Pretty cool find when looking through my grandpas things...

[Strongside]

I recently went to visit my grandmother in Louisiana. My grandpa passed away back in the mid-nineties and was a WW2 veteran. He had been a paratrooper and fought in Normandy and marched through Europe. During their first jump, he had a close encounter with anti-aircraft shelling and was deaf in his Left ear for the rest of his life. He went on to become a minister and I was only about 12 when he passed, and didn't know much about the war then...so I didn't really know what the specifics of his involvement were.

Anyway, My grandma brought out a box of some of his old things and we were going through them and I found some really cool (and creepy) relics from his 'travels' through Nazi Europe. Here's a pic of some cap insignia that he brought back with him:



Needless to say these are in mint condition for their age. I've done a little research and have found only a few pieces like this that are in this great of shape. I'm proud of his service and thought this was a cool find...thought I'd share.


'MERICA!

[JASONSAUTO]

Pretty ****ing neat
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[OnTheWarpath58]

Badass.

[scott free]

Killer find, i'd be asking grandma if there was any more of it.

[notorious]

We have stuff that my Grandpa kept from WWII which includes intelligence, photos, and maps before invading Iwo Jima.


Those guys were Real Men.

[lewdog]

How long until you are on Pawn Stars selling this?

[theelusiveeightrop]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would like to purchase these.

[FAX]

Any artwork?

FAX

[rockymtnchief]

Originally Posted by lewdog

How long until you are on Pawn Stars selling this?

IIRC, Pawn Stars won't buy anything Nazi related.

[Strongside]

Originally Posted by FAX

Any artwork?

FAX

Unfortunately no. There is a lot of other stuff, though. An 'SS' belt buckle, a couple of N.S.D.A.P. dishes and a jewish star patch. Grandma said he sent a lot of things back while he was over there, and that they have some other things in storage as well. I wish there was artwork, though. No one did propaganda better than Nazi Germany. Their artists/PR minds were a military force themselves.

Those guys were Real Men.

This. Over and over again. I really don't know that my generation or the one below mine could do half of the things that these guys had to do...I admire the bravery of our soldiers today, but this was a fight against true, undeniable evil. Scary shit.

[Mizzou_8541]

That's awesome!

[Inmem58]

WW2 was the most interesting topic in history class.

[La literatura]

If I were you, I would try to find if there are any surviving members of your grandfather's platoon, who would have served right next to him. It would be worth contacting them and trying to get some stories about their particular experience. Perhaps one of them has/had written something - whether it be a journal at the time, or a memoir of some kind afterward. They would almost certainly remember your grandpa.

These platoons often met up for reunions, though most have stopped simply because there aren't many living or able bodied WWII veterans anymore.

[notorious]

Oh, my neighbor fought in the Pacific during WWII. I asked him some questions, but you could tell he didn't want to talk about some things.

He carried a BAR.

He passed away a few months ago. RIP Nate. You were a hell of a guy!

[ghak99]

Very cool find!

My grandfather would not speak of his service in the war. He adamantly refused to take his wife to Europe for a vacation because of the experience. "Mud and Blood" may have been muttered once, but other than that I have nothing but a couple of his service pictures.

A generation all to their own.