974 - 1980, never even saw a ship, let alone served on one. 

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6 hours ago, Waxahachie Kid #17017 L said:

My Dad was a World War II combat veteran of the Pacific Theater.

He was drafted in 1942, into the Army.

He was sent to the west coast for basic training, and for advanced amphibious landings. He said it was a long ride from Texas to Washington/Oregon, by way of a troop transport train.

He was in the 96th Amphibious Infantry Division. He was in company H, which was the heavy weapons company...such as 81mm mortars, heavy Browning machine guns, light air-cooled machine gun, and the like. 

They made landings, and fought, on Leyte, in 1944; and on Okinawa, in 1945. 

He told me, they hit the beach on Okinawa, and had a lot of mixed signals. It was April 1st, or April Fool's Day, and also it was Easter Sunday, as well! :blink:

He said they landed on the beach, and got no enemy resistance, which was not a good sign. Infantrymen are very superstitious, it seems. They notice things that are out of the ordinary, or things that are a paradox...or so he told me. They all look for an edge to survive. They believe in luck, chance, and happenstance.  

He said after all the Navy shelling, and the Navy planes bombing and strafing the beach, and beyond, he thought nothing would have survived that...but...when they waded ashore, they were met on the beach by some civilians. 

He only received a skinned nose, during all of the combat he was in...when he had to run, and slide into a fox hole, as they were being shelled by the Japanese artillery. 

I asked him once, if he ever thought they would lose the war. He said no, none of them ever thought we would lose the war. He said they just thought it would take a while. Every single World War II veteran, I have asked, said the same thing. They never thought they would lose the war. 

After Okinawa was taken, Dad's division was then shipped to another island to begin refitting, for the invasion of the main Japanese islands. The officers told them that the Army expected at least one million casualties, initially. He told me he knew he would not make it home alive, after hearing this news. Later, they were told that the United States had a secret weapon, but were told no other details. Rumors, he said, were flying.  

They dropped the two atomic bombs, and the soldiers, that had enough points, sailed for home on transport ships.

Dad lived to be 92. 

Rest in peace all you veterans. You stepped forward, when others stepped back. You left your family, and all you knew, for the unknown, and to serve and protect strangers. You did it for low pay, and had hardship, and pain, on every level. Some of you gave everything you had, or will ever have.

A mere "thank you" is never enough. 

Those politicians, and others, that abandon and leave behind our service men and women, in harm's way....may they be tried and convicted for treason, and murder. 

 

 

That sounds a lot like many of my father's remembrances. He was with a headquarters company that did mop up after initial invasions of the islands in the Philippines. It would seem that after the US invaded and "secured" an island the Japanese didn't just pack up and go home. I have a whole pile of letters he wrote his mother. One told of how they "took" and island, and after a day or two the Filipinos came down from the hills and basically had a party for them. While the battle was ongoing. He wrote of one night where they were singing and dancing for them while artillery was whistling overhead. The Filipinos would pause to see where the shells were hitting. Dad said it was at least a comfort that it was OUR guns and the shells were outgoing.

JHC

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My dad was in the 83rd infantry division part of the mighty 3rd army. He fought from the hedge rows to the crossing of the Elbe being awarded two bronze stars but he would never tell us why or speak about the war. My uncle was a tail gunner in a B-24 and was shot down over Holland and taken prisoner. My great uncle was Kia in WW1 and is buried in France.

I served in the Pa. National Guard from 71 through 79

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Dad was a flight line mechanic in WWII in the Pacific and an AP/MP in the occupation forces after the cessation of hostilities. He mustered out, but re-upped at the outbreak of conflict in Korea.

 

He reached the rank of Warrant Officer JG, but was busted down to A1 when he beat the crap out of a captain who was drunk and initiated physical violence.  
 

Dad was a Golden Gloves light heavyweight when he rejoined.  His CO said that the captain managed to connect with one swing and then it was lights out.  Dad made it back to the states and immediately mustered out, joining the Davidson County Highway Patrol.

 

 I worked for my father’s CO before I married Schoolmarm. He told me that Dad would have made Warrant again if he’d stayed in another 30 days.  He also said that Pop had the shortest fuse and the quickest overhand left he had ever seen!

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7 hours ago, Sixgun Sheridan said:

 

That was a Curtis SB2C Helldiver, which replaced the SBD Dauntless in late 1944

Thanks Sixgun.

