My maternal Uncle, Robert Andrew Milne, 1909-1969, served during World War II as a Surgical Technician, PFC with the 111th infantry. I have only a few photos from his time in the service. He was honorably discharged 29 Sep 1945. He was the only member of my immediate family who served during this war. My grandfather’s were too old and my Dad was 4F due to being deaf in his left ear from scarlet fever.
We left Detroit when I was 7 years old. I have no memory of my Uncle Bob, although I know he was at some family functions that I also attended. I had always heard from my Mom (his sister) that he had a tough life and had some issues with alcohol. He was married twice and left no children.
I wish I would have known him better. Don’t we all wish to have those conversations with family members.
Today I will just focus on a couple of photos of him with his Army buddies.
Here he is in a group photo. There are no names or dates on the back of this photo. I’ve indicated which one is my Uncle Bob. He was very small in stature, 5’ 6 1/2” and 114 pounds.
And here’s another picture without him in it. I see the same guy kneeling in the front in this photo, who appears in the front row above, second from the left.
Here is Uncle Bob on the beach (I’m assuming during his service based on the pants and how young he looks.
And at the beach again in his later years, age 53, July 1962.
There is something about looking at photos of my family that makes me very nostalgic and sometimes even sad. We moved away from Detroit when I was 7 and that means I missed out on time with my Aunts & Uncles and many cousins. By the time I was old enough to think about traveling to see them, they were all gone. I will continue to keep their memories alive by honoring them in blog posts and on our family tree.
What do you think about when you look at family photos?
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Hi Diane, the photos are wonderful keepsakes of your uncle. I also have WWII photos of men with whom my father served. I posted several on my blog. Luckily, my father wrote their names on the back of the photos so the posts have a transcription that can be found in internet searches. Hope the photos can be connected to other families someday. To me, photos make our ancestors real. In that moment, that's what they looked like. Do I resemble them? Maybe my brother? Different thoughts arise depending if I knew them or not. And yes, I too have relatives I wish I would have asked about their early lives.
ReplyDeleteDenise - Thanks for leaving a comment. I do hope that somehow, descendants of the men shown in these photos, will find them.
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