It's a small, small world

[Jeepnik]

Some, maybe most here have watched the Big Red One with Lee Marvin. At one point the squad passes a WWI Monument to fallen Americans and one of the character comments that the names are the same. Marvin responds that "they always are".

Now for decades we believed our family lore that my paternal grandfather died at Ft Leavenworth from the Spanish flu. While we could find no documentation it was just accepted as fact. My eldest sister has had the ancestry bug for some years. She recently discovered that contrary to family lore my grandfather was killed in France during the Ardennes offensive and is interned at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.

Now for the small world part. During WWII my father was with the Sixth Armored division, which was part of the Third Army. At one point they passed very close to the WWI cemetery without his even knowing his father was buried there. My father was a Jr. And thankfully, he is not buried very near to his father as they had fought over the very same ground.

The writer of those lines in The Big Red One, probably didn't realize just how true his words were. And it makes you wonder just how many soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen fought and died for the same patch of earth, ocean and air as their fathers.

 

[Danjet500]

Good to know you found where Grandpa rests.

 

[contender]

Yep,, a smaller world than you think quite often.

Growing up,, we had an uncle,, who,, along with 3 of his brothers had joined to fight in WWII. My Dad is one of the brothers. Well, we had always heard that Uncle Freddie,, who was killed on D-Day on the beaches of Normandy,, was interred over there.
Well, a little research several years ago,, uncovered the fact that his body had been returned home & buried in a family cemetery in Newport Tenn. I learned of it soon after.
One of my 1st cousins was visiting the graves of relatives doing some family research,, and sent me pics of the headstone,, & how he'd placed flowers there.
About 2 days later,, my brother & I were talking,, and he allowed that he wished he could travel to France to visit Uncle Freddie's grave. I did not know that my brother had not been told that Freddie was here in Tenn. I sent him copies of the pics our cousin had sent me. Made my brother quite happy! He too is a Vet,, and did 2 tours of Vietnam!

 

[NC FNS]

Glad to hear that you found more information.
There was no family lore, no nothing about my paternal great grandparents. Then a few years back, a cousin of my father’s (he died last century) looked up my sister, and told her that she found out that my great grandfather was shot and killed out behind his home. And that’s all. I figure it was 1915 or so, probably near current Bratislava.

 

[blume357]

Just to plug it... The Big Red One was written and directed by Sam Fuller... his autobiography " A Third Face" is probably the best book I've ever read.
If you will recall the movie is actually about the 4 men in the squad under Lee Marvin who make it all the way from North Africa to the end of the war in Europe ... Robert Carradine plays the part of Fuller and is also the narrator through out.

 

[WendyZXZ]

It is fitting for a soldier to have a place and home to rest. I know in my mother in laws small farm home town there are three graves in a side by side row and all three are War Between The States fallen. The left is CSA, the right is CSA, both identified and sent home. The middle one is a Union soldier but of unknown identity and one of residents of the town after the battle and not wanting the dead to end up in some hole said ship his body to my hometown and he will rest among us. He was buried with full military honors in the 1860s and his headstone is "An Unknown Union soldier, lying between his brothers."...