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Aaron Schnatterly
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 Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:28 am Post subject: |
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| Joachim Nilsson wrote: | Just 35?! I thought you were older.  |
Yeah, well... at 04:30 hrs, I felt like I was 135.
Yes, just shy of 35. I've done a lot in that period of time... lots more to do.
| Joachim wrote: | | Yeah, I tried to google him before, but that yielded nothing. Except for a whole bunch of Germans sharing his last name that is. I remember reading on some WWII site that the problem with locating info on German veterans is that the Allies managed to bomb the office where all records of serving soldiers were held. The records for wounded soldiers on the other hand were kept at another location and was spared. I think my best bet is to turn to German authorities. |
Probably correct. If he was in fact wounded, there may be some trail left... War has a lot of not-so-good elements - the loss of our heritage and of historic documents, structures, and relics is truly a shame. Hopefully the answers you are seeking are out there... just have to kick over a lot of rocks and rubble to find them. Do you have any other form of ID? Seems the name thing may not be enough. Here, we have social security numbers... not sure what you might have there.
| Joahim wrote: | | Aaron wrote: | | I did a quick internet search on my grandfather's name. First page of finds yielded his birth/death dates. Strange feeling, that... |
Yeah, I bet. I did an internet search on another relative. A Swedish soldier from the late 18th Century. I didn't expect to find anything, so you can imagine my surprise when I actually found his full name and a reference to the remains of where the house he lived in stood.  |
It's bizarre what you can find. I'll have to have a long talk with my dad sometime soon - I know my mother has most of her side figured out, at least back into the mid 1800's... gets very difficult to follow back from there. Seems they came from a little place called Stockholm... 
| Joachim wrote: | | Aaron wrote: | | All of this from an old box of anti-mine equipment, over 1000 miles away, that now belongs to a friend I've never had the pleasure of shaking hands with.... |
Odd men are brought together by odd things. The time will come, Aaron. It will. |
Oh, I know... count on it. I just think it really pretty interesting how this community, and the world we live in, can seem so small sometimes... yet so big. Pretty cool, if you ask me!
-Aaron Schnatterly
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Fortior Qui Se Vincit
(He is stronger who conquers himself.)
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Martin Wallgren
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:39 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Here, we have social security numbers... not sure what you might have there. |
Don´t know about the Germans but in Sweden we have a Personal Number that is unik to every person. If you know that number and are in any govermental organisation you will get all the goodies in a few seconds out of a computer. Scary isn´t it!
Martin, 721213-**** (don´t gonna tell ya all my last 4, hehe)
Swordsman, Archer and Dad
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Joachim Nilsson
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:40 am Post subject: |
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| Aaron Schnatterly wrote: |
Yeah, well... at 04:30 hrs, I felt like I was 135.
Yes, just shy of 35. I've done a lot in that period of time... lots more to do. |
I'm pushing 30 as we speak, and to my dismay, and often surprise, I find from time to time that I'm not 20 any more. In more ways than one. Life takes its toll, hehe. Grey hairs and the like. 
| Quote: | | Probably correct. If he was in fact wounded, there may be some trail left... War has a lot of not-so-good elements - the loss of our heritage and of historic documents, structures, and relics is truly a shame. Hopefully the answers you are seeking are out there... just have to kick over a lot of rocks and rubble to find them. Do you have any other form of ID? Seems the name thing may not be enough. Here, we have social security numbers... not sure what you might have there. |
Yes, I shudder when I think of all the historical documents, fechtbucher and weapons that might have been lost in the war. 
I know his name, rank and the field post # he was stationed at during certain years thanks to the letters. I also know where he lived after the war. Just wish this interest in him and in my heritage would have peaked before my mother died...
| Quote: | | It's bizarre what you can find. I'll have to have a long talk with my dad sometime soon - I know my mother has most of her side figured out, at least back into the mid 1800's... gets very difficult to follow back from there. Seems they came from a little place called Stockholm... |
Yes, most Swedish families can be traced back to the 17-1800's thanks to the church records. Before that things get more tricky. Unless you have nobles in the family. Do you have access to a family tree for the Swedish side of your family?
| Quote: | | Oh, I know... count on it. I just think it really pretty interesting how this community, and the world we live in, can seem so small sometimes... yet so big. Pretty cool, if you ask me! |
Cool in the extreme if you ask me.
