I offer my thanks and appreciation to ALL who served, no matter the military branch. Personally biased as our son has served almost 15 years with the U.S. Army. Will never understand someone who loves jumping out of perfectly good airplanes!!
My wife had an uncle that did not return from WWII. He was with the Army Air Corps, now the USAF. His plane went down in Germany 7 days before the Germans surrendered. We ended up with all the letters he wrote home while deployed. One letter told of the number of bullet holes in their plane... but it would still fly. During one mission a bullet came up through the floor and took off part of his foot. He was patched up in a field hospital and, after a few days, returned to flying.
My dad served with the U.S. Army during WWII. The terrain in the mountains of Austria was too difficult for trucks to pull artillery. Being a farm kid, he worked with the mules that were employed to drag weapons and supplies where the trucks couldn't go.
I enlisted in the USAF in 1966. Wife and I were just married and planned on a career in the Air Force. I have suffered from bad eyesight my entire life and, due to that vision handicap, no service would take me. Today, Lasik would have allowed me to serve.
We also need to thank the families of those serving. So many long deployments where wives and children lived a life so many cannot comprehend.
Again, we appreciate you all!!!!
My wife had an uncle that did not return from WWII. He was with the Army Air Corps, now the USAF. His plane went down in Germany 7 days before the Germans surrendered. We ended up with all the letters he wrote home while deployed. One letter told of the number of bullet holes in their plane... but it would still fly. During one mission a bullet came up through the floor and took off part of his foot. He was patched up in a field hospital and, after a few days, returned to flying.
My dad served with the U.S. Army during WWII. The terrain in the mountains of Austria was too difficult for trucks to pull artillery. Being a farm kid, he worked with the mules that were employed to drag weapons and supplies where the trucks couldn't go.
I enlisted in the USAF in 1966. Wife and I were just married and planned on a career in the Air Force. I have suffered from bad eyesight my entire life and, due to that vision handicap, no service would take me. Today, Lasik would have allowed me to serve.
We also need to thank the families of those serving. So many long deployments where wives and children lived a life so many cannot comprehend.
Again, we appreciate you all!!!!