Veterans Day

This is my dad. He turned 18 in Oct. of 1944 & not long after, he was drafted. As he told the story, he and lots of other 18 year old young men were required to show up at a building where they were seated in a large room to hear talks from the various branches of the service, after which they'd be required to join one of them. The Army Sergeant went first, then the Navy (what my dad was hoping for ), and then the Marine corporal, who finished his speech with: "Now all you MEN who want to be Marines stand up"!  Only no one stood up, so the corporal got mad. He told them ALL to stand up and hold out their hands (so he could look for guys with calloused hands that were used to working), then proceeded to go up and down the lines pointing to random guys saying: "You're a marine, you're a marine, you're a marine", etc.  My dad was one of them, much to his dismay, as the Marines were always sent into battle first. He did his basic training at Paris Island, located within Port Royal, South Carolina. He said God was looking out for him, because some time in early 1945 they were told they were shipping out. His whole unit was all geared up and in line to leave when an officer showed up and wanted 5 men to go to Japanese language school. The person in charge of my dad's unit told the officer to pick who he wanted, so he just went down the line and said "you, you, you, you, and you" as he pointed to 5 guys, one of which was my dad. Not long after, my dad heard his unit had gone to Okinawa--the last major batter of WWII, and the bloodiest of the Pacific campaign. They did three months of language school, and he said none of the 5 of them had any aptitude for it, so they were put into the next rotation of men to be sent off....they again were lined up and ready to be transported to Okinawa. The battle had just ended, but the US needed manpower to help with evacuating the wounded, transport, repairs, etc. As they were standing in line, a corporal came up and said the head cook needed 5 men to go to cooks and bakers school. The person in charge told the corporal to take who he wanted, and he, too, went down the line: "You, you, you, you, and you"......and once again my dad was pulled from line to learn how to cook. We always laughed when he'd get to this part, as my dad couldn't cook much of anything, although he COULD crack two eggs in each hand all at once, which never ceased to amaze and entertain us!   
On this Veterans Day, I offer my heartfelt gratitude to all of the men and women who have served in our Military over the years. God bless you all.