off topic

Hey Forum Chums!
I hope Summer was grand!....We fly the wings off the 737 this time of year, so I have been busy....checked in...but not posted..I hope you're all well.....wanna share a great experience. ....What's on my mind?.....the Good Book says..."always esteem others as Greater than yourself"......I have always endeavored to do that...... on my commute home tonight I saw a very aged World War II veteran with his cap on....feeble with age....I thrust my hand out to him and said..."Sir.....might I have the honour to shake your hand.....and thank you for your service....At this....he welled up...some tears came ....and he said....."no one has ever acknowledged my service....or been honored to shake my hand".....well I am Sir....was my reply!...I got as much or more than he did from the exchange..... compassion, appreciation, they go a long way......never remembered to thank Da...for that I am sorry....not preaching....not claiming moral high ground......but take the time...not just for Veterans....but for your kids....your friends....your family. ....Douglas...OUT!

Obviously there are a lot of vets on this forum, myself included.
A moment spent brightening someones day is time well spent.
Veteran or not. I'm glad to hear that you both had a chance to
brighten the day. Days are limited for all of us.

WW2 combat vets buried their experiences as do many VETS today. I had a second cousin and next door neighbor who fought his way across north Africa and then across Europe earning a battlefield commission to 2LT. I knew him all my life bur never knew of his war experience until after he died at the age of 86.

god speed Harry.

Lawson my good friend.....that is a correct
assessment!!

I had a uncle who flew a B-24 somewhere out of Italy. When he came home, he never talked about his experiences and I never asked. When I worked on his farm in the early '50s, the war was never mentioned. He lost a nephew(my cousin) in Holland in 1944. I worked for the US treasury Dept/Coast Guard during the Cold War, doing all classified work.

Oh the beauty of our silent heroes.
I am touched by any eye contact that I can have with those honorable vets.
I give them a respectful nod and know that they have for the most part seen hell.
I think of my pitiful small problems and of my small service to my country and then look up to them for any advice.
I admire them and I am thankful to them.
Greg

I grew up surrounded by WWII vets. They were my heroes! Later while serving at Ft Knox I had the honor of meeting a man who was a tanker and fought in North Africa, Sicily and Europe. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for an action in Korea! Then after I retired I had the honor of meeting a man who was a Pearl Harbor survivor, had been in the Navy about 4 months when Pearl was bombed. He then was assigned to the Yorktown as a replacement while she was being repaired prior to Midway. He was on a Destroyer off the Philippians later in the war when that ship sunk from under him. He told me that he never got his feet wet when the Yorktown was lost but had to swim for a short time when the destroyer was sunk.

We have another group of heroes today. The young men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of them multiple tours! Don't forget to thank them!

Rick

My service was 6 years (1966-1972) USAR in an engineer company and later a maintenance company. I was fortunate (and thankful) that I never left the USA. So many did and I know too many who died or were maimed in service.
About 1992 we purchased a used travel trailer situated in a seasonal campground. The sellers were in their 80's and giving up the activity.
The package included the 29 foot Coachmen, a small shed, a golf cart, a grill and a 24 foot screened in deck under the awning of the trailer.
The seller asked if I wanted the flagpole. I said yes, that I have a special US flag that I want to fly on it. He asked what was special about it. I told him that I bought it in Hawaii and that it had flown over the Arizona Memorial. He became very still and his eyes moistened. He was there that day in 1941.
Each time that we went to the campground, my wife helped me raise that flag and when we left we took it down, properly folded it, and kept it in the camper.
Harry and his wife were good friends with the campground owner and visited from time to time.
We sold the trailer when I retired but I still have that flag.
Thank you all for your service.