Today is Veterans Day, a holiday and a day many think about the Veterans in their lives, either still with us or not.  I have immense respect for them, no matter when they enlisted or served.  The mere idea of of putting your love of country over your own life and family is simply amazing.  That’s what it is, in its basic definition, there is no more honest and simpler way to describe the ones who voluntarily sign up.

Many years ago things were very different of course, as WWII was raging and the draft was here and the very idea of freedom was literally on the line. The future of the free world was in real danger.  For many of you reading, your grandparents may have been around at that time, but for me it was my dad and his three brothers.  All four of them served in action in WWII, in different places, and they all came home and for the most part healthy.

My father was Robert, he was the youngest of 6 children.  He was a star high school athlete, all-state Ohio in three sports.  Got a football scholarship to Duke University and reported there in the fall of 1942.  His stay there was short as the military asked him to enlist, and he did in the United States Army Air Corps, as a tail gunner in a B-25 bomber in the South Pacific.  He then went on to be in occupied Japan after the bomb was dropped for about 18 months after the war was over.

My Dad – WWII

His older brothers, John, Joe, and Hank were also all in the war.  I don’t know much about John as he died when I was very young, although I met him once and he only had one arm.  Joe, was in D-Day and the Battle Of The Bulge, and lived to be very old, well into his 90’s.  The stories he could tell were incredible.  Short, and to the point, but painted a real picture.  Hank was in Belgium, right by enemy lines as a parts Sergeant making sure planes had the parts to fly in Europe. I knew him the best as he and my dad were close and Hank lived to be about 90.  My father died of cancer in 1978 at 53.  But, all four of those boys came home.

Me, Joe And Hank  – Many Years Ago

None of them talked a lot about their experience, but when they did it was very enlightening.  The war changed everything about the lives they planned to live.   It did that for everyone in the country.  I can only imagine what thier parents went through in those days wondering if their sons were OK, and if they would come home.  It was the 1940’s. Sending 4 brothers off to war in that respect, we don’t do that much anymore and that’s a good thing.

I am proud of those guys, and if you have a similar story in your family, I am proud of them too.  Going off to a foreign land and fighting to remain free no matter what the conflict, is a very big deal and I am forever grateful we have those incredible souls who do it, and are proud to do so.

Incredible people  – you bet  – Veterans!