Thank You To All Vets !

[egri]

One of my neighbors was a LCDR in the Navy during World War II. He commanded a ship at the Battle of Leyte Gulf that was hit by a kamikaze. The blast killed everyone around him; my neighbor survived because he was wearing his helmet. The other day I was talking to him, and I noticed he was missing part of a finger, so I asked him if that was related to the attack. He responded "No, that was the Battle of the Yamaha", Yamaha being the company that manufactured his lawnmower.

He is 97 years old, and in better shape than a lot of people I know who are half his age.

[glynparson]

http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/1900/GLENN-C-BAER

Thank You to all present Armed Forces Men and Women, and Veterans for your Service and Sacrifice , for our FREEDOM. My Great Grand Father x6 Francis Letts served during the Revolutionary War from the start to the finish, as a Corporal in the NJ Militia, under Captain Morgan and some of my Uncles in the Continental Army. Also my Grandfather Nels, Danish descent was in the AEF over in Siberia Russia, and my Father in Law's Brother was a Tail Gunner in a B-!7 during WWII

[rsn1661]

Originally Posted by egri

One of my neighbors was a LCDR in the Navy during World War II. He commanded a ship at the Battle of Leyte Gulf that was hit by a kamikaze. The blast killed everyone around him; my neighbor survived because he was wearing his helmet. The other day I was talking to him, and I noticed he was missing part of a finger, so I asked him if that was related to the attack. He responded "No, that was the Battle of the Yamaha", Yamaha being the company that manufactured his lawnmower.

He is 97 years old, and in better shape than a lot of people I know who are half his age.

I first want to thank all the veterans for their service. I also have to thank you for this story, as it made me smile, as I have a similar sense of humor. I he has another 97 years in him!

[jiw98]

Thank you to all who are serving and to those who have served to make this a great country. You are all greatly appreciated.

[Duluth Eskimo]

Unfortunately, right now our nation is in a time that doesn't necessarily appreciate or respect the courage and gallantry our service men. I never served, but I have many relatives that did in wars including the Civil War and WW II. I have the opportunity to lead my sons Cub Scout pack and in years past, I shared a couple of former soldiers stories with them. I thought it appropriate to also share these two men's stories with you. Some may have heard of one, but probably not the other. It really makes you appreciate your freedom when you read stories like these. Freedom isn't free and I want to thank anyone and everyone that served just to allow me the opportunity to live in a free nation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Howard

[jimtigers65]

I had a great time serving in the Air Force:

1986-88 Holloman AFB, NM
1988-92 Misawa Air Base, Japan
1992-94 Loring AFB, ME
1994-95 Plattsburg AFB, NY
1995-98 Charleston AFB, SC
1998-01 Patrick AFB, FL
2001-02 Osan Air Base, South Korea
2002-05 RAF Lakenheath, England
2005-12 Beale AFB, CA

After 26 years serving old age caught up and I knew it was time to retire. So what do I do? I returned to work at an Air Force base as a civilian.

[George]

Thank you. I was in the Army from 1961 through 1964. I went to basic training in Fort Dix, New Jersey, followed by a year of electronics school in Fort Monmouth, also in New Jersey. After that I spent two years in France, maintaining crypto equipment. This experience gave me my start in electronics. I used the G.I. Bill to go to college, and got my degrees and became an engineer, which has been my profession since that time.

When I was at Fort Dix, I once got a weekend pass and went to see the sights of nearby Philadelphia. I was walking around, and happened to pass a small antique store, and I went in, for no particular reason, since I was certainly not a collector of antiques. I found a small box containing probably 500 T206 cards, although I did not know what they were at that time. I was, however, a serious baseball fan, and I had read "My Greatest Day in Baseball," by John Carmichael, which contained stories about many of the players shown on the cards, and I was therefore familiar with many of them, particularly the very good ones. The owner of the store wanted one dollar apiece for the cards, which was a huge amount of money for me, since my salary at the time was $78 per month. I eventually talked him into giving me about 40 cards for my $30, which was all I could afford, leaving me with about $2 for my bus ticket back to Fort Dix. I had no idea that baseball cards had monetary value, or even that people collected them, but I liked these as color pictures of old-time players. Fortunately, I took the time to select many of the best cards, based on both the player and the condition. I got all of the cards of Mathewson, Cobb, Eddie Collins, Tinker, Evers and Chance, and a few others. Unfortunately, no Wagner or Plank, although I knew who they were, and probably would have taken them, if they had been in good condition.

I kept the cards, and eventually got married and left the Army. (My wife, Fran, and I will be celebrating our 54th anniversary this year.) I mounted the cards in a frame, and hung them on the wall. Around 1980 I discovered the first Beckett catalog, and was amazed to learn that the small pictures were called "T206 cards," and that they were actually collected by people, and were worth significant money......much more that the $1 apiece that I had paid for them. At the same time, I also learned that the bubble gum cards that I had collected from 1951 through 1964 were also collectibles, and I still had all of them.

I guess you might say that I became a "collector" in 1980, when I discovered that this hobby even existed. And, thanks to the U.S Army, I had a very nice start.

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by jimtigers65

I had a great time serving in the Air Force:

1986-88 Holloman AFB, NM
1988-92 Misawa Air Base, Japan
1992-94 Loring AFB, ME
1994-95 Plattsburg AFB, NY
1995-98 Charleston AFB, SC
1998-01 Patrick AFB, FL
2001-02 Osan Air Base, South Korea
2002-05 RAF Lakenheath, England
2005-12 Beale AFB, CA

After 26 years serving old age caught up and I knew it was time to retire. So what do I do? I returned to work at an Air Force base as a civilian.

My dad was stationed in Charleston while you were there--one of my favorite bases growing up. He left the Air Force after 20+ years and now works in the Navy as a civilian.