mine was on an LST in the Pacific.

in the Philippines. He said it had come too far onto the beach and had to wait until the tide came up to lift it off, so his company had to stay on the beach and defend it from the Japanese. This would have been his first time in combat (the Japanese didn't attack that day) and he said he figured that if things got too hot he'd get back on the ship; apparently the commander of the LST figured that out too, because he lifted the door.

Dad never told many war stories, but that one stuck with him. He said that years after the war he was in a bar in Chicago, talking to the guy next to him about their experiences in the war. The other guy served on an LST and started telling dad about the time they got stuck on a beach in the Philippines; dad said he asked the guy to write down the ship number on a bar napkin at the same time my father did so...they compared notes, and sure enough the same ship.

I believe my Dad's LST was in the Philippines. 586 was the number as they did not name these vessels. I don't know too much about his service beyond the little my Mom told me and what I got from his discharge papers as they split up shortly after I was born and there was very, very minimal visits through the years.

but he didn't; he probably remembered until he died, but didn't write the info down.

in any event, it would have been unlikely that they would have been the same. There were a bundle of LST's present there. BTW if you ever get a chance to see the one that is in Evansville, Indiana I recommend doing so. It has visited my area a couple of times and I have enjoyed touring it. They are fascinating vessels.

so am always impressed when I get to see ships...putting this into my 'to be seen' folder

But the father of a friend of mine did. He called it the best 3 engine bomber ever built.

...with the 551st AAA AW Bn.

I knew someone - a good friend of my Mom's - who flew B-17's in WW2, but in the 70's and 80's flew a B-29, "Fifi" for the Confederate (now Commemorative) Air Force in airshows all around the country. His name was Seward Hoxie:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=95135470

Would your father like to ride in one again? You can book a ride for him on Fifi, the CAF's B-29:
http://www.airpowersquadron.org/#!book/c1gh5

He never talked about what he did, but I think he was infantry. He was in the Army and said he couldn't remember all the islands he was on.

Best wishes to your dad.

serviced Lancaster bombers in Great Britain including the Dam Buster planes in Operation Chastise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Chastise

He loved those planes.

R.I.P. Woody Driver.

That's him in the leather jacket in the back middle. Freaky how much he looks like me and my brother.

Uncle Bob passed away in 1994. I sure wish I got to spend more time talking to him about his missions when I was an adult. I remember talking to him about it when I was a kid.

It was just too painful for him.

Sargeant, top turret / flight engineer.

Do you know what Group your uncle was in? My father was in the 384th BG, 545 BS.

and he told me his tug boat was ported in a German town in China, where he was introduced to German beer. For years, I thought he was pulling my leg until as a young adult, I discovered it was all true.

We were having lunch in a small Chinese restaurant in San Francisco's Richmond district. My father's eyes lite up when he saw Tsingtao beer and ordered it. Tsingtao at that time was just beginning to be imported and Pops made a comment to the waiter about drinking it years ago in China. The waiter was really surprised and went to tell his father and uncle. Turns out the father and uncle were from Tsingtau (now Qingdao). Pops and the other men talked at length reminiscing about the German town in China and I learned the gorillas were really Chinese Guerrillas, and the fighting was a dispute over abandoned US Navy ship Pops was tasked to recover; they were Hell bent to abscond with it until small arms fire changed their mind.

for simulating the sound of being in one again

Flying Fortress - B-29

but not the PT boat that JFK was on - he would get annoyed when people asked him that one.

...was involved in the Bridge at Remagen. Never talked about it much, except when he had a beer too many, which wasn't often...but by Gawd, did he hate the Germans...

In Italy and France. Of the real General Patton he said. "He couldn't talk without swearing. And he had a high squeaky voice like Mickey Mouse."

Wolf

They go through the shit and talk straight.

As a grunt in Vietnam, I salute the grunts of WWII.

Otherwise, he was a grunt in Europe, too. His ship from England to France was torpedoed by a German U-Boot, and he was the last one off. Made it to France intact, saw a tiny bit of Germany toward the end, but that was about it. He was useful as a radio operator because he had taken French in college.

He had a great story about what happened after the war ended. The army was looking everywhere to house the enlisted personnel, and was asking all over for anyone willing to house our guys. My dad's CO came in to the tent with a few possibilities. He asked at one point if any of the guys in his unit liked to sail.

None did, but before saying no, my dad had the presence of mind to ask why. His CO started to explain that "some super rich family in a villa on Lake Geneva in Switzerland was willing to........" My dad didn't wait for the end of the sentence, and said "I like to sail!" and landed what had to have been on of the most luxurious troop accommodations of the post-war period. He remained friends with the family, and on my first trip through Europe at age 18, when I passed through Geneva, they offered to put me up. It was really funny, because my dad had never explained to me just HOW important this family was. I got a bus out to their village outside Geneva, and asked how to get to their address. The people in the village looked at this hairy young American kid in jeans, and asked if I was sure I got the address right. I told them the family's name, and they said, yup that's them alright. Their family villa was understated, but beautiful, and they still had that sailboat moored down by the lake. I got an idea of whom I was staying with later on when I took a bus into Geneva to look around, and half the building sites had the name of the family I was staying with.

She was the first Navy ship hit by a kamakazi during the Battle off Samar.

until he was purged out. He ended up on a sea plane tender that was the first ship into Tokyo Harbor.
He told an interesting story of flying with John Glenn. They had been given their first leave after a very long time without. Of course they all got very drunk. Then they were forced to fly at 4:00 am. John Glen was so mad he did lots of terrifying things with the plane.

in China.

Best to your dad!

In WWII and Korea, and I believe in China between the two. I know that he flew over Green Island in WWII, but I don't really have stories to share. He passed away 20 years ago, so I can't ask him, but I do have a large stack of letters he wrote. I could PM his name to you if you want to ask your dad.

Dad luckily spent more time training than in combat, but served in Germany near the end of the war and during the occupation. How he loved to fly, but he saw the hard side of war, as well.

my dad flew bomber escorts over Germany in a Thunderbolt and then a Mustang.

Not sure of the squadron but I can try to find out.