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Martin Wallgren
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:44 am Post subject: |
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To help this world look even smaller .... www.earth.google.com
I live in ostersund (Östersund), sweden
Swordsman, Archer and Dad
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Aaron Schnatterly
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:58 am Post subject: |
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| Joachim Nilsson wrote: | | I'm pushing 30 as we speak, and to my dismay, and often surprise, I find from time to time that I'm not 20 any more. In more ways than one. Life takes its toll, hehe. Grey hairs and the like. |
One of my favorite books is "Illusions" by Richard Bach. In it, perhaps not an exact quote, is this question:
"You gave your life to become the person you are today... was it worth it?"
I've had a lot of ups, a lot of downs. Some things I've done, I'm exceptionally proud of, others, I would take back in an instant. I've been saintly, and also pure hell. All in all, though, in the end, weighed and measured, my answer is yes... gray hairs and scars and all... yes.
| Joachim wrote: | | Yes, I shudder when I think of all the historical documents, fechtbucher and weapons that might have been lost in the war. |
... and art, structure, skills and crafts... the whole lot. 
| Joachim wrote: | | I know his name, rank and the field post # he was stationed at during certain years thanks to the letters. I also know where he lived after the war. Just wish this interest in him and in my heritage would have peaked before my mother died... |
At least you have some solid anchors to work from. I understand your revelation - I had literally some of the best library resources available to me in college... spent most of it reading beer labels and the Greek alphabet - 2 or 3 letters at a time... Now, I've the focus and interest, but no ready access. Other avenues...
Another thing I have come to appreciate is the true value and nature of family and friends. Celebrate them. Love them. Support them. Lean on them. Remember them always.
| Quote: | | Yes, most Swedish families can be traced back to the 17-1800's thanks to the church records. Before that things get more tricky. Unless you have nobles in the family. Do you have access to a family tree for the Swedish side of your family? |
My mother does - she's pulling a lot of these things together. We have discussed a lot of it, including lots of faded pictures and other documents... I saw one photo that was a bit spooky, actually... It was a baby picture of one of my uncles from a few generations back... side by side, we could have been twins.
-Aaron Schnatterly
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Fortior Qui Se Vincit
(He is stronger who conquers himself.)
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Aaron Schnatterly
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 7:04 am Post subject: |
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| Martin Wallgren wrote: | | Don´t know about the Germans but in Sweden we have a Personal Number that is unik to every person. If you know that number and are in any govermental organisation you will get all the goodies in a few seconds out of a computer. Scary isn´t it! |
I figured there'd be some type of alternative ID... and yes, you can find a ton of stuff very quickly. More than I am really comfortable with... but it's the world we live in.
| Martin Wallgren wrote: | To help this world look even smaller .... www.earth.google.com
I live in ostersund (Östersund), sweden |
I checked it out a couple of months ago... still looking at that trip next year, if I can make it happen.
A coworker has the precise coordinates of his house... he was able to identify whose vehicles were parked in his driveway at the time those pictures were taken. He said it made him feel like the world was flea circus... under someone's eye, for sure.
-Aaron Schnatterly
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Fortior Qui Se Vincit
(He is stronger who conquers himself.)
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Joachim Nilsson
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 7:13 am Post subject: |
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| Aaron Schnatterly wrote: |
One of my favorite books is "Illusions" by Richard Bach. In it, perhaps not an exact quote, is this question:
"You gave your life to become the person you are today... was it worth it?"
