My dad was the youngest of five boys. He and two of his brothers served in the Navy in WWII. Another brother served in the Army, while the oldest (who may have been too old to enlist?) kept the homefire burning by caring for my disabled grandmother and working for GM as part of the industrial effort.
Of the four vets, I'm under the impression that the Army sergeant may have seen combat, but nobody ever talked about it. My Dad was deployed to various places in Central America, ostensibly as part of the force intended to defend the Panama Canal against Japanese attack. Apparently it worked because he consumed enough cerveza and cigars while lounging on the beach to deter them.
I was a Cold War guy, serving from '83-'86, part of the time with Berlin Brigade.
My middle child will be starting college this year and has enrolled in Army ROTC. I look forward to his commissioning when I can totally confuse him by telling him he's wearing his rank insignia upside down.
Of the four vets, I'm under the impression that the Army sergeant may have seen combat, but nobody ever talked about it. My Dad was deployed to various places in Central America, ostensibly as part of the force intended to defend the Panama Canal against Japanese attack. Apparently it worked because he consumed enough cerveza and cigars while lounging on the beach to deter them.
I was a Cold War guy, serving from '83-'86, part of the time with Berlin Brigade.
My middle child will be starting college this year and has enrolled in Army ROTC. I look forward to his commissioning when I can totally confuse him by telling him he's wearing his rank insignia upside down.
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