G2G: Question of the Week: Who are the military heroes in your family? [closed]

Question

Who are the military heroes in your family? Please tell us about them with an answer below. You can also answer on Facebook or share the question image to get your friends and family talking on social media. 

P.S. You may be interested in our Military and War project. Anyone can start a quick free-space project to honor their ancestor's military unit, ship, etc.

Answer 1

Alfred Koser - killed on June 13, 1944 while jumping out of a plane over Normandy. He was assigned to the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment F company

Answer 2

LeRoy L Pierce, adopted son of Luther and Rena Pierce KIA D-Day in France.

Answer 3

Hi Wikitreers,

Happy Memorial Day !!!

My great Uncle William “Bill” Lionel Gibbs who fought and died for the Stars and Stripes heroically being “KIA” January 4, 1945 in Belgium at age 24 leaving behind grieving parents, siblings and his widow

513th Parachute Infantry 13th Airborne Division Company “F” also see transfer from 13th Airborne Division to 17th Airborne Division on his profile page 

Thank you to ALL our Veterans for their Sacrifice and Service

NEVER FORGOTTEN

Answer 4

My grandmother. She served in the Flying Corps during the First World War. About to emigrate to Australia at the outbreak of the Second World War, her husband decided not to retire from the Navy and signed on for the duration. Grandmother joined the Wrens pretty much making both of them stay in Portsmouth throughout the bombing. Gran's spirit sent her chasing after parachutes when going on duty one night. When the landmine exploded her jaw was smashed. Many years after the war she had remedial surgery but was never free from pain in the winter.

My heros. They could have gone to Australia, they could have retired to the country. Instead they did what they believed was their duty, gran was hurt and they lost their home into the bargain. Never heard them complain.

Answer 5

United States Military Roll of Honor: Just posted this list in one of my Facebook genealogy groups.

 

Opal Alford - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Alford-3551

 

Donald Wayne Hildreth - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hildreth-1722

 

Robert Hildreth Taylor - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Taylor-60310

 

John Paul Engram - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Engram-60

 

Charles Thomas Wilkerson - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilkerson-2965

Answer 6

Through genealogical research I found that each of my paternal grandmother's maternal grandmother's parents had brothers who fought and died serving with Maine units in the Civil War. One was killed at Fredericksburg and the other is buried at the Beaufort National Cemetery. There are others and I appreciate them all very much but those were two of my most interesting research finds.

Answer 7

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its liberation, August 6th 1944, the town of Chateauneuf du Faou, which holds the "Croix du Guerre" for its resistance during the war, erected this memorial in honor of those Americans who died on its soil. A group of American veterans, some of who had fought in the battle for Chateauneuf du Foau in 1944, were present for the unveiling ceremony. 

 

One of those listed on the memorial is Chester Galloway, my first cousin, twice removed. Chester served as a private in Troop D, 86th Cavalry Recon Sq of the United States Army. He was declared killed in action on or about August 5, 1944 in Europe at the age of 28. He was originally listed as an unknown buried in France, but his remains were identified in 1949. He was buried 10 February 1950 in the Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina. There is a lovely photo of Chester on his memorial.

May light perpetual shine upon him.

Answer 8

I am not related to the following two men, brothers, (so far as I know), but they gave their lives for America during the surprise attack of the USS Arizona on 7 Dec 1941 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii:

Andrew K. Allison, Fireman for US Navy and his younger brother, T. J. Allison, Fireman for the US Navy, They were the sons of Arthur and Icy Bain Allison. This family was from Hardin County, Tennessee, but had following the Western movement through West Tennessee to Gibson County and on to Pemiscot County, Missouri. Many people from Hardin County moved to the Bootheel of Missouri and North Eastern Arkansas. Many times they moved back and forth several times. This family had recently moved from Holland, Missouri to Malden, Missouri when on Christmas Day 1941 they received the telegraph that their sons were reported missing from the Pearl Harbor bombardment. Andrew had been in the Navy for about seven years and his younger, brother, J. T. had recently joined the US Navy and assigned to his brother's ship, the USS Arizona. Mr. and Mrs. Allison finally received a telegram at the end of January 1942 confirming the death of their sons. Both Andrew and J. T. are recorded on the USS Arizona Memorial at Honolulu and both have a Cenotaph at  Neill Cemetery in Savannah, Tennessee.