I've had a lot of ups, a lot of downs. Some things I've done, I'm exceptionally proud of, others, I would take back in an instant. I've been saintly, and also pure hell. All in all, though, in the end, weighed and measured, my answer is yes... gray hairs and scars and all... yes. |
I like that quote. We all have our demons. But it is the way that we have dealt with them and whether or not we have learned anything from the experience that makes us who we are today. Nothing comes for free. I have done my share of rights and wrongs, but like you, even though there are things I wish I could have done differently, my answer is also: yes.
| Quote: | | ... and art, structure, skills and crafts... the whole lot. |
Yes...
| Quote: | | At least you have some solid anchors to work from. I understand your revelation - I had literally some of the best library resources available to me in college... spent most of it reading beer labels and the Greek alphabet - 2 or 3 letters at a time... Now, I've the focus and interest, but no ready access. Other avenues... |
Hehe, maybe you were like me: A restless spirit.
| Quote: | | Another thing I have come to appreciate is the true value and nature of family and friends. Celebrate them. Love them. Support them. Lean on them. Remember them always. |
Truer words have naught ever been spoken.
| Quote: | | My mother does - she's pulling a lot of these things together. We have discussed a lot of it, including lots of faded pictures and other documents... I saw one photo that was a bit spooky, actually... It was a baby picture of one of my uncles from a few generations back... side by side, we could have been twins. |
Whoa, that is uncanny. Good thing you have a lot of pictures and stuff though. Do you know where in Stockholm they lived and if they were excusively living in Stockholm?
I have this pohoto of my grandfather that is a bit spooky, not because there is such a close family resemblance with my mother, but because he sports the death's head insignia on his lapels. The first time I noticed that I was like "oh dear, sweet Lord no....". "Fortunately", and thanks to an internet acquaintance of mine, I found out that it was the Panzer totenkopf -not the SS one. Which makes perfect sense since I've been told he served under Rommel in Africa. Strangely enough though there are no photos of him from North-Africa. Just photos from the Eastern Front... 
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Aaron Schnatterly
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 7:35 am Post subject: |
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| Joachim Nilsson wrote: | | I like that quote. We all have our demons. But it is the way that we have dealt with them and whether or not we have learned anything from the experience that makes us who we are today. Nothing comes for free. I have done my share of rights and wrongs, but like you, even though there are things I wish I could have done differently, my answer is also: yes. |
Exactly. The book's really worth a read - won't take long, but will have you thinking for a good while after.
| Joachim wrote: | | Do you know where in Stockholm they lived and if they were excusively living in Stockholm? |
No, not precisely, and no, not exclusively in Stockholm... Goteburg, or something like that... and something about an Island. It's been a little while since I discussed this... I know it's coming together in written form, so will be preserved for me.
| Joachim wrote: | | I have this pohoto of my grandfather that is a bit spooky, not because there is such a close family resemblance with my mother, but because he sports the death's head insignia on his lapels. The first time I noticed that I was like "oh dear, sweet Lord no....". "Fortunately", and thanks to an internet acquaintance of mine, I found out that it was the Panzer totenkopf -not the SS one. Which makes perfect sense since I've been told he served under Rommel in Africa. Strangely enough though there are no photos of him from North-Africa. Just photos from the Eastern Front... |
That is a bit wild... neat story. Hopefully, you can dig more details up...
-Aaron Schnatterly
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Fortior Qui Se Vincit
(He is stronger who conquers himself.)
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Joachim Nilsson
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 8:01 am Post subject: |
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| Aaron Schnatterly wrote: |
No, not precisely, and no, not exclusively in Stockholm... Goteburg, or something like that... and something about an Island. It's been a little while since I discussed this... I know it's coming together in written form, so will be preserved for me. |
Goodie gumdrops. Let me know if you find anything out. 
| Quote: | | That is a bit wild... neat story. Hopefully, you can dig more details up... |
Yes, hopefully I will be able to do that in the future. It's not my highest priority right now, but I would still like to know more.
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Steve Grisetti
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Joachim Nilsson wrote: | | Aaron Schnatterly wrote: |
Yeah, well... at 04:30 hrs, I felt like I was 135.
