I totally enjoyed the article. You did a great deal of research which proves that one should never take things at face value. Do your own research. Mistakes can be made and assumptions can be wrong. We are only human. Good job!
Great work, Jennifer, and such a necessary reminder to never take anything in genealogy as absolute truth! My grandpa’s naval history is a fabulous example - I’m still untangling it, but the one thing I know to be true is that much of what he shared — and shared repeatedly throughout his life -/ was wildly inaccurate based on military records, published reports and private letters other crewmen sent home and which I’ve come across. I’ll never know why the basic facts of his tour were so different from what I now believe to be true, but I do feel bound to tell both versions. Thanks this piece.
My grandpa was also Navy in WWII. Armed Guard. I never knew him as he died when my dad (the bonus kid after grandpa was discharged) was about 16 years old. Secrets and stories were rampant in my family about grandpa and his service. He was taken off his 3rd ship in July 1945 and taken to a Naval Hospital in California for diagnosis. In the end - schizophrenia. He was honorably discharged and sent home. Got grandma pregnant with my dad and ended up with 4 sons total. He attacked grandma after he got her pregnant and spent about 17 years in a VA Hospital that was primarily there to treat mental patients.
I finally discovered the truth about his service about 10-12 years ago when i got his service file. It had two pages of medical diagnosis notes in it. By that point my dad admitted he knew something was wrong as he visited his dad at the hospital but didn't know his diagnosis. When I got his Armed Guard Deck Logs they all said no enemy contact so back then I foolishly thought his war experience was not "that bad". However, as I have been diving into Merchant Marine project for a client and the Armed Guard narrative histories my researcher has gotten me that I didn't know about years ago - I'm humbly learning anyone on the sea likely had mental health issues.
bottom line is - no matter how much we "think" we know about our family or the war, there is always something more to learn. Another layer to peel back. So I wait for my researcher to get me grandpa's Armed Guard narratives and we'll see what they say. Not all military reports have great content but maybe I'll get lucky with his last ship - maybe something will be mentioned about my grandpa - question is - am I ready to read and process it if something is mentioned?
As for your grandpa - over 15 years of being a professional military researcher, I have learned that veterans told stories for so many reasons and we just can't judge. I'm sure one big reason was they never thought we'd discover the truth since during their lifetimes, this type of info was so hard to get and so restricted. But there was also shame, guilt, anger, grief, hatred over acts they had to commit, so many reasons why they told stories that weren't based in fact - or partially were fact. Those stories can help us peel back the layers of our ancestral trauma and help us discover more of who we are and why we are who we are - and then maybe change.
Wow, thanks, Jennifer, for sharing your story and also insight from your own experience as a military researcher! I'm still waiting on Grandpa's Navy files, but hopefully they'll show up soon and maybe even offer some new information. As you said, so many layers to peel back, but a journey I am excited to take!
Lori if all you get is a discharge paper, instead of the entire file let me know. I’ll connect you with my researcher there to copy the whole file. Since Nov, NPRC has been sending out discharge papers and a letter citing they’ve used all available resources. Meaning, they are too lazy to copy the entire file. But a Navy file does exist there in full with a photo of the sailor.
I totally enjoyed the article. You did a great deal of research which proves that one should never take things at face value. Do your own research. Mistakes can be made and assumptions can be wrong. We are only human. Good job!
Thanks Madeline! I think this ship and this one instance in this overall report isn't quite done with me. Still things to learn.
Great work, Jennifer, and such a necessary reminder to never take anything in genealogy as absolute truth! My grandpa’s naval history is a fabulous example - I’m still untangling it, but the one thing I know to be true is that much of what he shared — and shared repeatedly throughout his life -/ was wildly inaccurate based on military records, published reports and private letters other crewmen sent home and which I’ve come across. I’ll never know why the basic facts of his tour were so different from what I now believe to be true, but I do feel bound to tell both versions. Thanks this piece.
My grandpa was also Navy in WWII. Armed Guard. I never knew him as he died when my dad (the bonus kid after grandpa was discharged) was about 16 years old. Secrets and stories were rampant in my family about grandpa and his service. He was taken off his 3rd ship in July 1945 and taken to a Naval Hospital in California for diagnosis. In the end - schizophrenia. He was honorably discharged and sent home. Got grandma pregnant with my dad and ended up with 4 sons total. He attacked grandma after he got her pregnant and spent about 17 years in a VA Hospital that was primarily there to treat mental patients.
I finally discovered the truth about his service about 10-12 years ago when i got his service file. It had two pages of medical diagnosis notes in it. By that point my dad admitted he knew something was wrong as he visited his dad at the hospital but didn't know his diagnosis. When I got his Armed Guard Deck Logs they all said no enemy contact so back then I foolishly thought his war experience was not "that bad". However, as I have been diving into Merchant Marine project for a client and the Armed Guard narrative histories my researcher has gotten me that I didn't know about years ago - I'm humbly learning anyone on the sea likely had mental health issues.
bottom line is - no matter how much we "think" we know about our family or the war, there is always something more to learn. Another layer to peel back. So I wait for my researcher to get me grandpa's Armed Guard narratives and we'll see what they say. Not all military reports have great content but maybe I'll get lucky with his last ship - maybe something will be mentioned about my grandpa - question is - am I ready to read and process it if something is mentioned?
As for your grandpa - over 15 years of being a professional military researcher, I have learned that veterans told stories for so many reasons and we just can't judge. I'm sure one big reason was they never thought we'd discover the truth since during their lifetimes, this type of info was so hard to get and so restricted. But there was also shame, guilt, anger, grief, hatred over acts they had to commit, so many reasons why they told stories that weren't based in fact - or partially were fact. Those stories can help us peel back the layers of our ancestral trauma and help us discover more of who we are and why we are who we are - and then maybe change.
Wow, thanks, Jennifer, for sharing your story and also insight from your own experience as a military researcher! I'm still waiting on Grandpa's Navy files, but hopefully they'll show up soon and maybe even offer some new information. As you said, so many layers to peel back, but a journey I am excited to take!
Lori if all you get is a discharge paper, instead of the entire file let me know. I’ll connect you with my researcher there to copy the whole file. Since Nov, NPRC has been sending out discharge papers and a letter citing they’ve used all available resources. Meaning, they are too lazy to copy the entire file. But a Navy file does exist there in full with a photo of the sailor.