Pictorial History of WWII

[howdy]

Scroll down a ways to start seeing WWII pics and history.

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks11/1100731h/V6/V6P.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bubba84]

spent a lot of my morning on that website. some interesteing stuff.

[longtooth]

This is the best summary of the entire war from the very first that I have seen. There may be a better one but I have not seen one.

[jimlongley]

I was scrolling through another of these a little over a year ago, and found a picture of my father going ashore on Omaha Beach.

The only problem is that we never knew he was there. He was in England at the time, that much we knew, but as a Signal Corps Captain attached to the Pentagon, he always told us that his duties were more like that of an office boy. We did know that he was involved in some secret hush hush stuff, he was sent to England the first time in 1940-41 to help them find out what was wrong with their radar installations (he held a couple of patents on that kind of stuff, or at least was a joint patentee) and his tales of living through the Blitz and calling in reports from pay phone kiosks which had unexploded bombs under them were the stuff of cocktail party entertainment. But for all that, it was as if the war ended December 7th 1941, when one of the British officers that worked with him came charging in to his quarters yelling "Leftenant Longley, Leftenant Longley, They have bombed Pearl Harbor!" and since "They" were dropping bombs all over the world, and he had no idea what or where Pearl Harbor was, he didn't see what all the excitement was about.

The only immediate effect on him was that he had to go back to wearing uniforms. When he first arrived in England he had not been told that he was supposed to be a "civilian contractor" and had only packed uniforms, so they got stored away, and he wore civvies until the US declared war, when he was required to wear uniforms, of which none of his fit any more, and he had been promoted to First Lieutenant, so his hastily retailored "kit" (as he always called it) had the wrong rank insignia until his return to the states.

We know he flitted back and forth from England to the states quite often, and he was proud of his S&W .38 Special that he had specially modified to wear in a shoulder holster under his uniforms that were tailored to hide it while on these "courier" (according to him) missions. It was only in my own adulthood that I discovered what tall tales these might be, but never was able to find out the rest of the story. He was obviously in the states in November of 1944, when he married my mother, but my mother moved from Arlington to Ft. Benning to live with my grandmother shortly after that, and then to Ft Sam Houston after the war ended when my grandfather became commanding officer of the Quartermasters there, and we know my father wasn't around much in that time frame.

Finding a picture of him slogging ashore on Omaha was quite a surprise. He was encumbered by a great deal of equipment, none of which looks like standard warfighting gear, and I find myself wondering if he was setting up some kind of radar installations ashore right in the wake of the invasion.

We may never know, as he is long since dead, and the National Records Center can't find any records on him for the era. Of course they had that fire in the 70s, so . . .

[Oldgringo]

Many years ago, when network television was fit to watch, there was a weekly program, "Victory at Sea". Who here has the maturity to remember watching it?

[jimlongley]

Many years ago, when network television was fit to watch, there was a weekly program, "Victory at Sea". Who here has the maturity to remember watching it?

We watched it every week, my grandfather knew some of the people involved in the production, and he was there in the Pacific.

I have the complete series on DVD.

[longtooth]

I have spent several times here & more hrs here than on anything in a long time. This is rich history & may be the best I have seen stretching Nevel Chamberlain to the Misouri & beyond.

The "NonBattle" history was great too.
Lend Lease, Baloons, the 5 man Jap Subs, "In Japan"......

[VoiceofReason]

Many years ago, when network television was fit to watch, there was a weekly program, "Victory at Sea". Who here has the maturity to remember watching it?

I watched a lot of them and I think I have a few on DVD.

Here is a little trivia. I once saw a video of Japan signing the surrender. The video showed, and the narrator pointed out, that the Japanese delegate approached the table and extended his hand. McArthur would not shake his hand.

I saw that only once. Seems like the video they show now has that edited out.

[WildBill]

Many years ago, when network television was fit to watch, there was a weekly program, "Victory at Sea". Who here has the maturity to remember watching it?

I watched a lot of them and I think I have a few on DVD.

Here is a little trivia. I once saw a video of Japan signing the surrender. The video showed, and the narrator pointed out, that the Japanese delegate approached the table and extended his hand. McArthur would not shake his hand.

I saw that only once. Seems like the video they show now has that edited out.

I remember Victory at Sea on "television".

I remember reading that Eisenhower refused to salute the German officers at their surrender in Reims, France.