Pearl Harbor

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My father was a WW2 veteran. After the Pearl Harbor Attack, he and some others went to sign up. I remember him telling the story that they took their beagles and shotguns and walked to town to sign up - rabbit hunting on the way there and back. He did not like to talk about the war. He traveled to California (I think on a train) for some training and was then put on a ship to Attu Island in the Aleutian chain - last US island in the chain if I remember correctly. 1100 miles from Alaska mainland, 2000 miles to Tokyo and 750 miles to Russia. Part of Alaska and home to the only WW2 battle on US soil. Ship was converted from a vessel for shipping cattle. He was sea sick the entire trip. Intelligence was that the Japanese had settled on the nearby Kiska island. US plan was to land on Attu and set up to attack the Japanese on Kiska. What they did not know was that the Japanese had also settled on Attu. It is a cold, steep, foggy island. Near the water, the soil is permafrost. They did not have adequate cold weather clothing or equipment due to the urgency of the situation and the shortage of supplies. He said they lived and slept in cold mud the entire time they were there. Years later when he would see a large cardboard box, he would mention that he would have given anything for that box when he was on Attu island. When they landed, they had difficulty getting the wheeled equipment to solid ground due to the unstable soft ground. They started the trip to higher ground and did not know that the Japanese were setup in the hills/mountains. The Japanese waited until they were in the most vulnerable location and begin firing. Welcome to war. They did not have enough food. Food was still on the ship. The surprise attack by the Japanese caused so much confusion. The battle of Attu island was one of the bloodiest battles in terms of soldiers lost per 1000. The last battle was a suicidal attack by the Japanese in the night beginning at the US hospital tent where all the wounded US soldiers were killed with bayonets. The Japanese were out of ammunition. It ended with hand to hand combat near what is now know as Massacre Bay. Many of the US soldiers ran away during the surprise nighttime attack. My father had a poor opinion of them. There is a 2006 PBS documentary "Red, white and blue" which is very interesting. Some amazing stories.
 
simme said:
My father was a WW2 veteran. After the Pearl Harbor Attack, he and some others went to sign up. I remember him telling the story that they took their beagles and shotguns and walked to town to sign up - rabbit hunting on the way there and back. He did not like to talk about the war. He traveled to California (I think on a train) for some training and was then put on a ship to Attu Island in the Aleutian chain - last US island in the chain if I remember correctly. 1100 miles from Alaska mainland, 2000 miles to Tokyo and 750 miles to Russia. Part of Alaska and home to the only WW2 battle on US soil. Ship was converted from a vessel for shipping cattle. He was sea sick the entire trip. Intelligence was that the Japanese had settled on the nearby Kiska island. US plan was to land on Attu and set up to attack the Japanese on Kiska. What they did not know was that the Japanese had also settled on Attu. It is a cold, steep, foggy island. Near the water, the soil is permafrost. They did not have adequate cold weather clothing or equipment due to the urgency of the situation and the shortage of supplies. He said they lived and slept in cold mud the entire time they were there. Years later when he would see a large cardboard box, he would mention that he would have given anything for that box when he was on Attu island. When they landed, they had difficulty getting the wheeled equipment to solid ground due to the unstable soft ground. They started the trip to higher ground and did not know that the Japanese were setup in the hills/mountains. The Japanese waited until they were in the most vulnerable location and begin firing. Welcome to war. They did not have enough food. Food was still on the ship. The surprise attack by the Japanese caused so much confusion. The battle of Attu island was one of the bloodiest battles in terms of soldiers lost per 1000. The last battle was a suicidal attack by the Japanese in the night beginning at the US hospital tent where all the wounded US soldiers were killed with bayonets. The Japanese were out of ammunition. It ended with hand to hand combat near what is now know as Massacre Bay. Many of the US soldiers ran away during the surprise nighttime attack. My father had a poor opinion of them. There is a 2006 PBS documentary "Red, white and blue" which is very interesting. Some amazing stories.
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Dad joined on December 8th mom and dads 4th anniversary.
He served in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean campaigns.
He was in a task force of sub hunters of the German Wolfpack mainly when not supporting landings. His ship actually captured one of the U.-boats and towed it to port for military intelligence to go over.
Had another uncle was in the Marina turkey shoot as well as a Marine sniper .
He was at Guadalcanal, made the beach landings Iwo and Okinawa. Those men were some real bad asses.
 
