My Father's War
Bill Sharp
A son's tribute to his father's part in World War II
Introduction
This website was inspired by the book The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw, celebrating the generation of men and women during W.W.II who unselfishly contributed to the war effort both overseas and at home.
My father never spoke extensively about his part in the China-Burma-India Theater during the war. He repeated a few simple stories which you will find in these pages but said little about the conditions or suffering he witnessed as a fireman on an airbase in India support the flights over The Hump from 1944 to 1945.
He died in 1969 at the young age of 51. Some of the recollections in this site are from his wife, Jo Sharp.
I will attempt to tract his Army Airforce career in parallel with the events of W.W.II. The China-Burma-India Theater (CBI) receives little attention compared to the war in Europe or the Island hopping in the Pacific other than the books and movies about the Flying Tigers and the Burma Road. Yet there were many significant battles and struggles which should be recognized.
Other sources for this site include:
- Winged Victory: The Army Airforces in World War II by Geoffrey Parret,
Random House, 1993.- My Father's War: A Son's Journey by Peter Richmond, Simon and Schuster,
1996.- The Greatest Generation Speaks, Letters and Reflections by Tom Brokaw, 1999.
John Sharp
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
johnws@ameritech.net
Site created March 25, 2001
Updated: November 26, 2001