Band of Brothers’ Gallery
Hack Stone thought we should start a gallery to companion our “Members Gallery” that would highlight the fact that our membership in the Grand Band of Brothers is a family thing and that we should all send in pictures of our family members who served. He starts off with a picture of his grandfather who served during The Great War in the 79th Infantry;
I’m digging through my files to find a picture of my father and I’ll post it as soon as I can find it.
Former3c0 sends him and his dad at BMT graduation;
Laughing Wolf sends his dad, “Pvt. Cliff Powers, Guidon Bearer Quantico, VA 1935. Co. G, 2nd BN, Fifth Marines F.M.F (according to what I can decipher on the back of the photo)”
More from Laughing Wolf; my Uncle Foster Powers, USN, Pilot, KIA Japan 1945. He died in one of the last conventional raids done by the Navy (as I understand it).
Laughing Wolf’s Dad again, being a GI;
From Ex-PH2; “The blond young man is my great grandfather, William Henry Rogers, my maternal (mother’s) grandfather. He was in Supply in the 33rd Infantry, Wisconsin 1st Regiment Cavalry.
His brother, my great-uncle Gen. George C. Rogers, was in the 15th Illinois Regiment, in Hurlburt’s Division on the Shiloh Battlefield at Pittsburg Landing, TN — the Hornets’ Nest. He took the field when Col. Turner resigned. I haven’t found a photo of him in uniform, but I found a bad photocopy of a letter he sent home from Pittsburg Landing describing Shiloh.
Their uncle, James Barton Rogers was a chaplain in the 1st Wisconsin Regiment.
The other photo is my maternal (mother’s) grandmother Florence Chapman Rogers’ uncle, Jonathan Chapman, KIA in the Civil War, Company A, Wisconsin 1st Regiment Cavalry. ”
Steve sends “This is from my Brother Frank’s retirement in Dec 70 at Ft Monmouth. I was the Post CG’s aide de camp. Unknown to anyone, especially me or my Brother, the General finagled the GO duty roster and assigned himself to the monthly retirement ceremony. FM 22-5 style he sidestepped to in front of my brother (I was holding the thing with all the awards) and my brother saluted, of course. The Gen did not return the salute and motioned me to take his place. My brother was still saluting so I saluted and the announcer told the crowd that I was retiring my brother. It was a very thoughtful thing of him to do. My Bro now rests with heroes at Arlington. ”
I attached the one where my Bro swore me back into the Army a year or so earlier. I decided I didn’t like the army in VN and got out. 6 months later I decided I didn’t like civilians and came back in.
Country Singer sends “One of these pics is my father and my uncle circa 1959; my dad would end up retiring after 22 years Navy, my uncle after 24 years USAF.
The other picture is my Ggggrandfather, John Hamilton West, 4th Corporal, Co I, 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He was with the 5th Alabama Regt from its formation; at battles such as Seven Pines, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Sharpsburg (at Bloody Lane), was captured at Fredericksburg (exchanged a week later), Chancellorsville (in the assault wave under Rodes), The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. He took a minie ball to the right leg at Spotsylvania, an injury which ended his service and would plague him until he died in 1903 at the age of 72 from a rattlesnake bite he received while rabbit hunting. It took him ten days to die. He was one tough SOB.”
Ray sends; “Dad in front of my Grandparent’s home after returning from WWII. Pictured with him are my Uncle Jack (mini me) and cousin Ken (micro me). Dad served as a Motor Machinist Mate 2nd Class onboard the LCI(L) 1094. He always said they should have gotten Sub pay and Flight pay because half the time they were out of the water, and the other half, under it. I have other photos from one of Dad’s old shipmates showing the 1094 off shore at Iwo Jima pulling harbor security after the island had been captured. ”
Common Sense sends the next tn pictures; “Our newest member is my youngest son Alex who graduated from Air Force BMT in June, he’s currently at tech school at Sheppard. This is a picture of me, Alex, and my husband at graduation.”
I’ll have to dig up a picture of my dad Pete in uniform. He was in the Army, stationed at Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan, where my sister and I were born. This is a picture of my parents with me in Japan. Their off-base accommodations were primitive to say the least, but people weren’t so spoiled back then.
This is a picture of my uncle Jon Swanson, Medal of Honor recipient. He was born in San Antonio while my grandpa was at Ft Sam Houston. When he was home on leave in between tours, he gave us all helicopter rides. I was 9 when he was killed.
A picture of my mom’s brother Gary.
My grandpa Howard Swanson served as a doctor in WWII, mainly in North Africa and Italy. He was an amateur photographer so I have lots of interesting pictures from him. The second one from him was taken at Ft Sam Houston where he went for training before shipping out. The names of the other guys are on the back, in case anyone wants them.
Next is Jim Leader, my grandpa’s brother who served in the Navy during WWII. My grandpa wanted to serve, but he was a truck mechanic in an essential industry so they wouldn’t let him. He regretted that the rest of his life.