Yes, just shy of 35. I've done a lot in that period of time... lots more to do. |
I'm pushing 30 as we speak, and to my dismay, and often surprise, I find from time to time that I'm not 20 any more. In more ways than one. Life takes its toll, hehe. Grey hairs and the like. ... |
Good grief. I just turned 55. You guys make me feel ancient!!
| Aaron Schnatterly wrote: | | Joachim Nilsson wrote: | | ...Yes, I shudder when I think of all the historical documents, fechtbucher and weapons that might have been lost in the war. |
... and art, structure, skills and crafts... the whole lot. |
And let's not forget some 50 million souls.
| Joachim Nilsson wrote: | | ...I have this pohoto of my grandfather that is a bit spooky, not because there is such a close family resemblance with my mother, but because he sports the death's head insignia on his lapels....I found out that it was the Panzer totenkopf -not the SS one.... |
I have a favorite photo of one of my uncles. He was a priest and US Navy chaplain. In the photo, he is baptizing a young marine...my uncle in his full priestly vestments, the marine in his skivvies, and the two of them knee-deep in a lagoon, in a jungle, on an island in the South Pacific.
"...dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for thy assailant is quick, skilful, and deadly."
- Sir Toby Belch
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Joachim Nilsson
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Steve Grisetti wrote: |
Good grief. I just turned 55. You guys make me feel ancient!! |
We may have made you feel ancient but this: | Quote: | | And let's not forget some 50 million souls |
puts us both to shame and makes us look like insensitive louts.  Of course we should never forget those 50 million souls. They payed the ultimate price of all.
I was just wenting some pre-thirties angst. I have not exactly accomplished all that I wanted to have accomplished by the time I turn 30. And I also applied for a job the other day and the rest of the applicants were all 20 or younger. Made me feel positively fossilized.
| Quote: | | I have a favorite photo of one of my uncles. He was a priest and US Navy chaplain. In the photo, he is baptizing a young marine...my uncle in his full priestly vestments, the marine in his skivvies, and the two of them knee-deep in a lagoon, in a jungle, on an island in the South Pacific. |
Sounds like a very, very interesting photo. Must be a priced possesion of yours. What was that saying now again? "There are no atheists in foxholes."
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Aaron Schnatterly
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Steve Grisetti wrote: | | Good grief. I just turned 55. You guys make me feel ancient!! |
... and? You can still hang with us, old man... Just kidding, Steve... one of the neat things about this community - so what? We've got a lot of common ground.
| Steve wrote: | | And let's not forget some 50 million souls. |
Amen to that. The price of war is unreal...
| Steve wrote: | | I have a favorite photo of one of my uncles. He was a priest and US Navy chaplain. In the photo, he is baptizing a young marine...my uncle in his full priestly vestments, the marine in his skivvies, and the two of them knee-deep in a lagoon, in a jungle, on an island in the South Pacific. |
That is a neat one!
Spoke with my father a little while today... got some rather interesting stories out of him. Stories of surviving kamikaze pilots and the like... things he remembered hearing from him when he came back from his tours.
-Aaron Schnatterly
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Fortior Qui Se Vincit
(He is stronger who conquers himself.)
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Joachim Nilsson
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Aaron Schnatterly wrote: | | Steve Grisetti wrote: | | Good grief. I just turned 55. You guys make me feel ancient!! |
... and? You can still hang with us, old man... Just kidding, Steve... one of the neat things about this community - so what? We've got a lot of common ground. |
Exactly. It's only the shell our souls travel in that ages. The soul itself remains the same.
| Quote: | | Amen to that. The price of war is unreal... |
Too unreal...
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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Steve;
I'm going to hit 56 in a couple of months but I console myself with the fact that I can currently do 500 pound leg presses for 25 fast reps: Easily enough that I should be able to increase the reps by a few every time I go train legs ( Getting back to this after neglecting my fitness on and off for a while. ) Could do more weight but that is the entire stack ! Oh, well I can do 300 pounds one leg at a time, so I can aim for 500 pound with one leg ........... eventually.
I have done 800 pounds before but that is on another type of machine with a sliding weight carrier at 45 degree angle, so 500 pounds vertically on a pulley type machine may be about the same.
