One of my relatives was with the British S.A.S and was part of the team that did the reconisance so the bridge on the river Kwai could be bombed. And another won the D.S.O. at Vimy ridge and later died during the battle at Flanders. He is refered to in a book by Pierre Burton about those events.
Oh and another one was pretty high up in the unions concerning the building of the golden gate bridge
My grandfather was in the US Coast Guard during WW2 and helped draw up defense strategies for the New York harbor. You’ll note that because his defense plans were so ingenious, New York was never attacked. 
Well, Johan Sebastian Strause of Blue Danube fame, is a direct ancestor of mine on my grandmothers side. Not really a historic event, but hey, who hasnt heard the Blue Danube?
Now if only I got royalties…
I am somehow related to Samuel F. B. Morse.
It is a family tradition for us that one of the great-greats was the other speaker when Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. The one who went on for hours.
Well, my grandfather was one of the so-called “Rats of Tobruk” (under siege in Northern Africa in WWII, IIRC), and I studied this in history and it didn’t sound like too much fun. Unfortunately he died before I was born…
Samuel Crowley was the first man killed in the revolutionalry war. He was from Virginia and he was my great, great, great, great grandfather. (I think I’m not sure how many greats). There is a monument dedicated to him on the banks of the Ohio river His widow was granted a special commission by the House of Burgessess.
Direct descent of Bathsheba Spooner here. She lived
in Massachusetts in the 1700’s, had an arranged
marriage to an old coot, took a young lover and
they murdered the husband. When his body was
found in the well, she was convicted of murder.
She said she was pregnant, so shouldn’t be hanged
until she gave birth, but they didn’t believe her.
After the hanging, they found a perfectly formed
five month old male fetus. Last time a woman was
executed in Massachusetts.
My grandmother had a scrapbook of newspaper
clippings from the case. I wish I knew what
happened to it.
I am related to Johnny Appleseed.
Also, my dad played on the GB Packers’ taxi squad in '65 and thus was part of one of the greatest football teams ever assembled.
One of my Great-to-the-Xth-power relatives was a Colonel in the Revolutionary war. Dunno anything else.
My dad always maintained that his dad, a Chicago cop, was one of the first on the scene after the St. Walentine’s Day Massacre. The old man died several years before I came along. Sure he would’ve had some interesting stories.
Sorry for that wascally “W”.
One of my great-uncles was in the Polish cavalry when they made their ill-fated stand against German tanks.
On the other side of the family, I’m distantly related to the McIlhennys (sp.?) of Tabasco Sauce fame (or so my grandmother says – I’m a bit skeptical about this).
My dad drove in convoys in WWII. He was watching a war movie once and started trying to tell me how his guys came through with the supplies after that battle or something. Do you ever wish you had paid more attention to what your folks told you? I’m sure it was really important.
My niece’s husband is a grand nephew of some gangster named Accardo. Sometimes I’ll see him (the great uncle) mentioned on the History Channel when they are talking about gangsters. Not really my relative though, is it?
My family has a distinguished military history. During the Revolutionary War my several-greats grandfather, Robert Kasson, was court-martialed for refusing to fight with the French troops that had been sent over. See, they were Catholics and he was Protestant. Pardoned later though. A great-grandfather emigrated in an informal fashion from Germany during the latter part of the 19th century when Bismarck was busy mopping things up. He was sixteen and about to be drafted, and didn’t fancy the idea of being cannon fodder. So he stowed away on a ship and joined an older brother already here. I did have another Kasson relative that was postmaster general of the United States, and an ambassador to Austria-Hungary. Not a direct ancestor but a third cousin five times removed. I figured out the relationship with the aid of a family book written a hundred years ago.
I am related (although I’m not sure if I’m a direct descendent) to Daniel Boone. He was involved in several historical events, although being sleepy-eyed and awake for just five minutes, I can’t think of what they are.
My great-great-great-great-yada-yada-yada grandfather was a Captain for the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary War.
My mother’s father was in the First Marine Infantry and stormed the beach in Korea under some general whose name escapes me for the moment. He never talked about it much until we were watching about the Korean War on the History Channel and my grandfather said, “Hey, that’s us.” Apparently they stormed a beach, ended up miles behind enemy lines and had to fight their way back. I’ll know the general’s name if I see it, can anyone help out there?
One of my great^27 uncles or grandfathers or cousins signed the Declaration of Independence… That’s kinda cool.
A couple:
my father was on Tinian when the Enola Gay and Bock’s Car took off.
My uncle Buddy’s unit liberated a small Nazi concentration camp at the end of WWII