The Blackhawk War, 1832.
The Mexican War, 1846-1848.
The US Civil War, 1861-1865.
The Indian Wars, 1862-1890.
The Spanish-American War, 1898.
Pershing's Expedition To The Mexican Border, 1915.
World War I, 1917-1918.
World War II, 1941-1945.
The Korean War, 1950-1953.
Lebanon, 1956.
The Vietnam War, 1962-1975.
The Second Korean War (DMZ War), 1967-1970.
Grenada, 1983.
Gulf I, 1990-1991.
Bosnia, 1996.
Afghanistan, 2001-
Iraq, 2001-

To think that my ancestors came to the US to avoid the draft in Hanover! Just in time for the Blackhawk War and we haven't missed one since -- see the list above, which is just times when members of my family, men and women, was shot at. The medals don't replace the lost youth, the lost friends, the lost innocence.

"...for young Willy McBride it all happened again,
And again and again and again and again."