re: Does anyone have a family member alive that served in WW2?

My Dad lived all his life in a little town (pop. around 600) in NE Texas. He signs up for flight school as soon as he turned 18. He became a naval aviation cadet.

He went through flight school quickly. He was the first to get "all upchecks", which means he passed every level. So, while everyone else was training, he'd fly around in a trainer. One day, he started a mock dogfight with an instructor. He got disciplined by having to spend a day in the control tower. Dad said he loved it because everyone wanted to know what was going on.

New boss comes in. Everyone ships out, but they hold Dad to discipline him for the same dogfight. Told him he'd be a sailor. But, the big C.O. said "no double jeopardy" so he wasn't disciplined. But, everyone in his unit was gone so they shipped him to Pensacola (which was a much better place). He ended up a Marine pilot and by his 19th birthday was flying the USMC version of the B-24.