I recently discovered my uncle's father (now passed) landed on D-Day. It's a pity that so many of our WW2 veterans are quickly disappearing and the only testament to their bravery and sacrifice will be what's in the history books.
My son's 1st grade class got to sing the national anthem at a minor league baseball game. It was armed forces night. They honored a WW2 vet and he received a standing ovation. He threw out the first pitch. He received more applause then either team did during the whole game. I thought it was the least we could do for his service. It was very cool.
Ultimate respect for all those that served and sacrificed in WW2 and every conflict since. No one in my immediate lineage actively served in WW2 but they served in their own way. My grandfather on my mothers side was a marine before the war but came down with TB and was discharged shortly before hostilities started. He went on to be a career fireman, and later chief, at Pax naval air station (and sidelined in moonshining). Granddad on my dads side went to join up but was told to go back to work when they found out he was a draftsman at Bell aircraft working on the AiraCobra. He became a full fledged engineer and went on to the KingCobra and then the X1 aircraft. He designed all the tail control runs for the X1. Kind of cool to stare up at the X1 in the Smithsonian Air and Space and know my granddad designed part of it.
Those are 2 very cool connections to the military. I try to teach my kids to at least say thank you to anyone we see anywhere showing they are military vets. It is because of the brave that i live free.
My grandmother's brother served during WW2 in the Pacific, but he never mentioned it much. He just passed away recently. Another interesting bit of history in my family, my grandpa worked for Heshey Chocolate during the Vietnam War making chocolate energy bars for troops to carry into battle. He said they tasted terrible, but they would keep you alive.
My grandfather was a bomber pilot in the Pacific Theater in 1942 and 1943. He flew 51 missions in twin-engined medium bombers (mostly the B-26). He was shot down 3 times, belly landed next to the runway once, and lost several crew-members on missions. He later went into the newly-formed Air Force and retired a Lt. General after spending many years as director of intelligence for Strategic Air Command. He passed in 2004 and was buried in Arlington on the same day as Regan's state funeral. The funeral service and burial was amazing and surreal. As a kid, I just remember him being the goofy old guy that liked to pretend to eat bugs. I miss him every day, and visited his gravesite in 2015 with my kids. He would have been 100 years old that year.
While no relation to me, "Dutch" Van Kirk (navigator for the Hiroshima mission) grew up not more than a 15 minute drive from where I live. Very interesting reading his account of his childhood and know exactly what places he mentions.
