Happy Veterans Day to my father!

Happy Veterans Day to both those who served in recent times and those who served years and years ago. I  was in the military once (a long time ago) but not during a war. However, my father served during WWII. He never talked of his experiences, which is true of many of his generation. He died when I was a senior in high school. I wish that he hadn’t died so young, of course, for many reasons. One reason is very simple: I wish that I could just sit with him now and talk—adult to adult. He might have shared more about his life, including his military service.

My pop was a quiet man, seldom raising his voice and never raising his hand to his children. He worked long hours to support his family and came straight home from work. He disapproved of men who stopped at the local taverns before heading home to their families. He was, as they say, a good family man, and I loved him. He was my pop. 

However, it’s hard to imagine him as a soldier, but nonetheless, he was. Whether you disapprove of any given war or the military in general, those who wear the uniforms are just someone’s son, daughter, father, mother, uncle, aunt, friend, lover, neighbor, and so on.  And that is what we need to remember.

Happy Veterans Day to my father and all the other vets out there.