Howard Swearingen was my husband’s grandfather. This is a picture of him during WWI.
My dad’s uncles John Henry and Dick Sullivan in WWII.
My great-grandparents Edward and Josephine Sullivan during WWII. My great-grandmother is wearing her Red Cross uniform.
Eggs sends: “[The first picture is] my father in WWII on the shoulders of his crew, he was a T/Sgt with the 514th SQ, 376th HBG, “The Liberandos” of the United States Army Air Forces. After the war he was an instructor at Chanute AFB, then was a TSgt in the newly formed Air Force Reserves.
Smitty1 is my Uncle “Smitty”, 1st Cav in Korea. He passed away in 2004, and thanks to the work of his daughter, posthumously recieved his Purple Heart. She served in Desert Storm with the Mississippi National Guard.”
SJ sends; “This of my son at AIT graduation 50 pounds ago. My greens were never the same after this wearing at his request (was retired then)…too much stress on the buttons. He regretted asking me to wear them and meet his DI, who was Airborne. The DI saw my 82nd combat patch and he had my son pull extra duty all night for “shaming me by not volunteering to go to jump school”. ”
ROS sends; “My Pop before going to Vietnam, and my Papaw, a pilot in the Army Air Corps. I don’t recall if he flew P-43’s or P-47’s.”
Category: Administrative
Ha, that pic was more for the members gallery, but I guess since it’s got my dad in it, it can be here too :P. I’ll see if I can scrounge up some pictures of my uncles and grandpa.
would be alot of pics….grandfather in WWI, 5 uncles WWII, Dad and 4 uncles Korea, 2 Aunts in the 50’s, 2 Aunts 60’s, 2 cousins Vietnam, 3 cousins 70’s to the 80’s one a plank owner on the Jersey…I did 20 now my nephew joins the Army this Oct…
Civil war my great grandfather and several others, my cousin Army in the early 1960s, me in the Navy during Vietnam, my brother Army in the 1970s and his daugher Army nurse Iraq.
Love the idea! I have pictures of my Dad’s Grandpa who was in the British Home Guard in WWI, and two of my grandfathers, one of whom was a supply Sgt. with 3rd Army and landed at Normandy in the third wave, and the other who was a crew chief with the RAF on a S.25 Sutherland flying boat doing anti submarine duty between Russia and England during WWII. Might even have photos of my Grandma who was a WAC in the RAF during WWII.
I sent a bunch too. Dad was in the Army in Japan when my sister and I were born. My mom’s brother served in the Army around the same time. Her uncle served in the Navy in WWII. My grandpa was a WWII doctor, my uncle a Medal of Honor recipient for Vietnam. Dad also had a couple of uncles that also served in WWII. My great-grandmother served with the Red Cross during WWII as well.
My husband’s family has a lot too. His brother is a retired Kansas National Guard colonel. His dad was a navy pilot and his brother an Army general, both served in WWII when they were young. He grandfather served in WWI and he has ancestors who served in the Civil War, War of 1812, and the Revolutionary War.
A little clarification on dear old Ggggranddad, his capture at Fredericksburg was during the Battle of Chancellorsville on 03May1863 (he was also in Jackson’s line during the Battle of Fredericksburg as well as at Gettysburg). From a newspaper account detailing the circumstances of his (and 22 others from his Company) capture: “…while their regiment and the 26th
were charging a hill which had 26 pieces artillery planted upon it behind breastworks, and supported by three lines of infantry.”
I wish I had a picture to submit of another tough SOB in the family, one of my Great Uncles who was a survivor of the Bataan Death March.
From the picture Swanson looks to be a member of the 1/9.
I’m truly glad you guys decided to do this. I think it’s extremely important to tell kids and grandkids what people in a family have done and where they were. If you don’t do that, then they lose a sense of where and who they came from, which is a real loss.
#8 Ex-PH2: I was going to do a post like yours. Thankfully, you beat me to the punch and did it so eloquently. As a geezer Old Soldier, this means a lot. Airborne!
I have photos of my maternal grandfather from his time in the Navy during WWII (and just the other night, I scanned his Aviator’s Flight Log Book and photographed ribbons and such found in an old briefcase of his after my grandmother’s recent passing). I’ll have to ask Dad if he would mind any photos to be posted 😛 Not sure if we have any photos of Great-grandpa, who was a teamster in the Army in the late 1800s down on the border with Mexico here in Texas (though we do have his original discharge paper). I have a photo of another relative on my dad’s side in some military-looking uniform, but I’m thinking it is German, early 20th Century? Maybe a nephew of my great-grandfather?
In response to SJ’s gallery photo:
Dad, while growing up I knew very little of your dedication and sacrifice for this country, I am so proud of what I’ve learned so far. You are truly a hero to me and I am proud to be your son. Something deep within me brought me to the service and I can only guess it is the same drive and integrity that launched a wonderful career in the military for you. Thank you for all you did and thank you to all those that have sacrificed so much for this country!