GilpinGuy
12-09-2017, 03:33
I recently heard an interview with Andy Fancher on The Survival Podcast (http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/fancher-on-wwii-heroes). Andy started interviewing WWII Vets and posting them on YT when he was 16 yo. He's 18 yo now and an impressive guy. He's very well spoken for an 18 yo - better than most adults I know.
Here's the interview on The Survival Podcast. It's worth listening to, IMHO. Skip to about 03:50 to skip all of the intro stuff: Andy Fancher Interview (http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/fancher-on-wwii-heroes#podPressPlayerSpace_1)
Here's Andy's YT page: Andy Fancher YT Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBUkAyb841r533idYMAVj2Q)
(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBUkAyb841r533idYMAVj2Q)
I thought maybe we could share some stories of the WWII Vets we know/knew here. Maybe it's been done before on the forum, but why not remember these guys again, especially around Christmas.
I will, even if nobody else does.
My Granddad, Cedric, enlisted at 17 in England. He was a machine gunner on top of a tank and fought the Germans in France until he was shot through the upper arm, shattering the bone. The bone was set all wrong in the field and wasn't straight. He wanted to go back and fight again, but the military said he couldn't due to the his malformed arm.
My Granddad figured he didn't kill enough Germans, so he decided to take the family to Australia and enlist there. My dad and uncle were still young kids then. While waiting for their date to get on a boat, my Great Granddad passed away, so they delayed their move to Australia to attend the funeral. They then decided to go to the United States instead (lucky me) where they raised the family in NYC. I don't remember if he tried to enlist here or not. I'll have to ask my Dad about that the next time we talk.
When I was a young teenager, my Grandparent's house burned to the ground. All of Cedric's war stuff was lost. My Dad tells me that he had quite a few medals, newspaper clippings and such, but my Granddad didn't talk about the war much at all. I wish he would have, but I don't think a lot of those men did back then. It seemed like every time we visited his house, he had a war movie on TV though. He was thinking about it.
What I remember most about my Granddad was his blunt, up front talk. No bullshit at all. He said what he thought he needed to say. If something came up about gays, he'd say shit like, "Fucking faggots.....look what they do to each other...Jesus Christ! What the hell is wrong with these people!" He didn't give a shit who was present either. These guys came from a different time, that's for sure.
He was a hard headed man too. I remember when he was hospitalized once for a heart attack (I think). He walked out of the hospital in his gown to the convenience store to buy a pack of Marlboro's. The hospital staff was freaking shocked. He was was like, "Well, I wanted a smoke and you wouldn't give me one, so I got one myself." LOL I remember the thick yellow stains on his fingers from the cig's. He pretty much had a Bud in one hand and a smoke in the other at all times.
Some of this might seem negative, but if you knew the man, you'd laugh. That's just who he was and nobody was going to change it, period. Think "Get off my lawn." He was that guy.
And being it's Christmas time, he used to take the fake tree with ornaments, lights and everything and just stuff it up in the attic. No set up next year, just dust it off little. And we all joke to this day about how all of the lights on the tree would blink on and off at the at the same time. It was like a frigging strobe light going off in the room. You could get a sun tan if you sat there long enough.
He spent his retirement years volunteering at VA hospitals. Grandpa was a good man. He passed when I was in my 20's. I'm lucky to have known him. He's missed.
Here's the interview on The Survival Podcast. It's worth listening to, IMHO. Skip to about 03:50 to skip all of the intro stuff: Andy Fancher Interview (http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/fancher-on-wwii-heroes#podPressPlayerSpace_1)
Here's Andy's YT page: Andy Fancher YT Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBUkAyb841r533idYMAVj2Q)
(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBUkAyb841r533idYMAVj2Q)
I thought maybe we could share some stories of the WWII Vets we know/knew here. Maybe it's been done before on the forum, but why not remember these guys again, especially around Christmas.
I will, even if nobody else does.
My Granddad, Cedric, enlisted at 17 in England. He was a machine gunner on top of a tank and fought the Germans in France until he was shot through the upper arm, shattering the bone. The bone was set all wrong in the field and wasn't straight. He wanted to go back and fight again, but the military said he couldn't due to the his malformed arm.
My Granddad figured he didn't kill enough Germans, so he decided to take the family to Australia and enlist there. My dad and uncle were still young kids then. While waiting for their date to get on a boat, my Great Granddad passed away, so they delayed their move to Australia to attend the funeral. They then decided to go to the United States instead (lucky me) where they raised the family in NYC. I don't remember if he tried to enlist here or not. I'll have to ask my Dad about that the next time we talk.
When I was a young teenager, my Grandparent's house burned to the ground. All of Cedric's war stuff was lost. My Dad tells me that he had quite a few medals, newspaper clippings and such, but my Granddad didn't talk about the war much at all. I wish he would have, but I don't think a lot of those men did back then. It seemed like every time we visited his house, he had a war movie on TV though. He was thinking about it.
What I remember most about my Granddad was his blunt, up front talk. No bullshit at all. He said what he thought he needed to say. If something came up about gays, he'd say shit like, "Fucking faggots.....look what they do to each other...Jesus Christ! What the hell is wrong with these people!" He didn't give a shit who was present either. These guys came from a different time, that's for sure.
He was a hard headed man too. I remember when he was hospitalized once for a heart attack (I think). He walked out of the hospital in his gown to the convenience store to buy a pack of Marlboro's. The hospital staff was freaking shocked. He was was like, "Well, I wanted a smoke and you wouldn't give me one, so I got one myself." LOL I remember the thick yellow stains on his fingers from the cig's. He pretty much had a Bud in one hand and a smoke in the other at all times.
Some of this might seem negative, but if you knew the man, you'd laugh. That's just who he was and nobody was going to change it, period. Think "Get off my lawn." He was that guy.
And being it's Christmas time, he used to take the fake tree with ornaments, lights and everything and just stuff it up in the attic. No set up next year, just dust it off little. And we all joke to this day about how all of the lights on the tree would blink on and off at the at the same time. It was like a frigging strobe light going off in the room. You could get a sun tan if you sat there long enough.
He spent his retirement years volunteering at VA hospitals. Grandpa was a good man. He passed when I was in my 20's. I'm lucky to have known him. He's missed.