My father served in WWII on a seaplane-tender: the USS Lapwing.

One uncle served in WWII on a destroyer going through both the Coral Sea and Midway battles.

Another uncle served during Vietnam in Military intelligence in Germany.

My great uncle served in the trenches in WWI and was gassed - he was never healthy for the rest of his life.

A great grandfather from Vermont fought in several Civil War battles including Gettysburg and Chancelorville.

My closest male friend flew F-4 missions over Vietnam.

They all came home alive.


Last Sunday, my church had 4 speakers during the service. One flew bombing missions over Germany in WWII. One was a lady who lived in Berlin throughout the war and emmigrated to the U.S. in 1950. One was a man who grew up in Saigon, Vietnam and escaped to the US with most of his family before the fall of Saigon. One was a Huey helicopter pilot who flew missions in the Mekong Delta.

Powerful stuff.