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#1
12-11-04, 23:30
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Our Parents Who Served
Hi Everyone
 The last couple of days a have me thinking about our parents who served/serve. The sad loss of Bill Murray's father yesterday, and the anniversary of Geoff's fathers passing 6 years ago, made me think that it would be wonderful to have a special thread to honour and share rememberances (and show off  ) our Mother and Father, IF we would like to do that with our MLU Family.I know what I say here has been said in other threads, but this thread is just for ALL MLU-ers parents who want to share a little of their parents' service story. My father, Sargeant Johannes (Joe) Hafsteinn Jonasson, P.P.C.L.I., born May 7, 1920, passed away to cancer at age 52 in 1972. (His brothers and one sister also served) My father, Joe, served at home after being rejected for overseas for medical reasons. He served at Shilo, from 1942 through 1945, outside of Winnipeg. I'm really sad that circumstances and miles between us, then his early death when I was 18 in a foster home, prevented us from ever being able to sit together and talk about his life and service years. I have to settle for any stories I hear from other peoples memories. I adored him when I was a kid... still do. This  is for you "Dad" for the service you did. Karmen 
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#2
12-11-04, 23:48
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PS:
PS: I'd like to add a comment here about "parents who are no longer with us".
When our Father and Mother are no longer with us, it hurts, and it's really sad to lose that "physical presence" relationship with them. BUT ... our "relationship" WITH them can NEVER end because they are alive in our minds. Our memories. And our blood. Our ways. So many ways ... our relationship lives on forever. That's a beautiful consolation as the next best thing when we can't have them "with us" physically. I love the knowledge and memories with him that I have. Karmen
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#3
13-11-04, 04:06
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good idea
it is to salute all those that served, and offerd so much, to give us the freedome we take for granted. Let us not forget.
But Karmen, you started my mind, which don't happen to often... "Vetts dottir" is it for "veterans daugther"? Dottir is a bit Icelandic, but your father had a Scandinavian sure name. Sounds a bit Norwegian that name, but "dottir" sounds Icelandic... Would be nice to know where you got your yappy mouth from.. Guess it must be norwegian because I have always loved your "sharpness"... Rolf
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#4
13-11-04, 04:12
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Fathers Service......
Served with the 46 Field Regt.,Royal Canadian Artillary(Mobile) with 25 pounders.....
I'm looking at his certificate of Military qualification hanging here where he passed his Sergeants exam on the 30 January 1944.. He passed away 2 years ago at the age of 90... Another part of Canadian heritage gone.. Lest we forget...
__________________
Alex Blair :remember :support :drunk:
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#5
13-11-04, 13:43
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Re: good idea
Quote:
 )I love the "Vets_Dottir" name is all ...sort of "remembers" my dad. Sharpness you say? Hmmm I don't think you mean brilliant  : 
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#6
13-11-04, 13:50
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Re: Fathers Service......
Quote:
Thank you for telling about your dad Alex. 90! Long life ... you have many memories and must really miss him. We won't forget Karmen
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#7
13-11-04, 16:56
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Parent who served
My father served in both wars he was still on the Reserve list of his British Army unit when war broke out in 1914. He was boarding with a Sergeant of the 48th Highlanders but they would not accept him, he was told that he was too short. During WWII he was with the VGC and traveled as far as India delivering mules for the Burma campaign. Below is a picture of him and his section taken in 1917, My father is the man standing on the left of the last row.
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#8
13-11-04, 22:13
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my uncle Bill
Uncle Bill passed away a couple of weeks ago on Octobert 23 at his residence in Queanbeyan. With Bil passing it leaves only father left out of six boys four of which served in WW 11 . Bill served in New Guinea on the Kokoda Track and witnessed war atrosity's and he was involved in the inquiry after the war and had also been interviewed and his stories have been printed in a book that is available at the War Memorial in Canberra. Bill was born in Wales and moved to Australia in 1927.
