Nothing grand in my family although all three boys of my fathers side (my grandfather and 2 great uncles) served in Italy with the "Red Bull" division. They left Denmark in 1937 to come to America and then signed up in 1941. Were overseas by 1944 and basically just did their service. My father was born in 1941 and served in the Navy after high school on board a destroyer and I carried on with a tour of duty with the USMC in 1982. We all just thought it was part of being in our case an American, as it would to any other countries men who fought and served for their country.
My mothers' father was a railroadman and so was exempt from service as he was needed in the states to run trains across the country.