One soldier's story in pictures

[wizardman]

wow just came across this..great story Andreas..Did he discuss the war much with you and the family or stay in contact with his comrades..If that is too personal, thats ok,its just a really good story with pictures

[HPL2008]

wow just came across this..great story Andreas..Did he discuss the war much with you and the family or stay in contact with his comrades..

I am not aware whether he maintained much (or any) contact with former comrades.

He did talk about the war to me when I was a kid, and psychologically speaking, it may well be that my boyhood memories of his war stories were part of the reason for my later interest in the WW2-/Third Reich-era as an adult.

Regrettably, though, my truly serious interest in this subject only really emerged when he was already gone.

Of course, as a child, one responds to such tales not like an adult does and perceives them differently, more as if they were simply exciting adventure tales.

How interesting it would have been to talk to him about his experiences when I had an adult perspective, more knowledge about the overall subject, a better understanding of what some of these events really meant and a grasp of the very real personal hardships and dangers they involved.

Alas; it can't be helped.

[harryamb2]

Andreas,thats exactly my thoughts,Iwish I had paid more attention to me father.

[AZPhil]

Thank you for sharing the photo's and story of your Grandfathers service. I found it very interesting and I'm glad this was brought back up to the top for me to read.

Semper Fi
Phil

[wizardman]

Fascinating story and your lucky you have photos to look back on,its these posts that make the war real..when i was a small child i used to sit with the ww1 veterans at our local community dances and discuss their wartime exploits, many having lost limbs and other conditions,(the kids and the old blokes lumped together),great for me as i loved anything military for as long as ive been alive...I was always told NEVER join the army and never trust politicians..ive lived by that

[timothy]

Great story with family history behind it well done. timothy

[avenger]

This is why I will always remain an advocate for viewing the war with equal measure of granularity for every global perspective we take, lest we err with generalizations. May we always strive to see history through the eyes of all parties involved, to listen, learn, and understand. The era of the Third Reich is a cautionary tale, but it also part of the story of human struggle, and deserves to be remembered in such a way that the heroes of all parties are given their deserved respect. And from the ruins of that time, we gained some of the best members here of any forum.

Thanks for sharing the story of your family HPL. I hope we never grow weary of carrying these memories to future generations so our loved one's sacrifices are never lost to time, but lead them on to better times.

[alikat]

Thank you for sharing your grandfather's story (and great pics) with us. He was indeed lucky. My friend in Austria lost his grandfather near the end of the war when the Russians entered the field hospital and shot everyone in a bed.