7 May 1945

On this day at 02:41 in Reims France Germany signed a unconditional surrender with a slighty modified document signed on 8th May in Berlin therefore ending the war in Europe.

Chuck Norris Birthday 12/7/1945 coincidence? I think not

My daddy got to come back home soon after that.

I looked it up for you.

Same here - Dad was an Army Air Corps pilot, trained out of Uvalde, then stationed in Galveston before running recon in Europe and training bomber pilots. He rarely would talk about the war or growing up in the Great Depression. He lost his little brother during a training run early on and if affected him greatly I think. These men (and women) were true heroes.

It was 47 days to late for my great cousin, he did not make it back so close to the end. RIP

Dad was still on SS Sioux Falls dodging kamikazes somewhere around Okinawa.

Great photos Bill!!!!!!!!!!!!! Definitely better than the one you have underwater .

"Merica!

My ol man “tha sarge” was pickin up a bronze star at Okinawa as a marine sergeant in the 7th

They truly were the greatest generation. Defeated facism in a monumental world wide struggle.

My father was in the Phillipines, Manilla and Guam. Fierce fighting and heavy casualties. He rarely even mentioned it.
God bless them all.

Dad was in the Seabee’s and ran a dozer on freshly secured islands. Still had snipers shooting at him as he helped made new airstrips. Didn’t talk about it I just read it in letters I read after he passed. Have some pictures of him with a 30 cal carbine and a pistol. Not much for protection to me.

My daddy could fix anything or build anything. He built the house I grew up in. He came back and wired the house for electricity after the REA cam through. We were poor but we had love.

My father was still in the Philippines fighting the Japanese with the 11th Airborne. He seldom mentioned that part but he did talk about the time he spent in Japan after their surrender. The 11th airborne was one of the first occupying forces to go into Japan.

You should read a book called Unbroken. I'll. look it up for you.

Edit: Here you go. Laura Hildenbrand also wrote Sea Biscuit.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Book by Laura Hillenbrand

I've seen the movie but haven't read the book.

My Cousin Emil Havelka 2nd from the left. Field report from the only survivor.
My Cousin Emil Havelka 2nd from the left. Field report from the only survivor.

Wow. Shot down by a "modern" jet-engined fighter. Sure glad Germany wasn't able to produce many more of those, or there would have been a lot more lives lost against the Luftwaffe.

Interesting story.. Other surviving members executed.

Wow. Shot down by a "modern" jet-engined fighter. Sure glad Germany wasn't able to produce many more of those, or there would have been a lot more lives lost against the Luftwaffe. [/quote]

There is a ME 262 on display at:
https://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/

IIRC it was on loan from another museum in europe

The ME 262 were assembled underground ( a hollowed out mountain with a flat top run way) because our carpet bombing had taken out most of their manufacturing capacity.
Then hoisted up a rail track to top of mountain and flown off the top of mountain.

What plane was your kin in (B17?)


Were any of the kin soldiers involved in the Philippine Bataan death march?

It was B17