Answer 9

I have a long list, but I would like to focus on my first cousin 3 times removed. John Calvin Irwin. He was only 22 when he died in the infamous Andersonville Prison Camp. I am planning to take another trip back to Georgia this summer, and I will take my granddaughters to the Andersonville National Cemetery, where John Calvin Irwin is buried. http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Irwin-2165

• My father MSGT. Clare Alexander Lovelace Jr. was the flight engineer on a B-29 that was shot down. He was MIA for 6 months before he was declared KIA.

• My husband Capt. Mike Nelson flew an HH-43 rescue helicopter in Vietnam.

• My first cousin Jeffery M. Marvin received a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster for service in Vietnam.

• My father-in-law LeRoi Nelson saw a great deal of action in the Pacific during WWII aboard a destroyer.

• My great uncle Robert Julius Long received a Bronze Star in WWII, Battle of the Bulge.

• My uncle Scott Marvin Jr. was stationed in England during WWII.

• My grandfather Scott Marvin Sr. was a medic in WWI.

• My great uncle Kyle Truman McCleery was KIA in WWI.

• My first cousin 3 times removed Arthur Burton McIntosh was KIA in WWI.

• My first cousin 3 times removed Avery E. Long was in the Spanish-American War and was wounded in the Philippines. He stayed in the military 28 years and is buried in Arlington National Cemetrry.

• My great grandfather Thomas Luther Lovelace enlisted in the Union Army at age 14 and was wounded in the head.

• My second great grandfather Edward McCauley Long was a second lieutenant in the Union Army.

• My second great grandfather Evangel Luveous Morris was wounded while serving in the Union Army; and his brothers: Ralph and Newton were both KIA.

• My great grand uncle Charles Chester Ford joined the Union when he was 14, but his step-father brought him home for being underage; however, he was able to join at age 18 near the end of the Civil War.

• My first cousin 3 times removed John Calvin Irwin died as a prisoner at Andersonville, where I visited his grave in Oct 2021.

Answer 10

I'm in awe of all the answers thus far. Memorial Day is all about those who made the ultimate sacrifice, but you asked about "military heroes" and that covers others as well.  I've just been working on my GGGG-GF Jan Andersson-18568's military history amidst a few tears (and I'm a combat infantry vet myself). He was a soldat in the Swedish Army during the Napoleonic Wars and fought in the Pomeranian War of 1805-1808.  The French kicked the Swedes around a bit there, and the muster record on 1 July 1807 reads of Jan, "Kan ej gå i fält nyttjas till handräckning i garnison" ("cannot go in the field, used for assistance in garrison").  I can't begin to imagine what those troops went through; when I was wounded I woke up in a hospital ward.  Anyway, GGGGGF Jan Andersson Bydal (they added a military name because otherwise with the patronymics you might get a dozen people answering a simple query) got a medical discharge after 17 years of service just a month or so before his regiment attacked Norway in yet another disastrous war,  the Russian War of 1808-1809.

Answer 11

Genghis Kahn

Comments

E tu, Richard?  I was always suspicious of the 0.9% Asian on my otherwise "pure" Northern European DNA readouts and figured that a lab worker coughed at the wrong time. When preparing lectures on Alexander Nevsky, I ran across an academic paper on how not only are many Asians descended from Genghis Khan, but so are 1 in 200 Finnish males.  My Y-DNA readout also lists Batu Khan of the Golden Horde, Alexander Nevsky's "associate".  Small world, isn't it?

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Thank you Captain Sarlin. You are a real militairy hero. Verry nice to meet you here sir.

Many asians say: Im descended from Genghis kahn. It seems many are. I was joking, I still must do a dna test. It would be fun if Im not descended from him, but got Scandinavian dna (eh probably not, but a cough of a labworker will do).

I really like ancient history. Alexander Newsky is a verry interesting person to me. I don t know more of him than wikipedia. I belief the ancestors of my parents (Im adopted) lived some time in Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Lombardia as the Ost Goths. I really belief they immigrated from Scandinavia, but that is no science it seems, just a hypothese. Later on they lived in Saxonia, Swabia, Kaiserslautern.

