I want to wish all of our Vets a Happy Veterans Day. Especially our good friends Aridog and AllenS who often grace us with their hard earned wisdom.
My Dad joined the Army when he was sixteen right after World War 2. He served in Korea, Alaska and Hawaii. He was an MP for part of that time. He was stationed in a prisoner of war camp for a while. He never spoke about it at all but one of his long time buddies served with him and came back to Brooklyn to hang around with him all the time.
My Uncle V was in the Navy during the last year of the war and was stationed on Guam of all places. He was a longshoreman believe it or not. The same thing he did for forty years as a civilian. Sometimes they put the round peg in the round hole.
The last of the World War 2 generation is pretty much gone now. The Vets you meet today are from more ambiguous conflicts like Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and all the rest of the messes we have gotten ourselves into in the ensuing years. What is not ambiguous is their service, patriotism and bravery. They deserve not just our respect but our deep gratitude. When they were called they served.
I can think of no more honorable description than that.
Happy Veterans Day.
