I got started into WWII enmass becasue as my mom calls it "fate" if you notice my birthday...June 6th...D-DAY...LOL.... 
But I guess you could say the real reason was to stand up and be proud of my uncles and my grandfathers who served during the Second World War and show them how proud I am of them for their service and to show them also how much what they gave me, matters to me.
T/4 Sgt. Henry D. Padgett
U.S. 5th/ 7th Army, VI Corps., 832nd Amphibious Group MTO/ETO
My uncle served from Operation Torch to the end in Germany in 1945. He was a DUKW driver and was attached primarily to the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division's, 7th Infantry Regiment. He was at Fedela, Kasserine Pass, Bizerte, Salerno, Anzio, Southern France...etc... He doesn't talk much about the war, nothing of combat. He is still alive and lives about 30 miles from me in Bluffton, SC. Out of his original 500 man battalion of the 832nd at Op. Torch he was one of three original members left at the end of the war.
F/O James F. Dunigan
509th Compsite Group, 393rd Bombardment Squadron, U.S. 20th A.A.F.
My grandfather stayed stateside with the U.S.A.A.C. and toward the end of the war was assigned too the "atomic" bomb group under Col. Paul Tibbet's. He passed in 2003.
Pvt. Albert Bivens
U.S. 116th Infantry Reg't., U.S. 29th Infantry Division, U.S. VII Corps.
My great uncle fought on Omaha Beach in Normandy and all the way to the end of the war in 1945. He passed in 1999.
S/Sgt. Frank C. Simmons
U.S. Army Field Artillery
My grandfather served at Camp Rucker, Alabama in the U.S. Army in the Field Artillery. Unfortunately, during training a round went off too close to his ear and ruptured his ear drum. He was the reverted to the Motor Pool at Camp Rucker and eventually in 1943 the gave him a medical discharge. He passed in 1989.
Seamen 1st Class Harry Brooke
U.S.S. Gato, U.S. Navy, South Pacific.
My uncle got in to the war in 1944 and it took him four months to get from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to Perth, Australia..LOL.... He later served on the U.S.S. Gato in several anti-shipping missions before the end of the war. He lives in Deland, Florida.
Also my father had numerous WWII Fighter books and I got to reading them and it just grew from there. I am now an avid collector of all things WWII U.S. 3rd Infantry Division and VI Corp.(Minimal) related the 3rd is my BIG focus. I have an extensive collection of WWII U.S. 3rd ID original pieces ranging from small items like a 1941 Christmas Menu from the U.S. 30th Infantry Regiment at the Presidio in San Francisco, CA. to an original WWII 1943 Willy's MB Jeep done up in U.S. 30th Infantry markings under the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. I am constantly continuing my collecting of U.S. 3rd Division memorabilia. Myself and Giles from France are constantly competing for 3rd ID pieces on ebay, whether he knows it or not I don't know...LOL...
Our unit also has a forum at the bottom of our homepage and anyone interested is welcome to join up and chat with us anytime I'm on there a good bit, and I check it daily plus some of my memorabilia is on there with instructions as to whats what on there...etc... We focus on all things U.S. 30th Infantry ranging from War of 1812 to WWII and beyond.
Our current events going on right now were are helping the Veterans Council of Chatham County, Georgia with their WWII Memorial ceremonies every last weekend of every month up and until its built in Sept. next year. You can go to our site and see also some pictures of our latest events we've participated in.
Regards,
Sgt. James Dunigan III
Able Co., U.S. 30th Infantry Regiment
U.S. 3rd Infantry Division(Reenacted)