05-17-2015, 12:06 PM
(05-17-2015, 11:49 AM)Bmoreblitz Wrote: Great post Zona! I commend those vets. They didn't get the respect that we get today. They were spit on, cursed at, assaulted, shamed We have an all volunteer Service today but many in that era were drafted or voluntold.
My father attempted to enlist in the Air Force upon his high school graduation. He had his appointment to swear in and sign all of his paperwork. While waiting, he received his orders for the Army via the draft. When he spoke with the recruiter he was told there was nothing he could do now.
At least my father escaped the infantry as his skill set was needed for him to be an engineer. Though being attached to the 4th ID he was still in the thick of it, and being in the generator corps he would be dropped in the bush with two other guys to run wiring for FOBs that SF groups would be using, usually in enemy territory. He's proud of his time in the service now, though I doubt that was always the case. I think it is somewhat him trying to look at the positives as he carries with him a lot from over there. This Thanksgiving will be 13 years since he was diagnosed with leukemia that the military has confirmed is due to his contact with large amounts of Agent Orange while at LZ Oasis. He and so many like him fought a war that many in our public were primarily against, and they didn't volunteer to do it. That has to be a tough thing to carry with them.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