Have no close up relatives that were in the service.... father missing toes so was not accepted......then had the family..... all the older ones are gone.....ex was in vietnam and was messed up mentally from it... but my deepest respects to any and all that serve our country...... It was hell from what I have read and heard..... God Bless everyone of them.
 
Caustic Burno said:
Was in the Battle of Anzio or the Anzio beachhead?
Both were tough spots to be in. Anzio was one of the toughest battles of the war. The Germans kept the Allies at a standstill for months.
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It was long before my time, but I believe it was at the beachhead.

Edit: It was the beachhead. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40797772/pvt-eugene-h-brewer-1/

My Grandfather made the 1 1/2 hour trip to retrieve the body at the train station and it was delayed. He had to make the trip again with his father to retrieve the remains again the following day. It also was not on D-day, I was always led to believe it was, but it was in March of '44.
 
Last edited:
sstterry said:
It was long before my time, but I believe it was at the beachhead.

Edit: It was the beachhead. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40797772/pvt-eugene-h-brewer-1/

My Grandfather made the 1 1/2 hour trip to retrieve the body at the train station and it was delayed. He had to make the trip again with his father to retrieve the remains again the following day. It also was not on D-day, I was always led to believe it was, but it was in March of '44.
Click to expand...
That would have been the battle of Anzio, that was one tough campaign.
I can't remember the German general, but he was a brilliant tactician he kept the Allies at bay for months.
 
My Dad quit school the end of his junior year to join the navy. That would have been June of '43. Was trained to be a tail gunner in dive bombers. Came home on leave while waiting to be shipped out. At home he got sick. A nurse who was boarding with my grandparents brought him some drugs from Madigan hospital (fort Lewis). He reacted to the drugs. Nearly killed him. He spent several months in the hospital. Was given a medical discharge and spent the rest of the war working in the ship yards building victory ships. Later in life he found out that a lot of GI's died taking that drug.
Nearly every adult male I was raised around was a WWII veteran. Some were fathers of my friends. Some were friends of my parents. One was like a second father to me. Artillery in New Geniea and then Italy, with Patton at the Battle of the Bulge and across Europe, operated landing craft at Iwo, Tarawa, and others, a P-38 pilot stationed in Italy, a fighter pilot who flew with Boyington and the Black Sheep, shot down in a B-15 over Germany 2years in a German POW camp, fireman on the aircraft carrier York Town, infantry Captain on the Philippines with 3 purple hearts, etc etc
 
simme said:
My father was a WW2 veteran. After the Pearl Harbor Attack, he and some others went to sign up. I remember him telling the story that they took their beagles and shotguns and walked to town to sign up - rabbit hunting on the way there and back. He did not like to talk about the war. He traveled to California (I think on a train) for some training and was then put on a ship to Attu Island in the Aleutian chain - last US island in the chain if I remember correctly. 1100 miles from Alaska mainland, 2000 miles to Tokyo and 750 miles to Russia. Part of Alaska and home to the only WW2 battle on US soil. Ship was converted from a vessel for shipping cattle. He was sea sick the entire trip. Intelligence was that the Japanese had settled on the nearby Kiska island. US plan was to land on Attu and set up to attack the Japanese on Kiska. What they did not know was that the Japanese had also settled on Attu. It is a cold, steep, foggy island. Near the water, the soil is permafrost. They did not have adequate cold weather clothing or equipment due to the urgency of the situation and the shortage of supplies. He said they lived and slept in cold mud the entire time they were there. Years later when he would see a large cardboard box, he would mention that he would have given anything for that box when he was on Attu island. When they landed, they had difficulty getting the wheeled equipment to solid ground due to the unstable soft ground. They started the trip to higher ground and did not know that the Japanese were setup in the hills/mountains. The Japanese waited until they were in the most vulnerable location and begin firing. Welcome to war. They did not have enough food. Food was still on the ship. The surprise attack by the Japanese caused so much confusion. The battle of Attu island was one of the bloodiest battles in terms of soldiers lost per 1000. The last battle was a suicidal attack by the Japanese in the night beginning at the US hospital tent where all the wounded US soldiers were killed with bayonets. The Japanese were out of ammunition. It ended with hand to hand combat near what is now know as Massacre Bay. Many of the US soldiers ran away during the surprise nighttime attack. My father had a poor opinion of them. There is a 2006 PBS documentary "Red, white and blue" which is very interesting. Some amazing stories.
Click to expand...
I new a guy that served in the Canadian Army in Alaska during the war.
Was your father involved in the shootout in the fog with the Canadians after the Kiska landing?
 
