"Brothers, Sisters, Uncles, Etc."

I remember the spring of 1969; that’s when I had my first look at Fort Benning in beautiful Columbus, Georgia. This garden paradise was where I had my first encounter with the U.S. Army after enlisting. The air was heavy and humid, a cool 87 degrees at midnight, just the place to vacation in early June. I was surrounded by fellow trainees who were just as happy with the facilities as I was.

Our first morning was a delightful experience as the Drill Sergeant clanged on an empty garbage can while flipping on the lights; I knew my Mom would never do this, but he didn’t seem to care. After a five minute shower and shave, we dressed and double timed to the mess hall and I had my first introduction to powdered milk and “creamed chipped beef on toast” or as it is commonly known “S.O.S.”; if you want to know what that stands for, ask any veteran and I guarantee he will tell you. After our gourmet breakfast, we were marched to the quarter master and drew our uniforms and boots; then we went for HAIRCUTS! In 1969 many of the young men were sporting long hair, and beards and moustaches; all that was about to change in an instant. Mutton chop sideburns and Afro hair-do’s vanished in less than a minute, and before you knew it, we all looked pretty much alike.

In less than 10 weeks we were certified soldiers and went off to advance training at different forts across America.

After another 10 weeks, I was a certified infantry soldier and then the real Army started for me and many others. Over the course of time I found myself with three stripes on my collar and a squad to run, later followed by another stripe and a platoon.

I often think about those days back in my youth, sometimes with humor, and sometimes with sorrow. I have names that I carry with me that I knew then and I have seen them on a “Wall” one time while with my wife at my side. A few letters carved on a black wall is all that is left of faces that smiled and friends once treasured.

On November 11^th, we will celebrate “Veterans’ Day” across America, some schools will close, some will not. People may get a day off and sleep in without a single thought about why they are home instead of working.

There are memorials for WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Unknown Soldier in Washington to commemorate the service to our country of all of those people (sorry they were closed for a while).

If you happen to have a Dad, Brother, Sister, Uncle, Grandfather or Cousin who has given his or her time to serve America, you may want to say thank you to them on November 11^th; they will appreciate it, even if they act a little funny about it ; you see, they never looked for any thanks to begin with, only the honor of service to their country.

Remember them because they never forgot you!