Max
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#9
14-11-04, 00:16
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Dad was a D-Day Dodger
My father enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1935 during the Depression. He was shipped to Hawaii and assigned to the 64th Coast Artillery for about six weeks. Then his "first shirt" tapped him on the shoulder and told him he had a new job. He became one of three drivers for the commander-in-chief of the Hawaiian Department, Major General Hugh A. Drum. The photos I have are a neat archive.
The day after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted again, and was sent to OCS becasue he had prior service. Again sent through artillery school he ended up in an anti-aircraft outfit that had its equipment sunk on the way to North Africa. The survivors were folded into the 185th Engineer Combat Battalion, and spent the war building roads, airfields, bridges, and seaports. He liked Italy well enough, but draining the marshes outside Rome gave him the malaria that eventually killed him. Bob
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#10
14-11-04, 02:08
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My German Uncle
I have mentioned before in other posts about by father who served in the RCAF during the war on the wrong side of the ocean. Karman, he was also a smoker and died from cancer two days before my eleventh birthday.
The photo below is of my German uncle; the one on the left. He immigrated to Canada during the 1930’s, and was married to my mother’s oldest sister before the start of the war. During the war he was in the Artillery. I’ve seen photos of him standing along side of 5.5in guns. After the war he was in the Canadian Occupation Force. On the back of the photo is his mailing address while serving in the C.O.F. B-160681 Gnr. Kloninger R.A. 2/26 Bty 2/12 Field Regt. R.C.A. C.O.F I was never able to talk to him about his war time experiences. Every time that we visited with them, my mother always warned me not to ask him about the war. It must have been a strange experience to be a German in war time England, or to be in his home country, Germany, as part of an occupation force.
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#11
14-11-04, 04:52
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re- parents who served
Carman:
On this rememberence day we must find the reason for these tragic numbers that we honor. 8 million in world war one and 60 million in world war two. It is hard to comprehend the staggering loss of life plus untold mind and body wounds. Surely your generation will find a way to change this tragic deadly spiral that will eventually lead to the elimination of all mankind, as suffering occurs to both friend and foe. There is very little excuse for this tragic human behavior. When you see your buddy fatally bleeding to death and reaching out for help you try to temper this with a young enemy's mother pleading for food for her starving children and realize how helpless you really are. Is this natural selection of which we have no free will? Because we surely are still in the animal state in our behavior. Once again your love for your father and your kind thoughts regarding parents of those who served gives me hope in your generation. The MLU is truly a wonderful forum for true freedom of expression and a tie to our military past because we sit tilted on a ridge of world disintegration.
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#12
14-11-04, 06:32
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Re: re- parents who served
Quote:
Seriously though, I have faith and hope for the world that theres a pretty good chance that it WILL survive. You say my love for my father and other parents who serve, and so on, restores your faith in our generation I'm glad. Our generation, the baby-boomers are now passing over the running of things to our kids, and in spite of all the negative news these days, I have great faith in our kids and their kids to influence and make a whole lot of positive changes in spite of the challenges. YOU people have restored my own faith in PEOPLE. Something I needed very much ... and I grow in understanding every day just how very, and in so many ways, the Military and its enlisted and Soldiers, ESPECIALLY the Soldiers, are the ones who do the actual actions that proteect our rights and freedoms, and LIVES. You all care about this enough to do something about it ... not just your immediate personal little lives. THAT restores my faith more than anything else. Actions speak louder than words. Boy, have I hung out with the wrong people!  : Karmen
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#13
15-11-04, 12:40
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Hi.
Quote:
"I" love ya, baby. Next time I can I'll have a drink of DRAMBUIE and lift it with heart to your Father, and to You, for your special Father-Son bonds and memories. I love the photo you posted. Wow. Both big wars. I hope your dad shared his memories and impressions with you. For your Father from me, not one, but two salutes, one for each big war: Karmen (PS: one day this coming Spring, when you've arrived back from Wintering in Florida, I hope you'll allow me to come sit with you and sip Drambuie and visit? No frying pans )
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#14
15-11-04, 13:03
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John
Quote:
 So many reasons for silence hey? I'm even sorrier to hear that you lost him at such a tender age, and a crucial one for a boy 11..... adolescence when a son most needs a fathers love and guidance. For your Father from me Karmen (PS: I accidentally did a duplicate posting of my last post and deleted it Geoff/Hanno)
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#15
16-11-04, 23:21
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My dad!!
