Yesterday was my wife’s
birthday—thanks from her for all the good wishes—and today is a national
holiday, Veterans Day.
The day celebrates all military veterans—past and present—and there are many ceremonies held around the country and the world to commemorate their service.
It makes me remember my dad, the old Marine, who served his country during the Korean War conflict.
He would have turned 91 years of age in 19 days if he were still with us, but he is still with me and my family—a day doesn’t go by that I don't think about him.
And to think that when I was working full time at a publication that covered the military, today was a work day. I never got that, but maybe we worked because it signified that once you were in the military, you had down time, but in reality, you were on call 24/7, even before that term became popular.
But whatever the case, here is what I wrote about Veterans Day in Rant #1,552, on November 12, 2015, in a slightly edited version:
“Today is Veterans Day, and I hope you celebrated it the right way, by honoring our troops in some way.
Going on Facebook, I found a relatively new phenomenon on this site: people were posting pictures up of their fathers who had served in the military.
Most were from the Korean War time frame, some were from World War II, but people were posting up these photos along with little vignettes about their time in the service.
I learned a lot, I have to say, even about people I once knew, or thought I knew.
One of my friend's fathers, who died just a few years back, was a Purple Heart recipient. I had no idea at all about this.
Now, what about my father ... ?
My father only talked about his time in the Marines during the Korean War when asked to. He told all the funny stories--and there were plenty--about his time in the service. If you want to believe all these stories, he was a cross between Sgt. Bilko and Valentino during this time stationed in places like Camp Lejeune and Opa Locka and Cuba.
But there was also a dark side to all this, and that stuff never came up as much.
He told some stories here and there about his time in the Marines which weren't funny, and really kind of sad.
I have heard from my aunt that when he came home on leave, he wasn't the same guy he was when he left.
But that was more than 60 years ago, and I guess he learned to handle it, by telling the funny stories--which I believe probably aren't all true, but based on things that really happened--and forgetting the not so funny stories when pressed about it.
My father never went to Korea. One of the not so funny stories he told is that two sets of papers were drawn on him, one to send him there, one not. The Marines thought there was some monkey business on his part, and threw him in jail for a time until they could sort it out.
So yes, according to my father, they never apologized for doing this to him, and he has a prison record in the Marines. I don't know if it was ever expunged or not, but according to him, his time in the brig is still on the books.
Anyway, I wanted to put up a photo of him on Facebook, but alas, my problem was that I had no photos of him in the military.
As I said, he only talks about it when pressed, or when he wants to talk about the funny stories.
I figured my mother had some photos squirreled away somewhere, so I called her, and she said she had just one photo.
So I got the photo, scanned it, and you are seeing the only photo I have of my dad in the Marines.
He doesn't remember where it was taken, but I estimate it was taken in about 1949 or 1950, when my father was 18 or 19 years old.
Even though he never went to war, he was there to serve, and his contribution should not be downgraded because he never went to the battle line. You always need a solid backbone at home, and he provided that, and he would have gone if called upon.
My mother says there are other photos, but she doesn't know where they are, so this one photo will have to suffice."
Well I guess that that about says it all about Veterans Day, at least for me. My father is my hero, and he will be forever.”
Everyone have a good Veterans Day and a good weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.
The day celebrates all military veterans—past and present—and there are many ceremonies held around the country and the world to commemorate their service.
It makes me remember my dad, the old Marine, who served his country during the Korean War conflict.
He would have turned 91 years of age in 19 days if he were still with us, but he is still with me and my family—a day doesn’t go by that I don't think about him.
And to think that when I was working full time at a publication that covered the military, today was a work day. I never got that, but maybe we worked because it signified that once you were in the military, you had down time, but in reality, you were on call 24/7, even before that term became popular.
But whatever the case, here is what I wrote about Veterans Day in Rant #1,552, on November 12, 2015, in a slightly edited version:
“Today is Veterans Day, and I hope you celebrated it the right way, by honoring our troops in some way.
Going on Facebook, I found a relatively new phenomenon on this site: people were posting pictures up of their fathers who had served in the military.
Most were from the Korean War time frame, some were from World War II, but people were posting up these photos along with little vignettes about their time in the service.
I learned a lot, I have to say, even about people I once knew, or thought I knew.
One of my friend's fathers, who died just a few years back, was a Purple Heart recipient. I had no idea at all about this.
Now, what about my father ... ?
My father only talked about his time in the Marines during the Korean War when asked to. He told all the funny stories--and there were plenty--about his time in the service. If you want to believe all these stories, he was a cross between Sgt. Bilko and Valentino during this time stationed in places like Camp Lejeune and Opa Locka and Cuba.
But there was also a dark side to all this, and that stuff never came up as much.
He told some stories here and there about his time in the Marines which weren't funny, and really kind of sad.
I have heard from my aunt that when he came home on leave, he wasn't the same guy he was when he left.
But that was more than 60 years ago, and I guess he learned to handle it, by telling the funny stories--which I believe probably aren't all true, but based on things that really happened--and forgetting the not so funny stories when pressed about it.
My father never went to Korea. One of the not so funny stories he told is that two sets of papers were drawn on him, one to send him there, one not. The Marines thought there was some monkey business on his part, and threw him in jail for a time until they could sort it out.
So yes, according to my father, they never apologized for doing this to him, and he has a prison record in the Marines. I don't know if it was ever expunged or not, but according to him, his time in the brig is still on the books.
Anyway, I wanted to put up a photo of him on Facebook, but alas, my problem was that I had no photos of him in the military.
As I said, he only talks about it when pressed, or when he wants to talk about the funny stories.
I figured my mother had some photos squirreled away somewhere, so I called her, and she said she had just one photo.
So I got the photo, scanned it, and you are seeing the only photo I have of my dad in the Marines.
He doesn't remember where it was taken, but I estimate it was taken in about 1949 or 1950, when my father was 18 or 19 years old.
Even though he never went to war, he was there to serve, and his contribution should not be downgraded because he never went to the battle line. You always need a solid backbone at home, and he provided that, and he would have gone if called upon.
My mother says there are other photos, but she doesn't know where they are, so this one photo will have to suffice."
Well I guess that that about says it all about Veterans Day, at least for me. My father is my hero, and he will be forever.”
Everyone have a good Veterans Day and a good weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.
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