Here is my mom with her Uncle George during the summer of 1941 right before he shipped out to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii with the 27th Division, which had been a NY National Guard unit. He was a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association He mentioned once that he was in the battle of Makin Island but he seemed more interested in talking about the major league baseball players that came to the Pacific to play the army team he was a member of. My mom is 12 years old in this picture. Uncle George was the first member of his family to be born in the US. His older sister, who was my grandmother, came to the US with my great-grandparents when she was two years old on the RMS Carpathia in 1910. They were from a village near Kiev. The Carpathia had an interesting voyage on her return trip from NY that year. Interesting to think that if my great-grandparents had not made the trip that he might have been wearing a Red Army uniform in this picture. I love this picture.
That is a great shot Dave. There doesnt seem to be to many like that around. It wasnt long after that, that the innocence of the moment would be lost for some years. Our family doesnt have anything like it. Thanks for sharing. Matt
And you might now be very fluent in Russian! Great photo Dave. I'm sure that is a treasured possession. Those of us in North America all have that defining moment when some ancestor bravely left (or was pushed) from their native home, customs and language.
