The WWII Relatives thread

My own father did not serve in WWII. I'm still not sure of the reason, but he was rejected for some physical problem. Two of his brothers served in Europe, though. One uncle rarely spoke of his service. He was in a unit that built a bridge over the Rhine River. Only 10% survived the war. He also said that the worst thing that ever happened in his life was having to shoot a woman. She was driving a tank & it was either kill or be killed. He said he had nightmares for many years.

Four of my mother's brothers served. One was in the first Army group that arrived in Nagasaki after the atom bomb was dropped. He was already an ordained minister, and he was so moved by what he saw that he became a missionary and spent the next 25 years of his life in Japan. I know that one was in the Navy & the others in the Army. I have no idea where they served, though. They never spoke about it.

Jan