My Grandfather
Charles Howard Curran Ph.D. - WWI - Canadian Expeditionary Force - Second Lieutenant - Battlefield Commission from Sergeant.
He served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I and was wounded by machine gun fire in 1917. He would be an important asset to the United States Military during WWII as one of the foremost experts on Insects in the Pacific (and consequently disease born by these insects). He served as consulting entomologist to the U.S. Civil Defense Voluntary Service from the beginning of the war to the end.
Professional portrait for his first book
The cane in the picture is due to his injuries. This was taken in Belfast Northern Ireland in 1919 shortly after the armistice
My Grandmother
Beatrice Wylie Curran - WWI and WWII - U.S. Army - Nurse - Captain
A nurse during WWI and WWII she was with the first group of nurses on the Philippines and Okinawa. I believe she was a captain at the time this picture was taken.
The only picture I have of her in the field. My understanding from her friends was she disliked her picture being taken and had destroyed most of the pictures that she had from the war. My father somehow had this one.
She would never say much about her time in the South Pacific. However, we were able to piece together from some of her friends who served with her that she was the one who took the soldiers with the worst wounds and the least hope and many survived due to her strong will and stubbornness. In her later years she moved to Uvalde where we lived and it was my job to take her to the VA when needed. She and the other vets there always had a lot to talk about and it seemed she always found someone with which she shared a common knowledge of people and events.
Peter H. Curran Sr. - U.S. Army Engineers - Corporal - Heavy Equipment Operator
Served in the US Army in an engineer battalion. Was stationed at Harlingen Texas. His group was training for the invasion of Japan. To say my brother and sister and I exist due to Harry Truman's historic decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima is probably an understatement. Engineer battalions in the South Pacific took very heavy casualties. Additionally he would meet my mother while stationed there.
On Guard Duty
I should note that my mother worked on base for the army as a secretary. Dad was a corporal.
My Aunt
Gay Curran - Women's Canadian Air Force - WWII - Rank unkown
Gay served in the Canadian equivalent of the WACS which as I understand it functioned as part of the RAF. I have few pictures of Gay and very limited information about her service. My father and consequently his family saw my aunt very infrequently. He had decided to stay in Texas and she lived in Canada.
My Uncle
Howard Curran - Post Korean War 1950s and 60s - Lieutenant - Retired
Uncle Howard was my father's half brother. He served as a Navy fighter pilot in the late fifties and early sixties.
My father pinning on Howard's Wings. Corpus Christi Naval Base 1957 He was an Ensign when this picture was taken.
My Uncle
Joe Genovese - U. S. Army - Infantry - Private - late 1930s.
This is the only picture that I have of my Uncle Joe, he shared his father's tendency to avoid cameras. One the interesting notes about my Uncle Joe is that he loved music and wrote a number of songs during his life. Several were recorded with modest success during the late forties and fifties. He spent most of his life in construction.
Then there was me
Bruce E Curran Ed.D. - United States Navy - Petty Officer Third Class - Sonar Technician - early 1970s - USS Brooke
Yes I really was that thin. This picture was taken just before I made Petty Officer. I served as a Sonar Technician. The story of my enlistment and how I ended up in Sonar is a long one and best left to another day.
I have no photos but, from my family I had several cousins that I know of who served as well.
Sammy Genovese - Vietnam - U.S. Marines - Rank Unkown
William (Willie) Genovese - USN - 1980s - Rank Unkown
Don Evans - U.S. Army (I think) 1960s - Rank Unkown
Pam's Father
Kenneth Royal Wheeler - Pre WWII - U.S. Navy - USS San Franciso - Seaman First Class
Pam's Mother Alva and her father 1930s
USS San Francisco (CA-38), 1934-1959
The San Francisco as it would have looked when Kenneth served aboard. Discharged in 1940 he served aboard ship when it patroled the Atlantic on "Neutrality Patrols" after the outbreak of the war in Europe in 1939.
Pam's Brother
Kenneth Alonzo Wheeler - U. S. Air force - 1960s - Rank Unkown
Pam's Brother
Joe Roy Wheeler - U.S. Army - Vietnam - Combat Medic 1960's - Rank Unknow
Pam's Brother in Law
James Bennett - US Army - Vietnam - Retired - Colonel
Pam's Uncle
Earl Stephenson - U.S. Air Force- Retired
Pam's Cousin
Larry Dean Wheeler - U.S. Army - Vietnam 1960s
Pam's Cousin
James Wheeler - U.S. Navy - 1960's
Pam's Cousin
David Van Strien - U.S. Air Force
Pam's Niece
Hillary Wheeler (Jones) - U.S. Army - Trauma Nurse - Mid 1990s
I am sure that I missed someone in this list. I found may pictures but will have to look for more before Veterans Day and hopefully update and flesh out this list further. While there are many stories to tell I wish I had paid more attention to them when I was younger. With so many gone the opportunity to understand their service and what drove and motivated them to serve is also gone. To those that are still here I will make a point to rectify that as soon as possible.
There is a lot that can be said about service and the cost of freedom but I want to close with the words from a recent and a particularly relevant song.
Til the Last Shot is Fired
Trace Adkins
I was there in the winter of '64
When we camped in the ice
at Nashville's doors
Three hundred miles our trail had led
We barely had time to bury our dead
When the Yankees charged and the colors fell
Overton hill was a living hell
When we called retreat it was almost dark
I died with a grapeshot in my heart
Say a prayer for peace
For every fallen son
Set my spirit free
Let me lay down my gun
Sweet mother Mary I'm so tired
But I can't come home 'til
the last shot's fired
In June of 1944
I waited in the blood of Omaha's shores
Twenty-one and scared to death
My heart poundin' in my chest
I almost made the first seawall
When my friends turned and saw me fall
I still smell the smoke, I can taste the mud
As I lay there dying from a loss of blood
Say a prayer for peace
For every fallen son
Set my spirit free
Let me lay down my gun
Sweet mother Mary I'm so tired
But I can't come home 'til
the last shot's fired
I'm in the fields of Vietnam,
The mountains of Afghanistan
And I'm still hopin', waitin', prayin'
I did not die in vain
Say a prayer for peace
For every fallen son
Set our spirits free
Let us lay down our guns
Sweet mother Mary we're so tired
But we can't come home 'til
the last shot's fired
'Til the last shot's fired
Say a prayer for peace
For our daughters and our sons
Set our spirits free
Let us lay down our guns
But we can't come home 'til
the last shot's fired
'Til the last shot's fired
Here is a link to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs9RB7aPKe4&feature=player_detailpage
Here is to hoping that we live to see the last shot fired.
Memorial Day is set asside to remember. Remember the lives, the service, the sacrifice and in some cases the loss of so many. Something we too often take for granted and too seldom acknowlege. My family was lucky all of our service members came home. Many not the same but they did come home. Far too many families were not that lucky. Only recently did we begin to understand the true cost of service and the permanent changes that those who serve in battle undergo.
Memorial Day 2011
God Bless
Bruce and Pam.
