Veterans Day

One thing I really like about where I live in Georgia is the displays that different veterans groups put up along the roadsides. One of which is lining the street with white crosses that bear the name of a soldier and the conflict in which he fought. You cannot help but be moved by such displays. There are still crosses erected with names of soldiers who fought in the Civil War placed along the roadside. WWI, WWII and Vietnam dominate the crosses that I noticed. It is a high traffic area and unless I want to be involved in a fender bender, I can't focus my eyes on those for too long.

The day also make me think of my father as well. Dad served during the Korean War. He was a brand new Second Lieutenant, fresh from the Citadel. He served with the "Deuce Natural" (27th AAA Bn Mobile) that was deployed to Germany. He was never involved in combat. During his service he had numerous stories that he would tell of his life in the army. Many were funny to the point of being absurd.

After his tour in the regular army, he joined the reserves for several years. He always looked back fondly on his time in uniform. While his military career was probably not normal in any sense, he served honorably. In his retirement, he signed up for the Sar El program with the IDF even though he was a gentile. I think this was the happiest I had seen him in the last years of his life. He convinced them that he was able to repair diesel engines because he had once worked on a Volkswagen Bug. I still had pictures of him sitting on the deck of a 105mm SP howitzer in the Negev with the brightest grin on his face.

I sit again here on Veterans Day and miss you terribly Dad.