Reddit, dubbed the front page of the internet, is a social media network of communities (subreddits) based on users (Redditors) interests. Most Redditors are anonymous, hiding behind a self-titled username. r/AskReddit is arguably one of the most popular subreddit where users can submit open-ended questions to which other users can then reply with answers.
On December 27, Redditor u/liamnotleum asked “Who had grandparents fight in WW2 and what stories did they share?” on r/AskReddit. As of December 29, there are 36.8k upvotes, 11.9k comments, and over 325 awards, including the historic Top Awarded post award.
Here are some of the highest upvoted comments:
When my grandmother died, we helped my grandfather move out of his house into an apartment. I had found a mason jar filled with old shiny rocks in his basement. When we looked closer, we realized it was gold teeth (aka kills from the war).
That’s when I learned my grandfather was a sniper. He served on the pacific side fighting the Japanese.
He died a couple of years ago at the age of 99. Well into his 90s though… he could still shoot a squirrel (with a gun and a sling shot) from a pretty long distance.
He met up with the men in his unit every year after the war… until they all died.
u/bo1555
Grandfather was in an amphibious division in the Pacific Theater. He left us with little snippets of his time.
A camp was pitch black because they didn’t want to be visible from above. A guy in his cabin went to the outhouse and sat down to do his business when he heard something. He pulled his lighter out and lit it. A python was dangling down staring him in the face.
He and another man were walking on a beach and the other guy just got shot through the head from a sniper. That sniper’s decision led to my existence.
General MacArthur showed up and gave him a promotion along with a few others. They took a video of MacArthur shaking the hands of a line of soldiers and used it for a pro-American propoganda film to be played before movies in the US. My grandma saw it and freaked tf out and the theater owners gave her a copy of the photo.
u/lazyandfickle
My grandfather was in the resistance in holland. He never spoke about the war to his wife, children or grandchildren. If asked to relate stories he’d reply, “I will not be responsible for the nightmares of another”, would turn his hearing aid off, and nap in his chair.
u/Igloomum
My grandfather was a train medic (not front line but where they took immediate survivors). The Germans were known so sabotage train bridges and it was standard protocol to stop and inspect them before crossing. Well, his conductor was drunk and not only didn’t stop but was speeding into the bridge when it exploded. My aunt has the pictures but let’s just say the rubble he was found under (wooden trains don’t just derail – they shatter, especially off a bridge) was crazy! He described it to me and I wanted to cry, he lost many friends.
u/commentstalker84
My paternal grandfather landed on Omaha on D-Day. That’s it, that’s all he ever shared. We know he spent the duration of the war in Europe, but whatever he saw or did was too much to ever tell my grandmother, dad, aunt or uncle.
u/Ubermassive
My grandpa was in the army. He never spoke about his service but he was shot in the ankle and captured. He spent years in a va hospital once he returned to the states. I heard second hand stories about the pow camp. Specifically how the guards would smoke cigarettes and then intentionally flick the butts just out of reach of the prisoners inside the fence. He and his buddies devised a tool to reach out through the fence and grab the butts when the guard turned their back. They’d then pass the butt between them to get a tiny puff.
u/askew88
He was a very kind very quiet very intelligent man who had a very bad drinking problem.
Grandfather was a US sniper in the Pacific. One of the best stories was of a cocky officer who showed up and lined all the infantry up on the beach to tell them they were a bunch of pansies and he was going to whip them into shape.
These men had been seeing hand to hand combat for months. The officer finally said, “If there’s a man on this beach that thinks he can whip my ass, take one step forward!”
Every man took a step forward immediately. The officer didn’t say much after that.
u/stone2552
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