This is the counter-point to Loach’s thread. I’m curious about posters with no known ancestors killed in battle.
Now, I appreciate that everyone likely has some, if you go back far enough. I’m interested, though, in family traditions and knowledge.
As I mentioned in the other thread, I’m not aware of any ancestors who were killed in battle: no direct line, no distant cousins, uncles or aunts.
My grandads were married with children during WWI, so stayed home. My Dad was too young for WWII, although older uncles and aunts from both sides of the family were in the military. No casualties.
No family members have been in the Armed Forces since WWII.
No knowledge of anyone from either side of my family who were in the military before WWI, in the 19th, century, which is about as far back as my family knowledge goes.
So far as I know, none. Two great-something-grands who served on either side of the Civil War, one in an Ohio cavalry regiment, the other in a North Carolina infantry regiment whose only claim to notoriety was breaking and running at the Battle of South Mountain; but both men survived their service. My grandfather was in France with the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, but I don’t know if he was ever in combat. Couple of uncles in the Navy in WWII, but everyone came home safely. I’d call that a pretty good record.
None here. My father served in the Aus military during WW2 as a radio-operator, but was never involved in an active battle. Grandfathers were too young for WW1 and too old for WW2.
No wars fought on Australian soil, so it was only the bigguns for our boys.
Father was in the USAF during the Vietnam period, but with the exception of something like 8 weeks that he spent at branch school in Ft. Collins, CO, he spent the entire term of his enlistment in San Antonio.
Maternal grandfather was flight engineer/top turret gunner on a B-17 during Fall 1943 (75 years ago right about now), completed his 25 missions and came back. Paternal grandfather started out as a tank driver in some kind of training command, and then in early 1945 he was transferred to the Army amphibious tractor units to be trained for the Invasion of Japan. He never saw combat.
As far as I know, only one of my great-grandfathers was in World War I, and he was a cook/butcher (his peacetime trade). He did get wounded by fragments after they were shelled at some point, but it wasn’t lethal.
Prior to that, there were multiple veterans on both sides of the Civil War, but I don’t know if any of them even saw combat. Pretty sure none were killed.
My 6x great-grandfather crossed the Delaware with General Washington and survived the Battle of Trenton. My uncle died during WWII, though not in battle.
No known ancestors killed in battle. But my 6th great grandfather was a Swede who ended up in western Norway after being taken prisoner of war during the 1716 invasion.
None that I know of as far back as I know of. A large number where Germans-from-Russia, who went to Russia specifically because of Catherine’s promise of exemption from the Military for 100 years. After those 100 years were up they packed up and moved to America. Then a few years later when WWI broke out, and they actually tried to enlist, this group of big sturdy farm boys, who incidentally still spoke German with little English, all ended up 4F for some reason or another.
Grandfather survived his ships being sunk in WW1. He also saw off pirate attacks in the Far East. Grandmother ran a hospital in France just behind the front lines. Father had a close encounter with a V1. An ancestor sailed with Nelson as a carpenter and survived.
My maternal grandfather was a WWI veteran and survived being gassed; I’ve long wondered if this may have contributed to the leukemia that killed him 40 years later.
One of his ancestors, probably a grandfather, was in the Civil War.
All the ones we know about made it home. Great-grandfather Ebert fought under Sherman in Georgia; not only did he survive, he was the oldest surviving Civil War veteran in his Wisconsin county.
Due to the 25-year gap between WWs I and II, there’s probably a hell of a lot of people with two generations eligible for both wars, and a hell of a lot of people with two generations eligible for neither.
In my case, each generation was ‘eligible but on the oldish side’ and tended to serve in support roles. I’m pretty sure I don’t have an ancestor killed in war over the last 5 generations, and I’d be willing to put medium sums of money on ‘last 7 or 8’
As far as we know the Old Wench’s family mostly avoided military service and the couple who didn’t managed to survive quite well. Knowledge of her side goes back to say shortly after the American Civil War but almost all were still in Germany at the time. Now you want to talk nuns and priests -------- then we’re talking almost more than attended Vatican II. Serious German Catholic.
Am British: so far as I know, none of my forbears on father’s or mother’s side, or siblings thereof, died in World War I or II (directly caused thereby) – our families were unusually lucky that way. Any who might have died in pre-1914 wars, I’m not aware of.
Re 1914 on: fortunate circumstances and good luck, meant no deaths by reason of the wars. Combinations of “too old / medically unfit / doing something more useful than being cannon-fodder”; plus a couple of conscientious objectors, whose decision re same made life “interesting” for them, but not lethal. Those who served in the armed forces, came through alive and not horrendously damaged.
Ironically, a great-uncle whom I never knew (he died in 1915, i was born 1948) died rather tragically during World War I, but from causes nothing whatsoever to do with the war.
My dad’s brother, a gunner’s mate had a ship sink during WWII, in the Pacific. Thankfully he and most of the crew were rescued.
I don’t know of any close family that fought in WWI. My mom’s dad was born in 1904 and was too young. My dad’s father was born in 1889 and probably considered too old. He was 38 when my dad was born in 1927.
Same for the Civil War. There’s no family stories about that time.
I know of none in my family. My grandfather served in WWI, and my father was drafted during the Korean conflict, but by the time he got through basic, the war was over. He spent three years at Fort Dix in New Jersey.
The only ancestors I know of who actually served in war apparently all escaped unscathed. My great-grandfather served (as an immigrant from Germany) on the Union side in the Civil War; his son, my grandfather, served in WWI, and his son, my father, served in WWII. I was lucky enough to get out of serving in Viet Nam due to being classified IY and then 4F (asthma). All the relatives I know about on my Mother’s side were the wrong ages for all the big wars.
