My dad served in the Navy on a heavy cruiser in WWII, in both the Atlantic (including Normandy) and Pacific theaters. I had two uncles that were in the Army in WWII. Both were captured by the Japanese and spent several years as POWs until the end of the war. I also have a brother that served in the Air Force. Reading these posts serves to remind me that it is pretty silly to get worked up over a thing like Gators football, which I used too but much less now. Thank you to all on here and your families that have served.
I have pictures of my dad wearing his cover at a strange angle. Looks like they took 'jaunty' to unmatched levels.
My pappy served in the Army for 21.5 years with two tours in 'Nam. His two brothers also served. One in the Navy, and the other retired Army. My two brothers and I all served in the Army. I had a cousin that was killed in Nam while serving in the Air Force.
4 year Navy vet as is my paternal grandfather. My dad and uncle are Army vets. 2 of my uncles are also Navy vets.
I served 7 years in the US Army and they were some of the proudest days of my life. Here is a poem that reminds all of America's citizens where their rights come from. It is the veteran, not the preacher, who has given you freedom of religion. It is the veteran, not the reporter, who has given you freedom of the press. It is the veteran, not the poet, who has given you freedom of speech. It is the veteran, not the protester, who has given you freedom to assemble. It is the veteran, not the lawyer, who has given you the right to a fair trial. It is the veteran, not the politician, who has given you the right to vote. It is the veteran, who salutes the Flag, who serves under the Flag, whose coffin is draped by the Flag.
My oldest brother, my dad and all 3 of my uncles all served with honor... My two oldest uncles fought in WWII. All 3 of my Dad's brothers (my uncles) were way older than he was. My dad was almost like a second family for his mother and father. He missed Vietnam in the early days and so did my older brother missed Vietnam on the latter days.
Served 23 years in US Navy. Nuclear Trained Submarine Electrician Mate Chief Petty Officer. USS Jacksonville SSN 699 USS Henry Clay SSBN 625 USS Stonewall Jackson SSBN 634 MTS-626 Charleston SC USS Tennessee SSBN 734 (My CO did coin toss for 1996 game at UT. Most of us were there.) USS Pennsylvania SSBN 735 NNPTC NFAS Charleston SC
Got two great AF stories. I had my first AF chow hall experience when I was stationed at Marine Barracks 8th & I. We would occasionally do Honor Guard stuff at Andrews. Keep in mind Marine Chow Halls are sometimes “you get what you get” and you always had to clean up after yourself. So my eyes were big…made to order food? What is this? After we ate we got up to put our plates away and asked a lady where we put everything and she just laughed and said you can leave it at the table someone will come and clean it up. Whaaaaat? Second story involves Cobra Gold joint exercise at Guam. They had us all out in a field and you could see the difference in branches. The Marines had old WW2 era Canvas troop tents and maybe some cots on the dirt. The Army had the same but with flooring and some fans. The Navy guys were on their boats. The AF had freaking A/C pumping into their tents and even had hot showers. Come on. This is Guam in the summer mind you. We would sneak out at night and sleep around the outside of the AF tent to catch some cold air venting out.
My dad grew up in Avon Park and joined the Coast Guard thinking he would be guarding the Florida coast. He ended up in Europe as part of the "Matchbox Fleet", 83 foot wooden hull, gas engine cutters. He was involved in rescue during D Day.
I’d love to hear the story of how he ended up in both theaters…. Was it the same ship, did he volunteer to go or was he reassigned? I remember my grandfather telling me how after Germany surrendered the guys in his unit were obsessed by the amount of points they had accumulated, and who would ultimately be reassigned to the Pacific to continue the fight.
I served in the Navy as a surface warfare officer from 83 to 04, and my dad is a Korean War Army veteran. May God bless you all and Go Gators!
This is the best thread I've ever seen on GC. I appreciate all of you and the sacrifice you made for our country. Those aren't "just words" ... for the first time in my life I'm concerned about our country. We have lost our rudder and it sickens me to think your sacrifice was in vain.
I have similar AF and even Army quality of life stories. I was bumped from a Space A flight at Yokota AFB in Japan, while stationed in Okinawa. I was provided temp quarters in the AF transient BOQ. No kidding, it had the paper thing on the toilet seat, a stocked fridge, color TV and was spacious. The place even had a restaurant. It was 10 times better than my permanent quarters on Okinawa. One time at 29 Palms, we had unexpended rounds from live fire combined arms training that we could not return. The CO left me in charge of two of our self propelled 175mm guns overnight at the tent city at Camp Wilson where the rear echelon folks stay during the combined arms training. The purpose was to expend the remaining rounds in a direct fire demonstration. I toured the camp and saw the Army and Air Force personnel living in inflatable air conditioned tents. As an example of a polar opposite, we lived in canvas tents (without AC, of course) that were so old and dry rotted, it was considered a miracle if they didn't tear when setting up. My nephew was in the AF and stationed at Guam. He tells a story of his barracks petitioning the leadership for softer toilet paper. Life can be good.
