Thanks for serving Dad

Like most little boys, I was fascinated with the military while growing up. I can remember my Dad showing me his service metals when I was a kid. They were kept in a box that was in a desk that now resides in my house. I would go and pull out the metals from time to time to look at them. I wondered what my Dad did to earn them. I made up grand stories about how they were earned that I would then go act out in my room or the backyard. As I got older, the fascination continued.

I can remember staying up and listening to the initial assault of Desert Storm over the radio while I was on a retreat with my fraternity in college. I minored in history for both of my degrees and I took quite a few military history classes. For a few years every book that I read dealt with the military. I was particularly interested in the Special Forces. Throughout my teen years and into my twenties I often thought of serving in the military. Initially, I wanted to fly planes after watching Top Gun. Later, after graduate school I thought of applying to Officer Candidate School. I did not have any career plans and serving in the military appealed to me. I never applied to OCS, but I did do some research into the possibility.

As I looked into the military and read the books and the stories, I was always amazed by the sacrifice and dedication of those that served. That brings me to my Dad. He was an electrician living in Las Cruces and had just married my Mom when he got the notice in the mail from the Selective Service. At that time, the draft worked a little differently than later in the war. You were classified as a 1-A candidate if you were between 18 1/2 and 25 and the older males were drafted first. My Dad was in the upper range of the age bracket and had a skill that was in demand for the war. He was drafted, went to Basic Training and then did a combat tour in Vietnam. He returned home to my Mom, went to college and had a son.

Vietnam was not a popular war. Soldiers were not appreciated when then returned from service like they are today. Quite the contrary actually, they were vilified. They were pulled from their lives, sent to fight a war that they did not understand, and then looked down upon when they returned home. That sucks.

Dad, I want to say thank you for the sacrifice that you made and for honorably serving in the military. That makes me proud and I am honored to be your son.

Posted via email from will7079's posterous