Working Daze by John Zakour and Scott Roberts for November 12, 2018

Never forget.

I would like to thank my mom!

https://imgur.com/14yLXcF

My Dad was 12 at the end of WWII. Got drafted for Korea but was 4F. He’s deaf in one ear. My uncle went to Korea and another to Vietnam.

My mom and dad both served overseas during WWII.

Thank goodness I got to thank mine before he passed.

Most of my uncles also served. One was deferred, and I don’t remember the exact reason. I don’t know about about my grandfathers. My great-great-grandfather on my Mom’s father’s side was in the Civil War, on the Union side. One cousin was in Vietnam, but we pulled out not long before I was draft age. I went to the recruiting stations for the Army and Navy, but neither wanted me.

So far as I know, everyone on both sides of my family who went to war returned.

Very nice tribute, Scott and John. Good work!

My father was in a special forces group during WWII. I am lucky to have been born. Thanks for all Pop.

My Dad and all 5 of his brothers served in WWII. My brother served in Vietnam. I married Army who also served in Veitnam. I thank God every day for all the people that protect our great nation. Please go salute a vet today. Thank you.

I am of the generation (and I presume I am not alone) that has effectively skipped the war experience for over a century. My grandfather was too young for WWI and too old for WWII, my father was too young for WWII and too old (although he did serve in Arlington, VA at the very end of the war) for Korea, and I was too young for Korea, but the conflict in Viet Nam ended before I was old enough to register for the draft.

I am neither bragging, nor complaining, but for many Americans, “Veterans Day” is a holiday with no visceral connection.

Nonetheless, because I know and respect so many who did serve in the military (both voluntarily and under compulsion), I salute the veterans and mourn the deaths of their comrades-in-arms.

I’ll add mine as well. My Dad was in WWII and my grandfather in WWI.

I’ll add my father, my brothers, and my past shipmates.

My family is the opposite. Ancestors fought in the Civil War, Spanish-American war and WWI. Uncles and great uncles in WWII (tank commanders, infantry, and pilots), dad (101st Airborne) and mom (nurse) both served in Korea and I served from Vietnam though Desert Storm, including the war on terror which actually began in the 70s. My little brother served in the war on terror. We both saw our share. He was a counter terrorism specialist and I was USMC infantry in Vietnam then got out, rejoined but the Army next and served as a counterintelligence agent attached to the Rangers and also a sniper.

Some of us serve, some of us don’t. Doesn’t make the troops any more sacred than the civilians. If we didn’t have people making the money for the country or designing and building the weapons and defenses, we’d have precious little military.

Maybe we should have a military enabler’s day? Without the civilians back at home, we’d not have won WWII, for example. Our scientific and industrial and economic might allow us the luxury of a world-beating military.

My Grandfather was in WWII and my father was in Vietnam and my little Brother was in the Navy but I was cursed with asthma and unable to enlist.

My dad was in the Navy in WW2 and was in the Army (stateside) during the Korean War. His dad (my granddad) fought in the British army in WW1 in Flanders Fields, so he did see the poppies grow.

My thanks to all who have served throughout the years. Wouldn’t it be a miracle if no more needed to die for our freedom?

My dad was in Europe during WWII. He was a frontline infantry dogface. His brother (my uncle) was also in the Army, but by luck of the draw was sent to Oz as a guard at an Army hospital.

Like Scott, my great-great-grandfather was also in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was shot in the neck while fighting in Virginia, but recovered and later fought at Gettysburg.

Remembrance Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZxYjogqB2E

Seigfried Sassoon’s Aftermath.

Father in WW I. Great grandfather in Civil War. I was drafted for Korea, but never got out of Japan.

My dad couldn’t join the army until 1948 (before he was 18 – his parents signed for him to join). He was stationed in Germany and was involved with the Berlin Airlift. He was in Korea in the early 60s, then Vietnam. He was down in the middle of the 1968 DC riots driving the Commandant of the National War College around to see what was going on where. He retired shortly after that (just before they were officially going to send him back to Vietnam). He served 20 yrs and retired as a Sgt. 1st Class. Thank you, dad, for your service.

May God Bless them and I thank them for their sacrifice and service.

My dad joined the Marines, under age, at the very end of WWII. I joined the US Navy at the end of Nam at 19. It was peacetime service for me but I still managed to be come disabled while in the service of my country and I regret NOTHING.

My father served in the Naval Reserve in WW2 as a member of the Armed Guard. He sailed as a gunner on cargo ships, to/from South America, and Europe. Ended the war on a mine sweeper that went across the Pacific to China. After the war he joined Army Air Force and then rolled over into the Air Force, retiring in 1964. One of his brothers served in the Merchant Marine and eventually made it to be a Captain.

My brother joined the Army, was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne, and then in Army Intelligence, but got out in 1965 to work for the CIA.

My sister’s husband got his draft notice in 1969, but lucked out and enlisted in the Air Force instead, eventually becoming a hospital administrator, retiring after 20 years.

My mother’s father was in the Army in WW1, but never was sent overseas. My great-great-grandfather served in the Union Army as a carpenter, helping to build forts.

My wife’s father served as an infantry officer in WW2, seeing action in France. He remained in the Army and then Air Force, retiring after 20 years.

All in all, my family has been lucky when they served. I never served, but between 1974 and 2011 I did a lot of work on defense projects, from rifle mounted laser range finders to an anti-satellite weapon and lasers to kill ballistic missiles. My last work saw me working hand-in-hand with Air Force personnel. I was generally impressed with the officers and men I worked with. I found them to be dedicated men and women.

Thank all the Veterans who have served. Armistice day.

When I was growing up (1960’s) it seemed like everyone’s Dad had served in WWII and most grandfathers had been in WWI. I was just a bit to young to be drafted for Vietnam, but I am very proud of my immediate family’s service in WWII and WWI: Father (US Army Medical Department – Pacific); Mother (US Navy WAVES); Paternal Grandfather (California National Guard – Mexican Border, and US Army Engineers – AEF in France); Maternal Grandfather (US Navy – Atlantic Fleet); and to top it off, Wife (US Marine Corps – Vietnam period)! I think of all of them every day.