My Daddy and all of his brothers fought in World War II...I personally think when the Germans found out the Roycroft brothers were coming they all threw down their rifles and surrendered.If you ever met my Dad and his brothers you would see where I get my weird sense of humor from.Absolutely nothing was sacred..You were expected to make fun of and find humor in everything..if you didn't you were found unworthy.Will try to remember some stories about them and their activities..first...the crew..there was my Daddy who was the oldest Frank Russell Roycroft, but everyone called him Bill.His brothers Isaac( everyone called him Joe), Wesley (everyone called him Jack, and who I and about 5 other cousins were named for), and Bob and eveyone called him Hick(because his sister, the pistol packing Leola said his head was as hard as a hickory nut)..The reason they all had one name and were called another is because of the fight between my grandparents, who we all called Daddy Red and Big Mama. They couldn't agree on what to name the kids when they were born..so they ended up naming them what Big Mama wanted to name them, and called them what Daddy Red wanted to name them...It made perfect sense to them.
During the war before Daddy was sent to Germany, he and all of the other brothes were stationed in various bases in Texas and Oklahoma.Their main goal in life was to get bootleg whiskey across the Oklahoma border into Texas...My mother and aunts all made several trips on the bus to Oklahoma and back to Texas with pints of whiskey stashed in their purses, suitcases and where ever else they could carry them. Mother said she smelled like moonshine for months after they moved to Arkansas. One of the brothers signed a jeep out in Daddy's name and went awol with it. They adventually found it in the region of Lubbock. No charges ever were pressed against anyone as they could never prove which one of them forged Daddy's name and actually stole the jeep.I am sure to this day it was Uncle Jack..but no one ever confessed..Hell, for all I know, Daddy did it and blamed it on the brothers...I know whiskey was involved...
When all of the brothers came home on leave, they would stage these huge penny ante poker games...and it was ugly..they all cheated, lied and did what ever they could to win the money...During one game all the uncles and aunts were sitting around the kitchen table playing poker and my Mother had on lose house slippers..and one was just sort of hanging by her big toe..and my uncle Hick slipped it off sat and farted in it..then put it back on Mother's foot, then said:"damn, Helen, your feet sure stinks."..Mother immediately took her shoe off and smelled it...and gagged.My Mother was known for her lack of humor when it came to her, and was so pissed, raising all kinds of insulted hell..while everyone was all distracted by her wails about her insulted self..uncle Hick ran off with all the money on the table..He said later, it wasn't planned, but considered it a golden opportunity and thanked my Mother for being such a no sense of humor bitch..
Daddy was sent to German and then France....he never spoke about it..even his favorite grandkid Thom couln't get him to tell him what happened..Our family is from Mesquite,Texas..and my Daddy had sent a letter to Big Mama about his arrival in France. She sent it to the hometown newspaper The Mesquite Mesquiter.....in it, Daddy said that "War is hell. When we got to France, we found that the German's had taken all the wine with them.."...That's my Daddy...
So for all their bootlegging and jeep stealing..each and everyone of the Roycroft Brothers fought for their country...Thanks Daddy, Uncle Joe, Uncle Jack and Uncle Hick...They are all gone now..but the pride their families feel for them will never go away..and their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren...would want them to know how proud we are to have had them fighting for us all those years ago...We are better each and everyone of us of it..
11 comments:
I have to skip the who's who...can't remember all that. But I LOVE the reasoning for the different names. I'm liking big mama and daddy red.
You know what js...this is the "book" that is in you. Your family and personal memories/stories. Well it's the book I would read and enjoy.
:)
Great blog thanking them for serving our country!!!
Show me a quiet warrior and you show me the one who really fought! Mouthier they are, less they saw action. My father's 3 brothers fought against the Soviets for 4 yrs. in the worst possible conditions, and they never even once talked about it. Only one had a seemingly good reason for silence; he died.
Dad never talked about the actual fighting, but he sure had lots of pictures of him with the local women! When he and Mom married, my Grandmother gave all the pictures to Mom and told her to "burn them". Of course she didn't and it sure was a hoot the stories Dad would tell (PG of course) to we 5 girls when we would ask "Who's that funny looking woman that Dad's hugging in this picture?"
Thanks guys! I haven't got a clue about names. Maybe I should draw up a chart.
Oh! The baseball clock has been up since spring training started. Didn't think anyone would notice.
A great Memorial. They all sound like great men and yes, I can see where you got your humor and impishness. This group reminds me of Sgt. Bilko and his men. Ha.
Bet the Germans taking the wine mad them mad. That might be whe we won the war, who knows?
Gotta stand behind our countries soldiers of the past present and future. We may not agree with what they are fighting, but we must always have support for them.
Good post jackiesue!!
I'm with Apos. The story of your life and times would be a best-seller for sure. Imagine the movie it would make! I salute your Dad and his brothers, and all others who fought in the wars past and present..as was said above it is easy to see where your feistiness comes from and your way of looking at things, hugz, Linda
Groovy
"The reason they all had one name and were called another is because of the fight between my grandparents, who we all called Daddy Red and Big Mama. They couldn't agree on what to name the kids when they were born..so they ended up naming them what Big Mama wanted to name them, and called them what Daddy Red wanted to name them...It made perfect sense to them."
I think we may be related as my parents did the same thing and it did make perfect sense. I was the number twleve and my middle name is JOY for a reason...no more kids, joy, joy! Enjoyed this post JackieSue!
Good lord woman! Copyright all of this before Jerry Bruckheimer steals it and puts Jessica Simpson in the lead!! You have so many books here!! Great stories, thanks for sharing them with us!!! You really are a Goddess!!
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