Dad never talked about WWII, even in hunting camp other than a couple of funny stories here and there.
A lot of dad's letters home were saved by his mother and my niece via another family member was able to scan them and put them in book form so family members could order 1-off copies (to the tune of $80) per so I bit the bullet and ordered one and just finished reading his letters. Most of the letters were written from Siapan, Biak and New Guinea and majority could only say from somewhere in the Pacific.
He did talk about making knives from *found* Japanese sabers and pieces of aircraft windshields using only files and handtools during some of his downtime. Luckily I am the owner of one of them, albeit missing some sections of the handle.
Toward the end of the war it was very apparent that it was wearing on him bad as his last two years left him wondering it he would be home for hunting seasons.
Sure puts a lump in your throat guessing what they went through back then. I was in Nam and dad would only say, "Son you were in a war and there were things you won't and can't talk about."