Silver said:
I new a guy that served in the Canadian Army in Alaska during the war.
Was your father involved in the shootout in the fog with the Canadians after the Kiska landing?
Click to expand...
Just read the google account of that. As far as I know, he was only on Attu. Never on Kiska. He said it was always very foggy. Hardly ever saw any sun. One story he told. Lots of caves on the island. The Japanese had occupied the caves for shelter and protection. The Americans had taken one of the caves late in the day with several Japanese causalities lying at the mouth of the cave. He and a few others were assigned guard duty of the cave for the night. They all fell asleep in the cave. In the morning, all the bodies were gone. The Japanese had recovered the bodies during the night - a short distance from where they slept.
He was in the combat engineers. Supposed to be building roads and landing strips. But said there was not much time for that. Mostly fighting to stay alive.
 
The
simme said:
Just read the google account of that. As far as I know, he was only on Attu. Never on Kiska. He said it was always very foggy. Hardly ever saw any sun. One story he told. Lots of caves on the island. The Japanese had occupied the caves for shelter and protection. The Americans had taken one of the caves late in the day with several Japanese causalities lying at the mouth of the cave. He and a few others were assigned guard duty of the cave for the night. They all fell asleep in the cave. In the morning, all the bodies were gone. The Japanese had recovered the bodies during the night - a short distance from where they slept.
He was in the combat engineers. Supposed to be building roads and landing strips. But said there was not much time for that. Mostly fighting to stay alive.
Click to expand...
Sound like a pretty rough go from the accounts I have read on that.
 
Heart wrenching stories. Tip of the iceberg. Pathetically little media attention given to those who served and gave up their lives to preserve freedom. The younger generations that followed them are increasingly clueless and naive about the sacrifices of their predecessors.
 
76 Bar said:
Heart wrenching stories. Tip of the iceberg. Pathetically little media attention given to those who served and gave up their lives to preserve freedom. The younger generations that followed them are increasingly clueless and naive about the sacrifices of their predecessors.
Click to expand...
Had two grand sons who signed up after the attacks in New York. Both joined the national guard in high school. One was 16 when he graduated in May and was in Irag for his 17 birthday in Nov . The National Guard really took on alot of responibilty and were over used in the Irag war. WW 2 My Uncle Orville was on the invasion of Mindanao Pacific Island. Uncle Honree landed on the boot of Italy and fought in the invasion. A lot of cousins also fought we were lucky that all returned safely.
 
I am grateful that my generation got to reap the benefits of those that went before. Like most, I have ancestors that served. WW1 including Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, WW2, Korea, and going back a few years many gggrandfathers and uncles that fought for the Union during the American Civil war, and on the losing side of the War of 1812.
Hopefully there will be more generations that don't need experience what previous generations went through.
 
My grandpa whom I grew up next to and spent many hours with as a kid and whom I idolized was drafted for WW2, he landed at Normandy beach I believe 14 days after D-Day. He was an infantryman in Patton's 3rd Army. He was awarded a bronze star for bravery. Orval Faubus, former Arkansas governor, served in Patton's 3rd Army as well as an officer. Faubus wrote a book called "In this far away land". It was mostly a diary he had kept during the war. I enjoyed reading it to kinda get a visual of where my grandpa had been and what he might've been doing. They're not called the greatest generation for nothing. My grandpa was tough as a boot hill. Any time I feel I'm pretty tough, I look at what that generation endured, both men and women, and I feel like a wimp. As I said I idolized the man and still do, I try to do things like he done it and live a similar lifestyle. I even named my son after him who plans to name his son the same thing. I was an only child and lived next to my grandparents so I spent alot of time with him and his friends and learned alot of their ways.
 

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