Thread: My Grandfather's WWII Photos - Stateside & Hawaii

Hi everyone. This is my first post here so I thought I'd start off with a bang! My grandfather was a Technical Sergeant in the Army during WWII, ultimately serving on Okinawa. I have a large stack of his photos and would like to use this thread to share them with you. I have never served - my connection to the US military is through my grandfather's service and my father's service in the Ohio National Guard. You can click on any of the photos and you'll then be able to pick bigger sizes to look at.

EDIT - I think I'd also like to add that my grandfather was in every way an immigrant child of the US. In 1922, with his mother, brothers, and sisters, he escaped the routine pogroms and massacres of Jews in Ukraine. With a fake passport, the family made it through Poland to Frankfurt, where they boarded a boat to Ellis Island. He never talked about the "old country," as there probably wasn't much worth remembering. Almost 20 years later he found himself to be the oldest volunteer in his Army unit (32 years old). Maybe the Army made him an "American" in his own eyes? Too bad I can't ask him - but I'll always wonder.

So, without further adieu I will kick it off with a mystery:


WWII by m.gross196, on Flickr - This photo may have been taken on Oahu or Ft. Knox...two places I know my grandfather served. Can anyone identify the weapons and (for you eagle-eyes) maybe even the plane?!

OK, while you guys are thinkin' about that, here are some others:


Selvin Hoffman on the Beach - Oahu, HI - 1944 by m.gross196, on Flickr - (Oahu, HI) My grandfather (top row, second from left) and his buds joshin' on the beach. Norbert "Nibs" Hildebrand (top row far right) and Bill Wennerberg (front center) are also there.


13th Armored Replacement Battalion, Co. A - Fort Knox, KY - 1942 by m.gross196, on Flickr - (Mammoth Cave, KY) My grandfather Selvin Hoffman (above the arrow) with the 13th Armored Replacement Battalion, Company A, out of Fort Knox, KY. Photo taken in August 1942.


How The Hell Do You Open A Coconut? (1944) by m.gross196, on Flickr - (Oahu, HI) Norbert "Nibs" Hildebrand, my grandfather Selvin Hoffman, and Bill Wennerberg attempt to crack open a coconut. I am pretty sure this is Christmas Day, but positive it is 1944.