Sitting here with a cup of coffee thinking how lucky I am to live in this great country and I would like to thank all our Veterans past and present on this Veteran's Day
Bob Drown
USAF
1968-1972
Hi Bob, sorry for your loss, mine passed 34 years ago and I still miss him. Would have loved a picture of him and me in front of the '41 like that one of you and your father a while back. USN, 1966-1972, DD706 1967-70.
Brian Kearney
Thanks Brian
I was just up to the store reading the paper with a breakfast sandwich. There was an article that stated approx 740 World War Two Veterans pass away each day and that there are approx 1.7 million World War Two Veterans left. As I reach my middle 60's it is hard to believe that my Dad was a young man, who was a WW Two Veteran, raising a family, and now he is gone and me being a Viet Nam era Veteran and my family is all raised on out on there own. Life marches on
Happy Veteran's Day to all of our POC veterans.
Pat O'Connor
U.S. Army 1965-68
1st Infantry Division, Vietnam 1966
Bob, Brian & Pat,
Happy Veteran's Day to you all. And, thank you for your service to our country.
I am the lucky one to have my Dad still living. He served in the Pacific
during WWII in the USMC.
Life does march on, but it seems as if the hours get shorter and shorter
each year.
USNavy - 1970-1974
Oops! Forgot an important part of my message.
son - USAF, since Sept 2009 -- crew chief on the Osprey
daughter - USAF, since May 2010 -- loadmaster, C-17
new son-in-law - USAF, since May 2010 -- boom operator, KC135
Thank you to all current and former military servicemen and women.
Hi Bob - sorry to have read about your Dad's passing in the Plymouth Bulletin. I still have the photo you sent of him as he was leaving for the service back in WWII. The photo is priceless. My Dad was also a WWII Vet (86th Chemical Mortar Battilion - the only North Dakotan in the battalion after another fellow left for a medical unit). Dad's been gone for 25 years but I have great memories of him. Two of my mother's brothers were WWI Vets -- I knew a lot of older fellows who were WWI vets and when they said "Harry Carlson has died and was the last vet in Pembina County" I started to thinking how many of these "old men" were now gone (of course, they seemed really old when I was a young kid!). Uncle Andrew died fairly young but Uncle Lou lived into his mid 80's and belonged to the local "Last Man's Club" -- the last two survivors would share a bottle of cognac that had been put away at the end of WWI. My Mother always thought that was so morbid but Uncle Lou didn't get to participate.......I've never heard of a Last Man's club for WWII vets. Last night my wife and I attended an "early" Veteran's Day supper. She had given a presentation to the school kids earlier in the day about the meaning of Veteran's Day. I mentioned it to a recent vet during the afternoon that she was doing it -- I couldn't believe that he didn't know it dated back to World War One!!!! Later I read that most people under age 60 don't have a clue what its all about. Sad. Everyone have a safe November 11th and thank you to all the vets for your service.
Bill,
I had two sons in the Air Force, one just retired last year. I had emailed both of them to thank then yesterday, but I did forget to mention them yesterday in my post.
Jim,
Thanks for the thoughts on Dad. My Mother's Father was a WW1 veteran, my Father's Mother had two brothers that were WW1 Veterans, one was wounded seriously over there, and the other one was killed in a car accident in the '20's
My Mother had three Brothers in WW Two, one was killed in Normandy shortly after D-Day. In fact my Uncle that was killed I have his first and middle name.
thanks again everyone,
Bob
I also forgot to mention relatives who were veterans. My great uncle was in the U.S. Army Air Service (forerunner of the Air Force) as a plane mechanic in France during WWI.
My father was in the U.S. Army Air Corps (joined in 1940, got out in 1947). One uncle was in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in WWII.
My wife's grandfather was in the U.S. Army in France in WWI, after coming to the U.S. at age 17 from Norway. He did a lot of travelling (mostly by ship) by the time he was 21.
Pat O'Connor