Thought I'd chime in about my dad-the CMP D-Day Dodger.Reference the photo in the Liberation Album on the motorcycle,plus his photo in the book "Lancaster at War".All I can say is he was a very quiet guy,loved kids,had nightmares till his end.He was just a nice quiet guy from Kingston Ontario who gave his all and which,in the end,killed him in 1976.Volenteered in 39-England/Sicily/Italy/the continent-and finally home.He ended up re-enlisting into the RCOC & received a bar to his CD.
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#16
20-11-04, 17:14
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Re: My dad!!
Quote:
You must really miss your Dad lot's sometimes Sad about the nightmares, sad that it seems the biggest casualty of war seems to be who you were before the war, and peace of mind after it. Believe me, I wish I could restore who and what was lost, to all. I've done, and occassionally still do, when fear or threat hits me deep, battles with nightmares and that had to be hard for you to see your Dad suffer them.For your Dad from me ... Karmen
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#17
20-11-04, 17:25
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Re: My dad!!
Quote:
To me, that makes these men even stronger, knowing that they survived the peace in spite of it all. They are truly giants, the like of which we shall probably never see again.
__________________
SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support
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#18
20-11-04, 20:53
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My namesake
 This is my Uncle Keith Wathen, my mother's only brother who was an Australian flying with 415 squadron RCAF, part of Coastal Command. He was killed on the night of the Dam Busters raid, flying a Handley Page Hampden off the Dutch coast in a torpedo attack on German shipping. His death had a profound effect on the family. Here's one of his letters which is undated, but was probably from the latter part of 1942. He was stationed at Thorney Island, not far from Portsmouth. It's a ripping yarn. "Since then our squadron has moved down south to more clement climes. Before leaving the last station I had somewhat of an experience - rather shaking. A flap started one day when a capital ship of the German Navy left it's hiding place. At about 8 o'clock the same night it was decided that three aircraft from our squadron plus six from another squadron should go out and attack it in the dark before it reached it's next hiding place. The crews chosen included my Flight Commander (who is now C.O. of the squadron) myself and another crew. The Flight Commander was to drop flares whilst we were carrying torpedoes. For divers reasons it was some time before we were ready to take off. The F/Commander was supposed to take off about ten minutes before us but we were finally told that midnight was take off time and that we were to take off irrespective of whether he had taken off. He said that if by chance he took off after us he would catch us up. I took off more or less on time and set course for the south coast of Norway which was our datum point. I arrived there at 02.35 but could see no other aircraft or flares or anything else except the coast. I stooged up and down the coast for fifteen minutes waiting for them to show up, expecting bags of German fighters all the time but nothing showed up. I was rather dubious as to what I should do so finally decided to search for the ship. Then for the next thirty minutes I stooged all around the Skaggerak (spelling's a bit ropey I think) close to the coast and finally had to give up the search. We set course for base. We arrived back at the base around 0.600 hours and although I knew I was more or less over the aerodrome I couldn't see the lights because of mist or fog. I contacted the aerodrome on R.T. and decided to fly out to sea for a few minutes, lose height and then come in towards the aerodrome low enough to see the lights. About five minutes out the starboard engine cut and then started to burn. Well the engine cutting didn't worry me unduly but when it started to burn it shook me rigid. At that stage we were losing height fairly rapidly and were down to 300 feet, some of the instruments were gone too since they were run off the starboard engine. My God, the number of things you have to do at the same time would amaze you. Cut the starboard throttle, pull back the pitch lever, switch the ignition off, switch the petrol off, watch the height and airspeed, the attitude of the aircraft, find the appropriate fire extinguisher switch, switch over the instruments to "Venturi" (they then run off the slipstream), pump the bomb doors open, release the torpedo......Grim!!! In the flap I had wandered well off my course and didn't quite know where the aerodrome was but Ian guided me