Do you have any war stories from your Grandma or Grandpa?

Yes. My mother and her side have always tried to stay close, although spread out. There have been some reunions and such.

I did meet my great grandparents on her side before they passed away. Haven't done a good job of staying in touch with all the cousins tho, although my brothers and siters do - they are Facebookers and I am not. On my dad's side, his family was somewhat dysfunctional.

I do not know how much they actually stayed in touch with each other, and my mom even took a lead role in trying to keep up with everyone. Still, they pretty much scattered to the four winds, and I hardly know where any of them or their families are today. Also, I did visit my grandparents on that side before they passed, but not any great grandparents.

I also understand there is a group of the family that split and went two different ways so there may be an entire side I really don't know. I know I have cousins from that side I have never met - or only once at a funeral. They really don't do reunions, and the one time they did, it was like being a hatfield at a mccoy wedding.

There ya go.

Yes everyone has family members they have either never met as they died before they were born and/or they didn't have contact with and haven't since.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.