Veterans Day.
 

Today is Veterans Day.

A shout out to all our Vets and active duty servicemen and women.

It now has a new meaning for me

HOOAH!!

Thank you all for your service.

Thank you all. We live in the best country in the world. Our freedom was earned through the sacrifice of many.

Served 26 Years in the U.S. Air Force; best years of my life!

Thank you to all the men and women in all the armed forces for what you have done and continue to do . Words can't convey our nation's gratitude !!!

My son graduates Infantry next week
Words can't describe how proud I am of him

One of my favorite thoughts on this day is the following poem (author unknown to me):

It is the VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag

Thank You! I served 22.5 years US Air Force, my older son is now following in my foot steps. I agree some of the best years of my life, and I still work with Air Force as a contractor. :cheers:

7 years Navy here. Nuke Machinist's Mate on fast attack subs. We had some fun, but glad I didn't have a family while I was in.

I was in Marines, in Vietnam 4/68 - 8/69 (I extended 3 months in 'Nam in a deal to let me out 6 months early, but they didn't let me out early)
I had:
Blood Poisoning
Mild concussion from a close mortar blast
Heat prostration
Gonorrhea
Amoebic dysentary

I know what death smells like and what a bullet passing nearby sounds like (like a bee on crack).

On my third day after arrival, I was at Khe Sanh, then hills around Khe Sanh, at Con Thien, the 'Rockpile' - and other places near the DMZ that nobody knows of now or cares about, but were in the news then.

Have a funny story.
On a hill near Khe Sanh, we were pinned down. They were reinforcing us and to cover the arrival of new troops our artillery was laying down a close barrage. The bad news is they were firing over us, and one of the shells fell short. A guy began screaming - I told my foxhole buddy I was going to the guy - he told me I was crazy, too dangerous - I said if it was me, I'd want somebody to come. I rushed to the guy and he immediately stopped screaming. I asked where he was hit, and he said his ass. There was a small wound in his ass, but when I rolled him back, I noticed his left forearm was at an angle and one of the forearm bones was sticking out. I asked about his arm, and he said that didn't hurt!! I covered arm with a field dressing (like a sanitary napkin with long strips), then covered him with my body as artillery kept coming in. As we lay there, the adrenaline wore off and I began to think - hey, maybe they'll give me a medal - that's not why I ran out, but hey, nobody else did.... after who knows how long, the barrage stopped, and a corpsman arrived. He asked me how the guy was, I said he gripes about his ass, but that doesn't look bad, his arm does - I'm figuring this was the time for the corpsman to say something nice, like brave of you to come to the guy - he takes off the field dressing and starts yelling at me - what good is this? (waving the field dressing) You didn't set the bone! This needs a splint! What have you been doing? You're worthless! Get out of my way!
I slinked back to my foxhole and my buddy asked how it went - I said I didn't want to talk about it....:(

What a waste it all was.:mad:

I was in U.S.M.C reserve soon after Vietnam war ended. My service was overly easy (motor pool mechanic) so depending on the occasion when military veterans are asked to stand & be recognized I often don't since my contribution was small compared to many others.

My dad was in Air Force 20 years. Voted outstanding Airman of the year. He was the guy that saw the 1st missle site being built in Cuba Oct. 1962.

Thank You for your service DoninDel !

Reminds me - Stateside, I knew of a guy who answered phone: "Motor T - we got 2 bys 4 bys, 6 bys 8 bys - if we can't truck it, **************** it" - it was the base commander calling...:eek:

As you know, in time of need, all Marines become infantry - you stood ready to put your life on the line if needed, and you should be proud of that.
Your service was far more than those who got a note from a Dr for alleged bone spurs to avoid serving.
Reservists went thru the same boot camp as active Marines - more than most civilians could imagine.

Yes note to self: if you are going to Parris Island, don't go in the summer. I had no idea I could sweat that much.

Bet you remember sand fleas. Nothing that small has a right to bite that hard...