52 Ancestors Week 46: Wartime

From Amy Johnson Crow Week 46:

The theme for Week 46 is “Wartime.” Who in your family has served in the military? Alternatively, do you have someone who couldn’t or wouldn’t serve? Have you had any breakthroughs using military records?

War. War never changes

     Who in my family has served, huh? Talking about everyone who served in the armed forces in any capacity would take a long, long time and I do like to keep these blogs short. There isn't anyone who hasn't served aside from my father. Both of my grandfathers were veterans of World War II. All four great-grandfathers served in World War I. I have three confirmed veterans of the American Civil War and about a dozen or so Soldiers of the American Revolution. It's a good thing I listed them all on a free space page on WikiTree for just these occasions! You need a scorecard to keep them all straight!

    Ironically, with all the men who served in my family, I only know about my grandfather Robert's service during World War II. He served in the Air Corps, the organization that eventually became the U.S. Air Force. He flew planes and the birth of my mother clipped his wings. He also traveled quite extensively to bases in Japan after the war. He was also well-decorated with tons of medals. Not bad for a kid from Brooklyn....er....Newburyport. Come on. Humor me. He was like Captain America to me! 

Fun Fact: He did chuckle a few times when I showed him some comics with Captain America. He said...and I quote "Hey! I remember that guy!" Now that's staying power for the leader of Earth's mightiest heroes!

    While I may have had heroes who served overseas, I would think that guarding America's shores is just as important as serving in Europe and in the Pacific. Enter my great-grandfather Giuseppe Carrabs. While both of my grandfathers were in Europe giving the Nazis what-for, he was stationed in Massachusetts as an air raid warden.

    Now, I already knew he served the country during World War I. I have a picture of him in his uniform that I'll be sharing in a bit. I just find it interesting that he was called into service once again.

    Giuseppe was born in 1882 and by the second world war he was in his sixties. Clearly, his draft card was one of those "Old men's draft cards".

    Nevertheless, he served and his service was noted in his obituary in 1974.  My dad's cousins make it a point to leave military markers and American flags at his grave in Haverhill. Not all heroes are on the front lines, you know. Some people have the daunting task of protecting the nation when a bulk of the fighting force is overseas. Their job is just as important as anyone else. While his time in World War II was admirable, let's go back in time a bit to the first World War and imagine what it must have been like for him.

The only pic I have of him with hair!

    On September 2nd, 1918, Giuseppe was drafted and served the U.S. army during the first world war at the age of thirty-three.  I honestly don't know much about his service during that time. However, I can tell you that it seems like he was the only Carrabs brother who served in that conflict since I can't find any record stating Pasquale or Rocco served with him.

    This isn't to say that they never served. Rocco and Pasquale both have old mens' draft cards from the 1940s. It's curious that they don't have World War I draft cards. Were they already too old to serve at that point? I'm not sure about that. Giuseppe was the oldest of the three since he was born in 1882. Rocco was born in 1887 and Pasquale was born in 1894. It's curious that he had a draft card and his brother's don't.

    I wonder if they did have cards and the cards were never digitized. Or perhaps it was because Rocco didn't speak much English or something. The possibilities are endless.

    In any case, Giuseppe clearly served toward the end of the war. My dad's cousin Dennis gave me the picture of Giuseppe in his uniform after asking him if he knew anything about his grandfather's time in the army He sadly didn't. He just told me that there was a picture of him in his uniform. He sent it to me and the weird thing was that when I saw it, I felt like I've seen it before.

  In my travels, I've seen many pictures and my grandmother Ollie and her sisters  had in their homes. I suspect that picture was at my great-aunt Louise's house. Louise was Dennis's mother and I must have seen the picture there along with many other photos. 

    Anyway, it must have been tough for Giuseppe being the only one of his brothers to serve in World War I. Sadly, I have no idea what unit he served in or what he actually did during the war. That's okay, though. Sometimes it's enough to know that he served.

    Still, I bet there is something on Fold3 about his service in that era. Then again, there may not be much considering he was discharged following year when the war ended. A lot can happen in a year. It remains to be seen what he was doing during that year. Uncle Sam called him back into service twenty years later as an air raid warden at least. I just wonder what he was doing in that year during the 1910s.

    I have a feeling he stayed in America since his daughters were very young during those days, My great-aunt Louise was born a month after the war ended in December of 1918. Because of his family situation, he likely opted to serve in the national guard and that's fine. It also syncs up with him being an air raid warden some twenty years later. Then again he may have volunteered for that service.

    In any case, Giuseppe clearly served the United States and was one of a few Italian immigrants in my tree to do so. That's pretty awesome in my book. He might not have been Captain America like my grandfather Robert. But, he was still pretty awesome. 'Nuff said!

See ya next time!