O.K. O.K. I'm compensating here and everyone likes to brag once in a while. 
Oh, a little more on topic: My dad was lucky as the war ended just before he would have been shipped out, he did do some training in the cadets. There was one story about a fighter plane flying too low during a training exercise that decapitated a trainee !
He was training in the signal core and those guys where expected to bring artillery down on themselves if the situation turned sour and to sneak close to the enemy to be able to call said artillery.
Camouflage training was very important and my father had a funny story of hiding in plain view: When it was time to leave after an exercise they couldn't find my father anywhere and everybody spent a lot of time looking for him.
Finally they gave up and were praising my father's SKILL at camouflage when they found him asleep in a large wicker basket that was used for transporting equipment . Being a hot day and with no shade my father had climbed in to the basket and fallen asleep. NOT D day, but that is my father's ALMOST war story ! Oh, my father didn't get into trouble but it sure made everybody laugh.
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Tue 18 Oct, 2005 7:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Joachim wrote: | | I was just wenting some pre-thirties angst. |
I'm turning 40 in December you bunch of babies!
My father earned every medal possible except the Congressional Medal of Honor, some of them more than once. I doubt if you could have found a better combat Marine. Unfortunately peace time was another story. He actually received his last two promotions for striking an officer. By that time my father had been in the service so long that he had known most of the colonels and generals when they had been captains and lieutenants. During both of those incidents he was promoted and transfered out of the command by his commanding officers, in order to avoid charges. I think he was one of those people the military would have liked to put in a glass box that said "Break when sh!t happens." Unfortunately I have apparently inherited some of my fathers behaviors he used when dealing with his superiors. That hasn't always been beneficial for me. It has been highly entertaining for my coworkers. If you ever want to know what my life was like growing up watch the movie The Great Santini, that's eerily close to my life as a child.
"In valor there is hope.".................. Tacitus
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Joachim Nilsson
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| Posted: Wed 19 Oct, 2005 4:46 am Post subject: |
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| Patrick Kelly wrote: | | Joachim wrote: | | I was just wenting some pre-thirties angst. |
I'm turning 40 in December you bunch of babies! |
I'll take the word "baby" as a compliment then.
In what theatre did your father serve?
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Patrick Kelly
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| Posted: Wed 19 Oct, 2005 8:13 am Post subject: |
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| Joachim Nilsson wrote: | | In what theatre did your father serve? |
In WWII my father served in the Pacific Theatre from early 1943 to the end of the war, as well as Korea and Vietnam during those respective conflicts.
"In valor there is hope.".................. Tacitus
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Joachim Nilsson
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| Posted: Wed 19 Oct, 2005 9:12 am Post subject: |
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| Patrick Kelly wrote: | | Joachim Nilsson wrote: | | In what theatre did your father serve? |
In WWII my father served in the Pacific Theatre from early 1943 to the end of the war, as well as Korea and Vietnam during those respective conflicts. |
From what I've read the Pacific was hell on earth... Not that the other theatres were like a walk in the park, but you get my point.
The mine-sweeper will be picked up on this coming Sunday.
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Steve Grisetti
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| Posted: Wed 19 Oct, 2005 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Joachim Nilsson wrote: | | Steve Grisetti wrote: | | ...I have a favorite photo of one of my uncles. He was a priest and US Navy chaplain. In the photo, he is baptizing a young marine...my uncle in his full priestly vestments, the marine in his skivvies, and the two of them knee-deep in a lagoon, in a jungle, on an island in the South Pacific. |
Sounds like a very, very interesting photo. Must be a priced possesion of yours. What was that saying now again? "There are no atheists in foxholes." |
I wish it was a clearer print, but you get the idea:
 Attachment: 64.08 KB
Chappy Jones - WWII Pacific Theater
"...dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for thy assailant is quick, skilful, and deadly."
- Sir Toby Belch
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Joachim Nilsson
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| Posted: Wed 19 Oct, 2005 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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Awesome photo Steve! Thanks for sharing it!
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