I remember him also mentioning the SB2C too. Now I know what kind of plane it was that he was sitting on.

Dustin Checotah

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6 hours ago, Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life said:

During WWII my Dad was Superintendent of the P 51 Mustang assembly line at North American Aviation in Inglewood, Ca. He tried to join several times and was refused every time. they told him to go make airplanes, he was more valuable to the war effort doing that.

That was more important to the war effort than cannon fodder.

 

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Dad was the officer of the day on the California when it was sunk at Pearl Harbor.
As the ranking officer, he was the last (alive) to leave the ship.
After that, he saw action all over the Pacific.

Today, my eldest daughter is the CO for the Navy Port at Guam.
Her hubby is the Commodore of the Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Pacific.
I wish Dad had lived to see this.

 

robert.william.gavin.xxxx.annapolis.uniform.front.72,720x.png

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My dad was a Motor Machinist in WWII Pacific.   The machines he worked on were various landing craft.  He didn't talk about the landings he participated in.  The exception was one time when he told of his landing craft being disabled on the beach in Saipan and spending the night with artillery shells flying overhead & some falling near the hole in the sand he was hunkered down.  To him this was much worse than his craft was motoring into the & away from the beach with shells exploding nearby.  He wasn't awarded the Purple Heart so I know he participated in other landings; however, he didn't talk about his Navy experience.   He passed in 1985.  I am sure he would be proud of his great grandsons, especially the youngest who is MM Nuclear on the Jerold Ford.  His brother is an IT tech in the Army at Ft. Carson and their cousin is in boot camp at Ft. Leonard Wood.  I went through boot camp in 1969 at Ft. Leonard Wood. 

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11 hours ago, J.D. Daily said:

My dad was a Motor Machinist in WWII Pacific.   The machines he worked on were various landing craft.  He didn't talk about the landings he participated in.  The exception was one time when he told of his landing craft being disabled on the beach in Saipan and spending the night with artillery shells flying overhead & some falling near the hole in the sand he was hunkered down.  To him this was much worse than his craft was motoring into the & away from the beach with shells exploding nearby.  He wasn't awarded the Purple Heart so I know he participated in other landings; however, he didn't talk about his Navy experience.   He passed in 1985.  I am sure he would be proud of his great grandsons, especially the youngest who is MM Nuclear on the Jerold Ford.  His brother is an IT tech in the Army at Ft. Carson and their cousin is in boot camp at Ft. Leonard Wood.  I went through boot camp in 1969 at Ft. Leonard Wood. 

Ah yes Ft. Lost In The Woods Misery

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On 11/12/2021 at 3:13 PM, Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life said:

During WWII my Dad was Superintendent of the P 51 Mustang assembly line at North American Aviation in Inglewood, Ca. He tried to join several times and was refused every time. they told him to go make airplanes, he was more valuable to the war effort doing that.

I should have mentioned my Father-in-Law who was in the Navy and repaired damaged Navy aircraft in the south Pacific. 

My Grandfather was also a vet. He was in the Army and in 1909 was chasing Pancho Villa.

RML 1916 Uniform 2.jpg

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My dad was in from 49 to 53. Special forces. Then seminary in Louisville rejoined and served till 1984. Two tours to nam. His dad served at the end of World War II  then on to serve in Korea.  His Dad served in WW I . I could go on. My family, cousins uncles. We are a lifer family that goes back to the civil and beyond.  Scots always fight for their freedom no matter where.  That’s why I think Jen Psaki is fake. The gene for a True redhead comes strictly out of Scotland. No way she’s one of us

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My father was in the Navy from 1926 to 1956 and retired as a CPO Radioman.  He was the senior NCO at his station when he retired.  His brother was in the Army during WWII and I have heard he was with Merrill's Marauders.  My father-in-law was in the Marines during WWII.

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My dad was a flight engineer and top turret gunner on B-24s in the 7th AAF in the Pacific. He got out in 1949, and passed away in 1977. Most of my relatives on both sides of the family have been in the service in one branch or another.

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My Dad was in the Navy in late WWII, 2 of his brothers served post war in Army, 3rd brother, was in the Navy, post Korea. Mom's brother was in the Army at The Bulge. I served in Army in Viet Nam. My neice retired from the Navy and I have a cousin that retired from Navy.

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