By Renee Roberta Nash (Wolfwoman) (67.3.10.99) on Thursday, July 03, 2003 - 06:00 pm:

Hi all!

I joined here last night and am really impressed with this site. My son,Will,and I are pretty well obsessed with WWII in general, but for personal reasons.

My father is 85 and a retired lifer from the Navy. He was a CPO during the war and served in both the Pacific and the European theaters. He has MANY stories to tell and when we go to visit him, we all have a couple of shots and he starts talking. Will loves and respects his Papa and totally listens to him with intense interest. We are now in the process of trying to get his stories on audio tape so that we can put together a book for him, complete with pictures. I think that it would be a cool present for him for his next birthday.

To look at Will, one would think that he's just another slacker 20-year-old kid whose main interests were mainly going to concerts and when the next kegger is, as he has hair down past his shoulders and always has his electric Fender in his lap. But, of course, looks are deceiving especially in his case. He's on to college in the fall after winning his alternative high school's only scholarship. He even gave a great speech at his graduation ceremony, after being persueded by all of his teachers and counselor to do so. This all was totally out of left field, as he was failing everything in the main stream school. Do I sound like a proud mom? You bet. And there's more. The main reason that we are doing the book was his idea. The other night we were talking, and he is so proud of Papa and really feels bad that he can't follow in his footsteps. He is well aware of his family's military history : paternal grandpa was a soldier in WWI, father did a tour in Nam, uncle in Korea (I think), maternal great-uncle was sent to North Africa and captured (a couple years as a POW has provided him with a lifelong list of health problems) and then there's my dad. Will has cerebral palsy due to being born almost 3 months prematurely, and if he were able-bodied, he would join up in a heartbeat to carry on like those before him. He figures that doing the book for Papa is the next best thing he can do to show his appreciation.

We are in absolute awe of what Easy Company and others did in the war, and what military personnel have always done and continue to do. We are not exactly gung-ho patriots, but we love our country, warts and all. And we realize what it takes for freedom to exist here and around the world. If I knew how to do a proper salute, I would do it.

"Thanks" is not a big enough word for how we feel about Papa and all the rest.

Take care......Renee

By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.183.79) on Friday, July 04, 2003 - 11:50 pm:

Welcome Renee and Will!!! I hope you enjoy the site!

gold

By david jepson (David) (212.125.93.43) on Saturday, July 05, 2003 - 12:49 am:

My God it looks like all i do all night is add posts to this site. Well the truth is i am working Night shift in the port of Dover in the UK and we are fairly quiet at the moment so i can pick my times.

I dont wish to be regarded as an "Anorak".

Kind Regards to you all.
David

By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.160.183.79) on Saturday, July 05, 2003 - 01:09 am:

LOL! So you're goofing off!!! j/k! ;)

gold

By Max Davis (Hilts) (195.93.32.14) on Tuesday, November 11, 2003 - 02:43 pm:

I'm a new member and am wondering if anyone knows a way of tracing the owner of a Purple Heart, I was given one a few years ago from my late great uncle who served in the British army, and would be fascinated to know who it belonged to, there doesn't appear to be any distinguishing marks on it. Are they marked in any way like the British Victoria Cross?

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