A day that will live in infamy. The attack on pearl harbor. The day we were drawn into WW2.  Can't believe it's been 84 years. My dad and both of my uncles fought. 

Three relatives were in that - Grand Uncle John Hoffschire, injured during Market Garden...one of his nurses was Grand Aunt Irja Ryssy and they got married in '46. Her brother was Lt. Cdr John W. Ryssy, senior captain of a 4-frigate USCG escort flotilla across the Atlantic and later the Pacific.

God Bless all the souls who suffered through it. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

My grandfather and two of his brothers and two of my grandmothers brothers went too.  My grandfather went to the Philippines his brothers went to Europe.

Grandmother’s brothers went to fight in Europe too.

Pearl Harbor unified our country with a bond that was unmeasurable.

Somethings were set in stone…

My father was in WW2. Served in the old Army Air Corps.

My maternal grandpa worked on the retaliations they built in oak ridge and dropped on Hiroshima. My paternal grandpa fought in Germany and I have a couple of relics he brought back, a bayonet and a Solingen dagger he got off a dead soldier

 

Wild times back then 

My Grandpa fought on Iwo Jima. He didn’t talk about it much. After watching documentaries I understood why. 

Iwo Jima was where the most brutal and gruesome fighting occurred in the Pacific.

My Grandfather fought in the Italian Army in WWII. He didnt say much, claimed he never fired his rifle but said hardly any of them wanted to be in the war. Often times they would be bombed by their own allies to push back opposing forces and used as a buffer/fodder between the opposing side and their allied side. 

 

Would have loved to learn more but anytime it was brought up the angry Italian words came out about his country at the time. 

On 12/8/2025 at 8:26 AM, Glenn said:

Iwo Jima was where the most brutal and gruesome fighting occurred in the Pacific.

And then it was on to Okinawa, where the casualties were even higher and more horrific amongst the combatants and the civilian population of the island.

I’m glad folks here remember the people who sacrificed for our freedom. I feel like it’s lost on mainstream America.
 

Thanks for the thread @jbmaine. 

Yes, you're right.  I was thinking of Okinawa instead of Iwo Jima.  Got my names mixed up.