Veterans I admire

[Archangel]

I've basically been surrounded by veterans all my life in my family as military and civilian targets in WW2.
My racing buddy's dad was part of a bomber crew. He got a Carnegie medal a few years back for rescuing a child in a burning apartment. By the way, he only has one leg. He said it was no big deal, he'd ditched in the north sea twice and a burning apartment is nothing like a bomber going down in flames. He said the medal should have gone to the kid who lay by the door holding a flashlight so he could find his way out dragging the other kid.
One of my first real jobs was working at the maintenance base. After all the cutbacks, the only people left were the POWs and wounded in action. They have superseniority. I remember they would never talk about themselves but, "Oh, man, what that guy over there did..." I remember all these tough scarred killers sitting around the lunch table talking about growing strawberries.
I had a couple of regulars give me a hard time about my long hair and beard. The CO heard them and put them on detail. I thanked him. He looked at me and said, "I don't like it either, but I didn't fight two wars for nothing." I've always remembered that philosophy. Years later we met again and he was in a civilian role. He remembered me like old school and did me a life changing favour using his authority. Now I owe him twice.
I have tons of respect for them.

[slohairt]

Despite Ireland being a neutral country in WWII, BOTH of my grandfathers followed the path of many an Irishman and crossed the border to serve in the British military. My paternal grandfather was in a tank, and my maternal grandfather served in the RAF. Both saw their share of hell, and re-enlisted every year. In fact, my paternal grandfather was a veteran of three conflicts: He served in the Communist forces against Franco during the Spanish Civil War (he was something of an idealist), WWII, and the Korean War.

They were examples to live by, in all aspects of their lives. If I could amount to half the person each of them were, I would be honoured.

PS I'm also quite sure they didn't drunkenly threaten kids with boulders!

[acstoon]

I grew up around veterans...
My Dad was a L-2 Grasshopper pilot in WWII.
Flew artillery spotting... low, slow & unarmed.
Most of his friends & my uncles were WWII veterans (many pilots)... my brothers & I were fortunate to hear their stories.
Two of my brothers were AF veterans... my oldest was Viet Nam era, later ended up in missile silos, as a "Guardian of Armegeddon".
Next older brother was radar systems tech... got sent everywhere.
Oh... and I'm named after my great-great-grandfather, a Civil War veteran (Dad still has his calvary sword)

I have highest respect & gratefullness to all who have served their country.

[creativeaccents]

The two posts on the topic of vets led me to explore the web yesterday, still seeking more information about the death of my best friend in Viet Nam. I was overwhelmingly surprised to find this: http://cavalier44.my100megs.com/Kevi...yearticle1.htm

Kevin was a brother, a very best friend in this world, and, probably more than anything, a young man who was trying to do what he felt was the right thing. Like many, he was raised with some rock solid, conservative American values and then we found ourselves in the midst of campus riots, tear gas, rows of police with full armor, shields and clubs. The campus exploded with the anger. So, Kevin did what he thought was right and went to serve. Like so many in Iraq, he was just a young boy really. Until now, I never had any ideas of the links to Apocalypse Now, the BBC series, or the book by his roommate in Nam.

I was raised by an ex-Marine who served in the Marshall Islands. He was a Marine until the day he died, but never talked about all that he had seen. However, the many demons were always there, true demons being the daemonae of the original Greek meaning those many thoughts and memories that never left us. He too was just a boy when he went off to war.

Last night ALL of the many, many memories all came back and I could not help but consider Iraq and how very different times are today. Though I am sure the long term consequences are the same in those individuals and families affected, Iraq is such a neat, out of the way campaign with none of the in your face images or news coverage that we saw to bring the realities of war into the living room and without the threat to those on the campuses, so they are largely complacent as the fighting and serving has not yet become anything that means all might be called. But, for the individuals coming home the stories and effects must surely be the same.

In WWII the task at hand was clearly understood. In VietNam we were still fighting in the name of the Domino theory. In Iraq there is 9-11, two days from now. Sometimes, it gives me pause to wonder.