My brother was sent to the Kosovo thing, stationed in Macedonia. It was pretty much as un-warish an experience you can get when bombs and armies are involved. He pretty much spent all his time either in an air conditioned trailer, flying drones or sitting alone for hours at an ammo depot in the middle of nowhere, trying desperately to stay awake. Or getting himself into ridiculously stupid sticky situations.

An uncle was in the Navy during Vietnam, but I don't know if he ever left the states.

My one Grandfather was a pastor who protested the internment camp from the pulpit and in the papers. He was never called up (or he was and they didn't need chaplains, not sure exactly how that went).

His brother lost hearing in one ear in the Battle of the Bulge, returned home, and became a pastor himself.

My other Grandfather was a pilot and still training in Mississippi when the war ended. He caused a ruckus by giving up his seat to a black woman on a bus.

Buncha damn hippies I tell ya.

I missed the first night of The War. I read that they didn't say a lot about Midway, because people didn't know it was such a pivotal battle at the time. What did they say about Guadalcanal? Guadalcanal was a big deal at the time, as it was the first US counteroffensive against Japan and the whole campaign was so vicious and hung it the balance for so long.

Also, it was probably a bad idea for the US to launch the campaign so early in the war, but for Roosevelt wanted an offensive against Japan before the '42 midterm elections....

My paternal grandfather was a research physician at Harvard (also married, with children) during WWII, and my maternal grandfather spent the war in the Naval Academy (class of '46, which actually graduated in '45, due to the hurry-up-there's-a-war-on plan.) I think he spent some post-war time in the pacific. He was career navy, but mostly in research & engineering (nuclear submarines; the Navy sent him to MIT for graduate work.)

My father joined the navy in 1967 to avoid being drafted into the army, and they taught him Thai in Monterey and sent him to the Philippines to eavesdrop on military communications. He decided this was unethical and waited around working as a base radio dj while they decided what to do about it. Eventually they honorably discharged him, after only about 2 years in. He is very proud of his ability to avoid serving The Man. (Yes, he has authority issues.)

My grandfather on my mother's side couldn't join the army because of flat feet - seriously. But he was a chemical engineer so he spent the war working on developing new types of rubber that could withstand higher heat and friction for military airplane tires.

My grandfather on my father's side I know was in the army at some point in his life, but it occurs to me I have no idea when or where.

My maternal grandfather and his three brothers all served overseas in WWII. I can't imagine how my poor great-grandmother dealt with that mentally. They all came back from the war although the youngest, who was an army paratrooper, was injured so badly that he never was able to work again.

My paternal grandfather wanted to be a pilot but he was colorblind so they didn't let him in. One of his brother's was in the army and met his lovely wife in France. War bride!

One of my uncles was in the navy in Vietnam and my father was drafted into the army although he was stationed the whole time in El Paso. In the hospital there, though, so he certainly saw the effects of the war.

Reading this I realized I don't know about either of my grandfathers' experiences during the war and they are both dead now. I'll have to ask and see if there are any stories.

My great uncle met his wife during WWII, she was a nurse and they were both stationed in the Pacific (I think).

My great aunt worked on a military base (or with military personnel) during the War and she and some friends had decided to go to Alaska after the war, but everyone changed their minds except my great aunt who told everyone she was going and so she was going. She took a bus from Georga to the NW and then a boat to Alaska, where there was a job waiting for her. She started going by her middle name and sort of reinvented herself. She met her husband there and they got married and spent their first year of marriage living in a hotel and eating room service.

Coincidentally, I got this email from my friend Dave this morning:

I'm sure something similar like this has happened to you all at some point in your life, but I just had to share an interesting experience...

While doing my daily hr to 1 1/2 hr commute to work *groan*, I sometimes listen to NPR. (I know, I know, how grown up of me)... While listen to NPR, a piece came up on war vets.... (ok no big deal).... but its the strangest feeling to all of a sudden hear your father's voice chime in...

I had no idea he was going to do this. What are the odds of just randomly turning on the radio to catch this? The other funny thing listening to it, was hearing the beginning of the story.. as the editor started the piece off talking about a vietnam vet living in the Ozarks... I did start to wonder if my father knew this guy... and then hearing my dad's name and voice... I just started to laugh.

Funny how things like this happen.... Just thought I'd share my odd occurance...

My father was stationed in New York City for at least some of the war, plus I think he worked at some of the air bases around this country. He was an airplane mechanic. He died before I could figure out that there might be an interesting story in why a healthy single man wasn't overseas. I also regret not laying claim to his collection of swizzle sticks from War-era New York City. Mother was/is virulently anti-booze, and I'm sure she threw them away as soon as she could.

My father's father was in the Austrian Army during WWI, on the Italian Front. I don't think my maternal grandfather saw active service, and I know my father didn't.