towards it by means of the intercom. As soon as the torpedo was released things were much better and very slowly we gained height but I was afraid that the port engine might also give out because of the strain placed on it. It had been more or less fully open for about three of four minutes. However I contacted the aerodrome on R.T. and told them what had happened and they started shooting off rocket after rocket to indicate it's position. I went towards it and after about three minutes the vibration which had been pretty bad became excessive and I thought the aircraft would shake itself to pieces. We assumed later that it was caused by the airscrew blades which shot off in all directions as they burnt out at the hub. When the last one had gone, however, the vibration stopped. Apparently it was a good thing that the airscrews did drop off and I found out later that a dead prop is worth 140 horsepower from the other engine. All this time the engine had been burning at the front but shortly after the prop dropped off there were a few explosions and then it stopped. By then we were nearly to the 'drome. We then went in and made a good landing on the runway. Bags of panic on the aerodrome; cars coming from all directions, someone wanting to know in a loud voice why the bloody hell leave the kite so close to the runway. He then saw the starboard engine and swore incredulously. Ian and the rest of the crew were stroking the ground very affectionately with their feet. The Group Captain came out in his car and said "Good show, good show" and took us back to the Ops room. We finally got to bed at 08.30 in the morning having had eggs and bacon for breakfast. Apparently our station, to say nothing of the Group, had been recalling us all night on W.T. but we didnÕt get the message. However a very good view was taken by all and sundry. On the whole, quite an instructive trip. My left leg was quite sore the next day due to the pressure on the rudder for so long. It's quite considerable..."Here's a link to the page
__________________
Film maker 42 FGT No8 (Aust) remains 42 FGT No9 (Aust) 42 F15 Keith Webb Macleod, Victoria Australia Also Canadian Military Pattern Vehicles group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/canadianmilitarypattern
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#19
21-11-04, 01:51
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And my dad
Don't have a pic handy, but my father, who died in 1996 served in the RAAF in New Guinea, as aircrew, for a time with 6 Squadron, on Beauforts, then with 15 Aircraft repair depot as part of a test flying crew.
In his logbook, under types in which flown are a Wirraway and Tiger Moth, both of which I have been fortunate to fly in - it's a fascinating experience to think about your dad in these circumstances. My father in law is still alive, and he served with "X" force in the islands, as an engineer on barges and other small boats, and he has some good stories to tell. Some of his exploits involved picking up our people from behind enemy lines. He's also always been good with explosives too! At the end of the war one of the tasks was the destruction of lend lease equipment where the fun was to drive a tank transporter flat out towards a cliff, jumping off onto a jeep running alongside at the last moment.
__________________
Film maker 42 FGT No8 (Aust) remains 42 FGT No9 (Aust) 42 F15 Keith Webb Macleod, Victoria Australia Also Canadian Military Pattern Vehicles group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/canadianmilitarypattern
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#20
21-11-04, 05:39
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415 Swordfish
Wow did this ever perk up my my ears. My step brother George Winfield served as a mid upper gunner in a Halifax bomber with 415. This is the first time that I have heard they were anything but a Bomber Squadron. A school chumb of mine also had a brother who served in 415 as a pilot. "Porky" Cowieson was his name, he lived in Brampton ON after the war.
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#21
21-11-04, 19:20
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415
Yes, Art, they moved on to the Halifax a couple of months after my uncle was killed.
They're known as 415 Swordfish squadron.
__________________
Film maker 42 FGT No8 (Aust) remains 42 FGT No9 (Aust) 42 F15 Keith Webb Macleod, Victoria Australia Also Canadian Military Pattern Vehicles group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/canadianmilitarypattern
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#22
21-11-04, 19:37
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Re: Keefy
Thanks for that. That's all I can say.
__________________
SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support
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