Comments on: In Which We Don’t Talk About Job Hunting At All

By: Chinook

Chinook — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:39:02 +0000

Like Geek Chic, all of the following service is for either Canada or the UK:
-My maternal great uncle, Phillip Harnois, signed up out Alberta for WWII and died in Britain, where he is buried. His two brothers signed up soon after his death. My one uncle returned to Canada and never served again.
-My grandfather, Gerry Harnois, was demobilized and the re-upped and served in every UN peacekeeping mission until the late 1960’s. He was injured and missing in Korea for one month, at which time my grandmother gave birth to their son. My grandfather retired as regimental sergant major for the Lord Strathcona’s Horse and was lucky enough to die at home.
-My paternal grandfather, George Connolly, served in the British RAF as an Irish citizen.
-My Aunt Rose Connolly drove during the Blitz in London, England.
-My husband spent the last 7 years as a member of the CF, always willing to serve abroad but never being sent He retired as a M. Cpl. in military intelligence. Two of his bunk mates from his time in Wainwright have been killed in Afghanistan and a third was injured. I gave a guilty ridden thanks today that fate decided he didn’t go with them.
-My junior hgh school classmate, Raymond Arndt, M. Cpl. in the Royal Edmonton Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan a number of years ago. His wife, Darcia, lived the nightmare mere months after they were married. Both of them are always in my prayers.

Thanks for the venue.

By: GeekChic

GeekChic — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:40:13 +0000

I won’t go too far back because I’ll take over your comments (my dad has an enormous family). All service is for Canada unless otherwise noted (where today is Remembrance Day):

- My maternal grandfather was a tank commander for Poland in WWII and then the UK when Poland was over-run. He was captured and held as a POW until the end of the war. His girlfriend (later wife) had escaped with him to the UK and they came to Canada after the war.

- The rest of my mother’s ancestors were rounded up by Hitler’s men in the Ukraine and Poland and put into camps. They died in Sobibor or Yanivska through torture or in the gas chambers.

- My paternal grandfather was an infantryman in the South Saskatchewan Regiment as were his three brothers. Only my grandfather came home from the war. My paternal grandmother stayed on the farm and raised their 16 children during his service (which was permitted only because one of their sons was of age).

- My 8 uncles are are currently active in various aspects of the Canadian military as are 24 of my cousins.

- My nephew is active in Iraq as a U.S. Army Ranger.

- I am retired from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

By: Deli Kate

Deli Kate — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:40:25 +0000

Sniff. Pictures, how I love them. Really brings it home that every veteran has a loooooong line of people touched not only by their service but all too often, their loss…

By: jmkenrick

jmkenrick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:49:55 +0000

P.S. I like this post. What a sweet idea. Makes me think of a story I heard on the radio this morning:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/10/ap/strange/main5608562.shtml

By: jmkenrick

jmkenrick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:48:17 +0000

My paternal great-grandfather served in WWI and we still have his diary, which is really interesting. I flipped through it (carefully) with my grandmother many times. Mostly, that diary taught me that:

a) it’s really cool to keep around stuff for your grandchildren to later gawk at
b) people had much prettier handwriting back in the day, but it was difficult to read
and
c) war is BORING. A good 80% of that diary is about digging trenches and he was there for four years.

Unfortunately, he was gassed in the war. He came home, but I guess being deprived of oxgan for those few moments damaged his brain and he spent much of the rest of his life in a hospital.

His son (my grandfather) served in Korea, and also worked on an Army base in Alaska for several years. He never talked about his time in the army, even when asked, except to tell stories about the difficulty of making powered milk at below freezing temperatures.

If you go back far enough on my family tree on my father’s side, you can find relatives who were in the Civil War and in the Revolutionary War, which I find pretty cool.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:23:23 +0000

Um… me. I was a tank officer in Iraq for the invasion, then was presented with a choice of becoming an intelligence officer or a personnel officer. I picked the second one (because if you think people don’t listen to HR, you should try military intelligence!) and was HR for a second tour in Iraq, and have stayed in the field post-military.

Also both grandfathers are WWII vets, one an infantryman in Italy, one a German liguist in Australia, of all places (it seemed like a safe spot for POW camps)

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:38 +0000

I can’t go too far back, but a couple of my great uncles were in the Army in World War II, they all came back.

My grandfather served in the Army in Korea, he came back too.

One of my uncles was drafted to serve in Vietnam, he came back and he was physically okay, but my mother says he was never the same, he has suffered from a drug problem since returning.

One of my cousin served in the Air Force – he did not go to Iraq or Afghanistan but he served at Dover, so he saw all the bodies come back. It affected him so much that after completing his stint in the Air Force he enlisted in the Army.

Another cousin served two tours in Iraq, he came back okay physically, but mentally he is very injured. He has severe PTSD. It makes me so sad to see how much he hurts. It’s almost worse than him having a physical injury. I don’t say that to minimize the terrible injuries that many our veterans have experience, but because if he had a physical injury, at least we’d know how to help him.

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Tweets that mention In Which We Don’t Talk About Job Hunting At All -- Topsy.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:51:56 +0000

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By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:00:21 +0000

There’s really no storied history of service in my family. My grandfather on my dad’s side lied about his age so he could enlist. He served in the Navy and was sent to the Pacific just in time to see the end of WWII. His brothers also served I believe also in the Navy. My moms two brothers were both in Vietnam, I think in the Navy though I’m not positive.

By: class factotum

class factotum — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:44:08 +0000

My dad was a career air force officer who served in Vietnam and died 20 years later of what the VA says was an Agent Orange-related cancer. My mom was 25 years old when he was at war. She had three kids under six and no email.

One cousin was a Marine and was in Iraq. Hoorah! Another cousin is an air force pilot and is in Iraq now.

My uncle (married to my mom’s sister) immigrated here from Germany after WWII and joined the army. I think he went to Korea. His father was a general in WWII, but on the other side.

I have a great-great*-uncle who died in the siege of Vicksburg. Another great uncle who died in WWI. Grandfathers were farmers and I guess weren’t drafted because they were supposed to stay here and grow food?

* There may be more greats in both of these.
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