Veterans

I've always been rushed when it came to jotting down a list of family veterans for the kids to take to school each November. To get around that, I usually claimed we didn't know of anyone who served in the military. And, We are off a generation - our parents were too young for WWII and too old for Vietnam. When I've taken time to think about it, though, I realize that there are indeed relatives that I could have been listing!

Start with: My dad. (Surprise!) He served in the Army in Okinawa from 1953-1955. He saw no action, but worked in an office on the island for several years.

My brother: Clyde K. Harward. He served in the Army as a medic during the 1980's. He was in Germany and Texas. He was released early due to his son's health issues and is since deceased.

My 19-year-old son isn't quite a veteran yet. He signed up for the Army National Guard 9 months ago and just completed his "boot camp" training this past October (2008).

My mother's two brothers were vets:
Uncle Harold S. Madsen served in the army in Germany during WWII. The story is told of how he and his buddies were hiding in a cellar while German soldiers were searching the house above them. He attributes their being alive to God's intervention!

Uncle Kenneth C. Madsen served in WWII in the Navy - He told us of how he was sea sick on a transport ship for weeks. Poor guy!

My husband's great uncle served in WWII. We have a photo of him in uniform. I plan to track down some more relatives and list them here...