I wouldn t be surprised if my adoption parenents also got a little Genghis dna 

I hope I see you around here sir

Greetings from Rotterdam (the Netherlands)

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Hi Richard,

You can learn a lot about Alexander Nevsky by studying his two great battles, the Battle of the Neva River when he was 20 years old (some accounts say he was 18) and the Battle of the Ice two years later.  In my mind, though, his greatest battle was one he never fought; as Prince of Novgorod, he gave obeisance to Batu Khan of the Golden Horde and so Novgorod, almost alone of the major cities of the Rus, was not attacked.

It's different for each person, but testing my autosomal-DNA, Y-DNA, and mt-DNA has been very good for me.  I have found many cousin matches through DNA, but Y-DNA has been exceptional, including some real surprises (like illegal immigration, crimes, bigamy, etc.).  I haven't got much from mt-DNA yet, but I feel that a breakthrough is close.

Best wishes,

Ray

Answer 12

Without question, my father, Sidney Sager Brittain (Brittain-1726). He wasn't KIA in WWII, but he was a German POW. The movie Hacksaw Ridge reminded me of him (but not to the level of that hero). Dad was a conscientious objector due to his religious belief in not killing and would not carry a gun, but he joined the Army and became a medic. He was on the front lines in France with the 377th during the famous Battle of Metz, where he won a Bronze Star. He was captured in Uckange, France and sent to three different camps in the six months of his imprisonment. The Germans used him to treat their own soldiers, since their doctors were on the front lines. He never talked much about his experiences, but he kept amazing records, and even has his German prison paperwork that he got when the Russians came into the Berlin area and the Germans hightailed it. I have two large scrapbooks of stuff from his time in the Army and at the camps.

Answer 13

my dad, Dow-2796

Answer 14

Grandfather ; Private Charles McIntyre, Royal Irish Rifles. Grandfather, (who died before I was born), served in the Boer War, he was wounded on Kaffir Kop on March 7th 1902. Apart from WW1, I don’t know where else he served. He was born 1868 and enlisted around 1880s. On his return to Ireland, at the age of 43, he married my Grandmother Ellen Dooley who was more than 20 years younger. He re-enlisted in late 1914 and was wounded ,in the head, by a German shell at Ypres in 1915. At that time, he was serving in a “labour “ battalion.

Grandfather ; Browning , Queens “Bays” Cavalry Regiment. Served in Boer War than WW1. He was “gassed” by Germans at Mons - burned out his throat / vocal cords. Made strange vocal sounds that frightened me as a small child, God rest him.

Uncle ; Hugh McIntyre, Colour Sergeant, 1st Battalion, Inniskilling Fusiliers. He was in Singapore,when they were ordered to surrender to the Japanese. He escaped, with other troops, made his way back to Britain, and then fought the Germans in Europe. Don’t know much about where his Regiment served - he didn’t like to talk about it. He hated Japs until his death, because of their treatment of our POWs.

Answer 15

So many brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice or came home with internal wounds that would never heal. But I'm reminded of the heroes at home. My great aunts worked in ammunition plants where there were sometimes explosions. Families dealt with rationing and sacrifices as a regular part of life, not to mention the worry and torment of wondering if loved ones would make it home.  At least for WWII, everyone was part of the war effort and were all heroes.

Answer 16

Firstly: I have one great grandfather Samuel Soper a Butler's Ranger in the Revolutionary War.

Secondly: I have four Great grandfathers in the war of 1812-14. John Soper, John McPherson, Joseph Warden and Robert Evans.

Thirdly: My grandfather Palmer Merton McPherson fought in the First World War and lost his right arm at Vimy Ridge.

