Hi, I'm new to posting here so I figured, what better way to introduce myself than sharing some of my grandfathers military history and stories about him..
A bit about me, I'm a huge war history buff (Mainly WWI and II). I plan on joining the regular forces after highschool (Maybe a year or so after), so I still have a few years to go, but this site has definately inspired me further to join the infantry. I have always been fascinated by the military, especially Canada's and have been browsing this website for quite a while now. Anyway.
I have become extremely interested in my grandpa's journey through Sicily and Italy during his WWII journey and this is what I managed to dig up on him so far.
A bit about my grandfather:
He was a fisherman before the war and had actually joined the Milita in approx. 1938. I have been told that this was because he thought that the war was going to start but that's sketchy. He was 26 when the war started and landed in Sicily with PPCLI, although I'm not sure which battalion, he was a Cpl. through alot of the war but ended as a Pte. because he partied too hardy (A few times). He was a bren gunner and was apparently an excellent shot (Offered to be a sniper but refused as he thought it was too personal). He managed to make his way without injury till the last bit of the Italy campaign (After the Hitler Line). He stepped on a land mine and his leg was blown off from just under the knee, apparently the military ambulance picked him up when it was dirving him back, the ambulance hit a land mine (My grandmother tells me this. I think I remember her telling me the driver was killed by the mine too), so he had to be picked up again and brought to base, where apparently they gave him too much morphine and he OD'd. But being the stubborn bastard he was he didn't want to die.
One day, my grandpa (Earl) and his buddies were driving through Italy to get to an allied occupied town. But the town they came upon was deserted, there was not one soldier in sight. The Squad Leader told him to check things out and take a peek around the town, so he hopped off the vehicle and began searching around the area, but there was nobody in sight. He started to approach an intersection in the town, and hugging the houses walls, he moved up to the intersection and turned the corner. At the same time, a german soldier in a similar situation turned the corner at the exact same time and they literally bumped right into eachother, took one good look at eachother, both of their faces went white with fear and they turned right around and started running away from eachother as fast as possible, both yelling. He ran straight back to his vehicle and they booted it out of there.
That was really only one of the few really detailed stories about my grandfather in the war, and he probably only talked about it because it wasn't anything that involved killing or being shot at. He only shared humorous stories I believe (For instance him being P*ssed because when he was landing on the beach of Sicily a wave washed over the boat and knocked his cigarettes into the water)
I remember him telling me that he kicked down a door in the middle of a large firefight and found a couple german soldiers playing cards at a table, they were captured in quick order.
Anyway, I started this thread not only to introduce myself and share some of my grandfathers history. But I would love to hear some stories that anyone else would be willing to share about their own grandfathers (or even grandmothers) in WWII.
A bit about me, I'm a huge war history buff (Mainly WWI and II). I plan on joining the regular forces after highschool (Maybe a year or so after), so I still have a few years to go, but this site has definately inspired me further to join the infantry. I have always been fascinated by the military, especially Canada's and have been browsing this website for quite a while now. Anyway.
I have become extremely interested in my grandpa's journey through Sicily and Italy during his WWII journey and this is what I managed to dig up on him so far.
A bit about my grandfather:
He was a fisherman before the war and had actually joined the Milita in approx. 1938. I have been told that this was because he thought that the war was going to start but that's sketchy. He was 26 when the war started and landed in Sicily with PPCLI, although I'm not sure which battalion, he was a Cpl. through alot of the war but ended as a Pte. because he partied too hardy (A few times). He was a bren gunner and was apparently an excellent shot (Offered to be a sniper but refused as he thought it was too personal). He managed to make his way without injury till the last bit of the Italy campaign (After the Hitler Line). He stepped on a land mine and his leg was blown off from just under the knee, apparently the military ambulance picked him up when it was dirving him back, the ambulance hit a land mine (My grandmother tells me this. I think I remember her telling me the driver was killed by the mine too), so he had to be picked up again and brought to base, where apparently they gave him too much morphine and he OD'd. But being the stubborn bastard he was he didn't want to die.
One day, my grandpa (Earl) and his buddies were driving through Italy to get to an allied occupied town. But the town they came upon was deserted, there was not one soldier in sight. The Squad Leader told him to check things out and take a peek around the town, so he hopped off the vehicle and began searching around the area, but there was nobody in sight. He started to approach an intersection in the town, and hugging the houses walls, he moved up to the intersection and turned the corner. At the same time, a german soldier in a similar situation turned the corner at the exact same time and they literally bumped right into eachother, took one good look at eachother, both of their faces went white with fear and they turned right around and started running away from eachother as fast as possible, both yelling. He ran straight back to his vehicle and they booted it out of there.
That was really only one of the few really detailed stories about my grandfather in the war, and he probably only talked about it because it wasn't anything that involved killing or being shot at. He only shared humorous stories I believe (For instance him being P*ssed because when he was landing on the beach of Sicily a wave washed over the boat and knocked his cigarettes into the water)
I remember him telling me that he kicked down a door in the middle of a large firefight and found a couple german soldiers playing cards at a table, they were captured in quick order.
Anyway, I started this thread not only to introduce myself and share some of my grandfathers history. But I would love to hear some stories that anyone else would be willing to share about their own grandfathers (or even grandmothers) in WWII.
