My Grandfather.. a true war hero

[ajappat]

My other grandgrand father got wounded in airstrike before ever getting to frontline. I heard he always told that he actually felt lucky.
And my other grandgrandfather was actually fighting during both Winter War and Continuation War. He brought home 2 SVT-40 rifles. Later he sold the other one , but other one is still being used for moose hunting by my uncle  .

[Fuchs]

My grandfather was too young to do anything, turning 81 in a few weeks. He did however collect stuff during the war. A British bomber had crashed in a field so they snuck past the German sentries guarding it and stole everything they could take with them. Only his younger brother told his dad about the MG belts he had hidden in the house  and the trew them away in the canal..

Oh and he and his other brother had the brilliant plan to put live ammo in a stove. Didn't work out that well, entire house was black. They had it all cleaned up before mother arrived but forgot to clean the top side of the closet so they still got busted.

[ottozeimer]

Hehe, well here is a bit of my granddad's story:

He was in charge of safety in the aeronautic electronics factory in Moscow in 1941. As you all know soviets pulled their factories to the east, and my granddad refused to move together with the factory. For this he was accused of being a saboteur and an enemy of the state (love those words). He spent good part of the war in Butyrka - Jail in Moscow, occasionally taken to the fresh air as a auxiliary fireman, (to deal with bombing damage and whatnot) under NKVD supervision and ppsh, of course

THen for good behaviour he was sent to Siberia to finish of his jail term

[Tankbuster]

My Gramps was in one one of the most boring parts of the war. The retreat from Rangoon to the Indo-Burmese border.

[Eat Uranium]

Both my grandfathers were too young to fight, and I think my great-grandfather were too old (though one of them died serving in the Home Guard - he fell off the back of a lorry that swerved to miss a dog).

[Koketsu]

Nice, so many good stories.. and i don't think any part of the war could be called "boring", just because your not in the thick of it don't mean it wasn't important

Defying the state.. now that truly is brave

We should ask some of the mod wizards to make short films out of these tales.. now that would be neat

[Tankbuster]

No, He was an officer and had administrative duties only. His train was bombed by the Japanese during retreat though.

[ottozeimer]

Defying the state.. now that truly is brave

That was not a defying, you have family in the city where you work, and live, friends, all settled and then they ship you alone to some god forsaken Urals, and later, maybe, your family would be relocated to you providing, that they didnt die in bombings and war in general. So "defying the state" was a common sense.

[LuckyOne]

My grandpa's story is a bit different. I dont't know a lot of details cause he passed away before I was born, and my mother never tells this story properly, and never speaks a lot of him neither.

When Germans passed through Istria the partisans tried to organise an attack to harras them. They rounded up men with trucks and kinda "forced" them to go fight (you know the commies, if you don't go they lock you up or simply shoot you  ). Many of them didn't even have proper weapons, they only had pitchforks and other traditional tools to use as makeshift weapons!

He didn't want to participate in this futile attack (he served in the Italian navy I believe before the war so he knew what was coming to them). So when they arrived in the woods near the place where the attack was supposed to take place he jumped off the truck and ran home. My grandma was worried but she knew he was to smart to die .

Many young men that were sent there died that day...

So although not really a war hero, he eventually did get a medal for being a member of the local National Liberation Committee (a sort of local goverment that helped the partisans and worked on the rebuilding of devastated areas. They also acted as courts and organised the local community).

[Koketsu]

Hey chaps, My gramps is soon gonna be rollin in his tanks again, the wonderful folks over at WaW are making a custom map dedicated to the battle old Ray took part at Arras.

if any of you could add to my research have a look over here:
http://tournaments.myinternetservices.com/showthread.php?t=289432

Many Thanks 

[Koketsu]

It is with great difficulty and sadness that i say this..

My Grandfather, Raymond passed away yesterday at the age of 96. May the memory of his deeds out live us all.

[LuckyOne]

Sad news. I'm sure he will be missed by many. Still, 96 years is quite a long life, one can only be happy that he lived to see his children and grandson(s) grow up and make their own families. Many people never got the opportunity to do so.

Rest in peace Raymond.

[Comrade Roe]

So while the server was quiet i had a chat to some of the other players and i mentioned how my Grandfather become quite emotional watching me play FH2, your wonderful mod brought him to tears.... and with good reason.

See he's some what of a war hero and responsible for the success of the Dunkirk evacuations.

You can read about him here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280701/British-tank-battle-hero-stopped-Rommel-tracks.html

And here:

http://www.hmforces.co.uk/armed_forces_news/articles/2821-dunkirk-anniversary-british-tank-hero-who-stopped-rommel

I am very proud of him, i hope you all find this of interest, thank you.

Raymond approves of FH2 

Quite a shame, pretty cool your old man was involved in Dunkirk, let alone the war. RIP

[Mayhemic.MAD]

It is with great difficulty and sadness that i say this..

My Grandfather, Raymond passed away yesterday at the age of 96. May the memory of his deeds out live us all.

As long as people keep thinking about him, he will live on.



And another aspect about the war:


My grandmothers brother

My grandma told me that he volunteered when he turned 17, in november 1944. She said that he was proud of wearing a nice uniform and serving his country like everybody else.
His last letter to his family is from the Königsberg area (today Kaliningrad) in eastern prussia, send in January 1945, telling that they would be evacuated by ship back to Germany soon.

This was the last sign of life from him.
After the war my grandma contacted the red cross and other organizations and recieved a letter from the red cross in 1972.

It states that Kilian Riegler, Feldersatz-Batallion of the 5. Panzer-Division, is missing since january 1945.
Attached is a long text explaining the situation on the front where those troops were deployed:

On the third january the russians attacked them at Goldap. On the 13th they lost Schloßberg and retreated to Insterburg. On the 21st the russians advanced to Pomnau and crossed the Alle. Next day they started to advanced towards Königsberg. After heavy fighting in the area south east of Königsberg, near Gutenwalde and Ludwigswalde, the defense collapsed on the 29th. Only a few scattered Kampfgruppen stayed, to secure the retreat for the remaining troops.

Since those fightings many soldiers of the 5 Panzer Division were missing. Overrun by the enemy, there were simply often no survivors to tell what had happened. Many died fighting in the lake and forrest rich area or during house to house fighting, unseen by their comrades. Even first aid places and hospitals got caught in the attacks by planes, artillery and tanks.
There is no hint that he went to captivity, nor was he seen in any prison camp. This leads to the conclusion that he must have fallen.

My grandma said he was always such a happy character being liked by everyone and it was very sad to lose her younger brother. 
He might have thought that all future generations of germans would thank him for his courage. But I think it was just wasted. Sad indeed..

[[130.Pz]S.Lainer]

He might have thought that all future generations of germans would thank him for his courage. But I think it was just wasted. Sad indeed..

  From the post you made I would say he was involved in saving many a solider/civilian from capture and death by the Russian horde.

My grandpa signed up to go over and kick some ginny ass.  Thank god VE was declared on his way over so he just hung out in Italy for a couple months and headed home.
  My other grandfather was in the coast guard and served in the Pacific.  I think he was on a gun crew that shot down a couple nip planes.