Happy Veterans Day!

[Stray Dog]

To all who served, a Nation thanks you.

Best nation on earth. Best nation to raise your kids. Best nation live your life and retire in. Best nation to Wander the West in.

Thank you.

 

[craig333]

Thank you veterans for your service!!!!

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thank you, all vets.
Especially James E. Plowman,the Navy pilot
whose MIA bracelet I have warn for 51 years,
and all the other members of the armed forces
who gave their all for us.
Frank

 

[Happyjax]

Thanks to all who served!

 

[AWG_Pics]

My BIL died earlier this year -- he was a Marine Corps jet jockey, flew in Vietnam, Bronze Star recipient. Down to earth very decent person. I am honored to have got to know him well over the years. He was generous, quiet, pragmatic and knew how to hold his own with a drink or two. Buried in Arlington with full honors on October 1st. I miss him.

 

[goinoregon]

i was a personnel records specialst, in army, in italy, in the 70's
havent quite figured out what to say when people 'thank me for my service', when i get my vet discount here and there...
my only goal during that 3 yrs, was to get thru it, have fun, see europe, and then use the gi bill for college when i got home. all accomplished.

 

[dennis 221]

THANK YOU

 

[ski3pin]

Yes, honor and thanks to our Veterans.

Another of my research projects is family history. I highly recommend digging around in your family roots. Fascinating stories are found there. In my direct family name linage are found many veterans and it adds a poignant personal element to historic events. A noted genealogist suggests that my 6x great grandfather's nephew (son of his brother) was the first American officer wounded in battle - Battle of Montreal in 1775. This 6x great grandfather of mine was a noted frontiersman and translator and trader with the Indians, but I've found no reference with him in the French and Indian War. His son and grandson were Pennsylvania Quakers and did not fight in the Revolutionary War. Many other of my ancestors did. My 3x great grandfather fought in the War of 1812. Both of my Dad's grandfathers fought in the Civil War. My father was discharged from the Army for medical reasons before going overseas and worked security at a munitions plant in World War II. Most of his brothers (five) saw combat in World War II. My Uncle Joe was in the 10th Mountain Division. Two of my brothers served in Vietnam.

So many other of my non direct family name ancestors served. Research this past year found that my 5x great grandfather, Shadrack Pierce was a member of the Rangers at Lexington and Concord - "The Shot Heard Round the World." My cousin's - The Big Guy - uncle survived the sinking of the Indianapolis. Julie's father was a Marine on Tinian when the atomic bomb was offloaded from the Indianapolis. "Something secret's going on over there," was the word. Julie's father, as a Marine, drove amphibious vehicles (Alligators) in five major invasions in the South Pacific - from the Marianas to Okinawa. He had Navajo codetalkers with him. It was a miracle he survived. He represented his Marine Battalion at the 60th anniversary of the invasion of Saipan.

So many veterans. We must honor them. But, we also must honor them by asking why. Why so much need to serve?

I expect that, as you delve into your family's history you will find the same results. I encourage you to do so. You will find many veterans and direct links to history. Keep at it and the neat discoveries keep coming. All this history that surrounds us all becomes very personal.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Very interesting family history.
Thanks.
Frank

 

[AWG_Pics]

My father was just a hundred years old when he died this last Friday, the day after Veteran's day. He served in WWII and Korea. Prior to D-day he commanded a small unit that generated fake radio traffic to spoof the Germans about where the invasion was to take place. He did land in Europe a few days after D-day. Later he narrowly survived the initial onslaught of the Battle of the Bulge, eventually crossed the Rhine on the Remagen Bridge. He saw some terrible things. Went into the reserves after the war, was activated to Korea, was attached as a signals liaison to the Marines and ended up doing the retreat from the Chosin reservoir. He came home after that.

My brother served in Vietnam as a door gunner on helicopters, later doing mechanic work on those helos. Two of my brother's and I's friends served as well, one on aircraft carriers the other as a ground pounding Marine grunt. All three came back from that war wrecked as human beings. They made it until the mid-70's, when they all three died.

I honor and grieve for our vets -- they give so much, more than we can measure.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Very well said. We owe everything to all who served.
Frank