My Grandfather immigrated from Prussia in 1912 to the United States. He joined the US Army in 1917 and was a member of the cavalry. He fought in WW1, but the cavalry was discontinued as it was obsolete and he transferred to artillery, he was gassed in Belgium. My Grandfather had respiratory issues his whole life, but lived well into his 90s.
When the war ended he was asked to stayed on in Düsseldorf, Germany as a member of the occupation forces because of his fluent German. My Grandfather didn’t talk much about the war, but, he did tell the story of how he had to get out of Düsseldorf fast because two sisters who lived in the house he stayed in at the time were competing for his affection and he had a fiancé back home in Chicago.
My Grandfather’s younger brother fought with the infantry and was killed in October by a sniper one month before the armistice, he was just 19.
My Grandfather’s son, my Dad, fought in the Pacific theater as a Navy aerial gunner flying in the Curtiss Helldiver and the battle of Midway.
My Mother’s father was a Lieutenant during WW1 and was severely wounded by shrapnel and had a metal plate in his head. The pain haunted in for years and he later took his own life. His son, my Uncle, went to West Point
and retired from the military as a Brigadier General after serving in both Korea and Vietnam.
Thank you to all who served.