My brother and sister-in-law were in town yesterday on their way to New York to visit their new grandson. We had a great visit and in chatting my brother mentioned that he has been looking into the role of sub chasers in World War II. Our dad was the captain of one of these.
My father would never talk about what he did in the Navy in WWII. In my very limited experience, WWII veterans fall into two camps - those who want to get together and reminisce, and those who don't want to talk about it. My dad was clearly the second type.
I know my dad's sub chaser was off the coast of France on D Day.
I don't know as much about sub chasers as my brother now knows, but he has gotten me interested. The sub chasers were smaller boats, made of wood. The poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was in command of one of these boats. They maneuvered easily and were difficult for the German subs to detect. On D-Day, the sub chasers rescued men in the water among other duties.
It's family history. My parents, especially my mom, were very interested in genealogy. I inherited several boxes of family genealogy. The family trees and where people were born, etc. is interesting, but it's the stories of what people did, what happened to them, that makes family history come alive for me.
This is fascinating to think about, Becky. I was unfamiliar with the term sub chaser, but I'm off to research it.
ReplyDeleteBTW: I finished a WWII book called CODE NAME SAPPHIRE last night. My heart was thumping for the final hour of the book. The sacrifices made by the Resistance and Allied forces was remarkable. Lots of bravery!
Sub chaser is a new term for me. I agree with you that it is the stories of what people did that makes history come alive. My dad was not a talker about what he did during the war either. I do know that he was a cook, and I still have his army cookbook.
ReplyDeleteI'm a story collector. I love getting the stories behind the events. My father didn't talk much either, but I do have a few of his memories that he told me about his adventures after his liberation from a German POW camp. The stories are the best parts of family history and I wish my family had shared more of them.
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