renfield Posted March 1, 2016 Share #1 Posted March 1, 2016 On any given day there are about 12,000 W.W.2 pictures for sale on Ebay.. When I saw this one I was not very impressed. There was no nose art or anything flashy about it. It went unsold and then turned up in the buy it now section. I bought it, received it and put it aside. One day I got it out and took a good look at it. The names and home towns of the men were listed on the reverse of the picture. Most were faded out, soiled or just in bad condition. I was able to read "Haute, Indiana" that could only be Terre Haute my home town and the town I work in. Then I was able to make out a last name "Randolph". The only family with that name I know of is the family that started the business I work at. The family has run the shop for 96 years, I have worked there for 26 years. I asked my boss, Jim, if he had any uncles that served in W.W.2. He said he had one "in tanks and one in planes". When I showed him this 70 year old picture he pointed out his uncle "Randy" Randolph". He is kneeling 4th from the left. I made a copy for his mother, Randy's sister, and she was thrilled. NOW what are the odds that 70 years later this photo would end up in the hands of a person who worked for the mans family? There was no research needed, anyone in the world could have bought this picture, but it came to me and the family. As I was talking to Jim I further learned that I had met Randy over 20 years ago when they had a family reunion. It is just a strange sequence of events that the picture came full circle to his surviving family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted March 1, 2016 Share #2 Posted March 1, 2016 It's cool when those things happen ...especially with no expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USdog Posted March 1, 2016 Share #3 Posted March 1, 2016 That's a very interesting story and strange! Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted March 2, 2016 Share #4 Posted March 2, 2016 Wow. That is pretty neat. Very odd coincidence. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted March 2, 2016 Share #5 Posted March 2, 2016 Very good story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted March 2, 2016 Share #6 Posted March 2, 2016 Great story! It was meant to be. God definitely works in mysterious ways....Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38Driver Posted March 2, 2016 Share #7 Posted March 2, 2016 Very cool story. Funny how the history is never really that far away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swmdo Posted March 2, 2016 Share #8 Posted March 2, 2016 I call that divine intervention. Wonderful story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M24 Chaffee Posted March 2, 2016 Share #9 Posted March 2, 2016 Serendipity! Very cool story! Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 2, 2016 Share #10 Posted March 2, 2016 Great story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltz41 Posted March 2, 2016 Share #11 Posted March 2, 2016 Wow! Makes you wonder then about some of the other items we might all have and connections to them! Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILL THE PATCH Posted March 2, 2016 Share #12 Posted March 2, 2016 Yup, I blame God for this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted March 2, 2016 Share #13 Posted March 2, 2016 That is an AMAZING story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanWWII Posted March 8, 2016 Share #14 Posted March 8, 2016 Fantastic story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomfixer Posted March 8, 2016 Share #15 Posted March 8, 2016 yep great story...some things are meant to be...doesn't matter how hard we look...sometimes...it is just meant to be...great story thanks for sharing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
338thRCT Posted March 9, 2016 Share #16 Posted March 9, 2016 I had the same experience a couple of weeks ago. Found a group of photographs, envelope, and a postcard all with the last name of a guy I know at work. Asked him if his grandfather was in WW2 and was named Alex, to which he answered yes. Brought the stuff in and he was elated. The grandfather had died when my friend was just a little kid and he did not have much ,if any, background as to his military service in the war. Sold the lot to him for what I paid. Always glad to help folks find their family past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custermen Posted March 20, 2016 Share #17 Posted March 20, 2016 Great find. Have you researched the unit and its service? The dates in the upper LH corner says they went to Italy---15 Air Force. BTW, here is a webpage that shows the organization of the 15 Air Force. What I like about it is it shows the tail markings for each squadron and you can see which ones flew the B-17 and the B-24. http://www.airpower.at/news03/0813_luftkrieg_ostmark/15USAF.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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