Those I particularly honor are:

Of the living, my father, Herbert T. Hoover, USN/USMC, front-line combat medic, Korean War, and my father-in-law, Fred R. Simmons, USN, who was a navigator at almost every major landing operation in the European Theatre of WWII, from TORCH (carrying Brits in to Algiers) to OVERLORD (Canadians to Juno, Brits to Sword). Then he went on to do the same at almost all the remaining landing operations of the Pacific Theatre.

Of the dead who gave the last full measure, my father's family lost two in a little under a year during WWII: my great uncle John R. "Jack" Olin, 11/23/05-7/22/44, killed in northern France, and my dad's cousin Edwin W. "Pat" Polson, 2/18/22-5/19/45, killed in the Pacific. Jack was too old to be drafted; he volunteered, and left behind three children, ages 8 to 12. Pat had only been married to Evangelyn Durnham for five months.

Grateful,

Shad