Answer 17

My uncle.  Captain Bob Newton of the 5th/7th Rajput Regiment, who was killed in Hong Kong on 19 December 1941. But it wasn’t until 1945 that his parents received a letter from their son’s Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Roger Cadogan-Rawlinson, (who had been in Sham Shui Po Barracks, a Japanese run Prisoner of War Camp for British, Indian and Canadian troops for three and a half years but had nonetheless somehow managed to write on 7 October 1942, his letter taking three years to arrive), expressing his regret at the loss of such a good officer who had shown “first class leadership” and a “fine example”, giving them details regarding his death.  He had furthermore submitted his name to be awarded the Military Cross for an earlier episode, on 9 December on the Mainland, where he had “put up a very fine show”. This medal is not awarded posthumously, though. Bob was, however, Mentioned in Dispatches for “gallantry and extreme devotion to duty in the defence of Hong Kong” (Supplement to the London Gazette 4th April 1946 p.1672).  Bob fought to the end, even after he had been mortally wounded. I have visited his grave in Sai Wan Military Cemetery, Hong Kong, four times - 1963, 1978, 1983 and 2016.  I have two images I would have liked to upload, but there does not seem to be a way I can do so here.

Answer 18

My 2nd Cousin 2x removed, was Cpl. Donald Romaine Ward of the 803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion during WWII. He was captured by the Japanese and sent to a POW camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines. He would unfortunately die there in November of 1942, at the age of 24.

The American Legion Post in cayuga NY is named in his honor.

Answer 19

Captain Kimberly Hampton, our daughter and only child. KIA Jan. 2, 2004 Fallujah, Iraq, when the helicopter she was piloting was shot down.  As a footnote, Kimberly was the first female pilot in American Military History to be shot down and killed in combat, researched and confirmed by the Women’s Museum at Arlington Cemetery.

Comments

You have my deepest sympathies.  May God bless you and yours.

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So sorry. My deepest sympathies. Have you received your Gold Star Flag? If not let me know, and we will see you provided one.. my email is alicemthomsen1@gmail.com

I am an Army SICU/Multiple Trauma Nurse, SSG, Ret. member of the American Legion, and Past Commander of DAV and VFW as well as the Women's Museum at Arlington.

Answer 20

In my paternal line - Private John P. Campbell and his younger brother Peter, emigrated from Scotland to New Zealand, with their parents and siblings in 1914. In spite of having only just arrived, John enlisted in the NZEF and became an ANZAC. He was KIA on 8 August 1915, Gallipoli, Çanakkale, Turkey. 

His younger brother Peter enlisted in the NZEF New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 1st Battalion. Company B. only a month later, sailing for Egypt which was the jumping off point for Gallipoli. But ANZAC forces began withdrawing from Gallipoli in December 1915, so he probably never saw action there. In February 1916, it was decided that the ANZAC's would be sent to the Western Front. On 1 March, the New Zealand Division was formed. Rifleman Peter Campbell was KIA in The Battle of the Somme, 15 September 1916, Aged 21 years.

On my maternal side - those who served - returned but still deserve mention.:-

William John Campbell my Great Granduncle enlisted in the Army - Service No.WWI 11/1667.  He served with the Wellington Mounted Rifles, 7th Reinforcements Rank-Trooper. 

His record shows that he served in Egypt from 1915-1916, Then in Western Europe (France) from 1916-1918.

1916 - 8 March - Transferred to 2nd Bratt. from Wellington Mounted Rifles - Gunner.

1916 - 8 April - Embarked for France. 1916 - 28 June - Taken on Strength 15th Battery, Pt I on 10/16.

He was discharged from Service on 15 November 1918. Due to being "physically unfit for service due to (T.B. Lung) illness contracted on active service" (at the front in France). He retuned home on the 'Ulimaroa.' He returned home to his farm but the war would never really be over for him. From the stories passed down, he suffered from a level of Shell Shock, he never married. 

He received 2 medals the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. 

My Uncle Murray Neilson when WWII broke out was given the family farm so he wouldn't have to go and fight. He sold the farm and joined up. He became a member of the 35th Battery, B Force, 8th Brigade, New Zealand 3rd Division. Rank: Gunner. He fought in North Africa one of the "desert rats." He was captured and taken as a P.O.W. for a time in Africa. He said he was proud to have actually met German General Rommel, "The Desert Fox" , The P.O.W. Camp was eventually liberated and he went on to fight in Sicily and Crete.

He came home on a Hospital Ship, sick with hydatid's - didn't know if he got it from the dogs around the P.O.W. camp or from the farm dogs at home.