I am a Veteran. Now that it is over, a proud Veteran . For many of us being in the Military was a rite of passage. It changed me. I was never the same after spending 4 years in the Army. I did not really want to go , I did not have much of a choice. I received my draft notice so I went ahead and joined.
I had a lot of good times and a lot of bad times. Basic training in South Carolina in January and February was not the ideal place to be. But I made it. I did what I was thought was impossible for a guy with Asthma and poor eye sight. I never gave it much of a thought. It was not an excuse. But I do smile when I hear of people who say they could not serve because they stuttered and were too short. LOL Tell that to my friends “Automatic Jack” and “Stubby” Green. Sleeping on bunk beds in a open bay with 30 other guys, bath rooms with no doors, pulling guard duty and working in the mess hall(KP) when you were very tired changed the way you looked at every thing.
But I was lucky. I went to Fort Devans, out side of Boston Massachusetts, for my Army schooling. It was a 26 week choice so I was able to enjoy what New England had to offer. I took trips, many to Boston, saw the Worlds fair in 64 in New York, and enjoyed much of the charm of the area. I was surprised. The people of the area was very nice to a real southern guy with out much money. They were good people, just like the folks back home
From Fort Devans I went to Fort Hood in Texas. Very small groups of us with no real purpose. Not a very good place to be. Wound up being the training clerk. Worked in the Motor Pool and went to the field to do “Training exercises, some times like war games. I never had to do much so it was not all bad.
But I did not want to stay in Texas. I was able to transfer to Chitose Japan. I stayed in Chitose for 2 years. It was a surreal place. 50 years later and there are really no words to really describe it. We worked hard and we played even harder. I made friends for life. People who know me better than my family or my wife. People who know what I will do when the pressure is on or if I will do what I said I would in the most trying of times. A bond that really only Veterans share. Two years is long time to be away from America. You learn to see the U.S. in a different perspective. I left a very different person. I was becoming a true Veteran
From Japan I went to Korea, out side Seoul The Korean war had only been over for 12 or 13 years at that time. There was Martial law. Everyone off the streets between 12 and 6 am. Poverty was every were. I talked with people my own age that told me of the horrors of war and how they survived. Many lost all their family. Seeing people in the slums who had no water, no food, no shelter was almost more than I could/can comprehend. It bothers me to this day. I could have did something but I came back home to worry about how white my shirts should be.
So It is Veterans day. No need to say “Thank You” or give me any thing. I have done and saw more than most people will ever understand. But I really do say thanks for remembering many of us on this day. I was lucky. Many of my fellow Veterans were not. Pay them the deep gratitude for what they did..
I had a lot of good times and a lot of bad times. Basic training in South Carolina in January and February was not the ideal place to be. But I made it. I did what I was thought was impossible for a guy with Asthma and poor eye sight. I never gave it much of a thought. It was not an excuse. But I do smile when I hear of people who say they could not serve because they stuttered and were too short. LOL Tell that to my friends “Automatic Jack” and “Stubby” Green. Sleeping on bunk beds in a open bay with 30 other guys, bath rooms with no doors, pulling guard duty and working in the mess hall(KP) when you were very tired changed the way you looked at every thing.
But I was lucky. I went to Fort Devans, out side of Boston Massachusetts, for my Army schooling. It was a 26 week choice so I was able to enjoy what New England had to offer. I took trips, many to Boston, saw the Worlds fair in 64 in New York, and enjoyed much of the charm of the area. I was surprised. The people of the area was very nice to a real southern guy with out much money. They were good people, just like the folks back home
From Fort Devans I went to Fort Hood in Texas. Very small groups of us with no real purpose. Not a very good place to be. Wound up being the training clerk. Worked in the Motor Pool and went to the field to do “Training exercises, some times like war games. I never had to do much so it was not all bad.
But I did not want to stay in Texas. I was able to transfer to Chitose Japan. I stayed in Chitose for 2 years. It was a surreal place. 50 years later and there are really no words to really describe it. We worked hard and we played even harder. I made friends for life. People who know me better than my family or my wife. People who know what I will do when the pressure is on or if I will do what I said I would in the most trying of times. A bond that really only Veterans share. Two years is long time to be away from America. You learn to see the U.S. in a different perspective. I left a very different person. I was becoming a true Veteran
From Japan I went to Korea, out side Seoul The Korean war had only been over for 12 or 13 years at that time. There was Martial law. Everyone off the streets between 12 and 6 am. Poverty was every were. I talked with people my own age that told me of the horrors of war and how they survived. Many lost all their family. Seeing people in the slums who had no water, no food, no shelter was almost more than I could/can comprehend. It bothers me to this day. I could have did something but I came back home to worry about how white my shirts should be.
So It is Veterans day. No need to say “Thank You” or give me any thing. I have done and saw more than most people will ever understand. But I really do say thanks for remembering many of us on this day. I was lucky. Many of my fellow Veterans were not. Pay them the deep gratitude for what they did..