Like many of you I had relatives in WWI and WWII. I had relatives in every theater of operation during WWII. I even had one cousin who was in the German army on the eastern front and another cousin who was with Russian forces in Stalingrad. All came home.
My dad and his brother both served, my dad in the Army and my Uncle in the Navy. My uncle was an LST driver and landed the first Americans in North Africa. His ship was then ordered back to the states and was refitted and sent to the pacific where he finished out his service. He received two purple hearts and a bronze star.
My dad because of an eye problem didn't go overseas. In fact it took him a couple of tries to get in the service, but he finally made it in 43. Because of his eyes he was assigned to Camp Atterbury in Indiana. It was a POW camp for Italian prisoners of war.
I never realized until after the old man was gone how depressed he was about his service, I think maybe even ashamed. His brother lauded his service over the old man a lot, and that hurt him even worse.
My dad became an alcoholic and finally abandoned the family when I was 13. For years I hated him, but I never really knew him. It wasn't until I started my family tree and realized how little knowledge I had about him that I had to start digging. I realize now that he made some choices in life, that turned out badly for him and this compounded with what he thought a disgrace in the service turn him into a drunk.
Of course by the time I had done my research he had died and I never was able to connect with him as a son. There was nothing to be ashamed of in his service, he did what he could do at the time. He was a T6 when he left. He still served his country and I am proud of that today.