"Thanks Vets!"

Today is Veterans' Day , I normally have a political message , but today I would like to do something different. I would like to talk about some of my family members. My uncle Chuck was a member of the 101st. Airborne division , he made the jump on D-Day over Normandy , he received a Silver Star and was among those men who liberated the concentration camps where the Nazi's murdered over six million Jews and countless others. He also liberated the "Wolf's Lair" where the lunatic , Hitler , held many of his confidential meetings as he pondered decisions that shook the world. Uncle Chuck never talked about any of his experiences during the war , I learned everything about him second hand from my mother and father . They told me uncle Chuck was a big hero , but you would never know it by talking to him , he was modest and kind ,and loving to everyone he came in contact with , I guess a real hero would act that way. My uncle Sammy was a scout with the 5th. army , his was the first unit to land at Anzio in Italy, the scouts were the equivalent to marine recon outfits perhaps the most dangerous assignment of any landing force. During the course of the attack my uncle was separated from his unit , and some of the fascist sympathizers turned him over to the Nazis. He was taken to a Nazi prison camp , he suffered daily beatings from the Nazi prison guards , was malnourished and when he escaped he was about ninety pounds , he was about one hundred fifty when he enlisted. He received a Bronze star and a Purple heart , he never spoke of anything about his service. My father would talk to me about uncle Sammy and tears would come to his eyes when he spoke of his brother's suffering. Uncle Sammy was my favorite uncle , he was smart , funny ,and athletic, he was my sponsor at my confirmation ,and ha gave me my first baseball glove. To this day I still become emotional when I think about him. My uncle Jim was in the Navy and served at Pearl Harbor, my uncle Bill and my uncle Jack both served in the pacific theatre. My uncle Richard served in Korea. When Veterans' Day rolls around each year I try to take the time to remember what all of these men did , yet none of them ever made a big deal about any of it. I'm not the only person who has "heroes"in his family, if you have a dad or a brother or uncle who have served take the time to say thank you , and I love you , they will probably will tell you it's no big deal , but believe me it is !