I only met one of my great grandparents, but I still think that I can draw the connections between some of them to myself. Having been associated with the military for the past two decades, when you meet someone for the first time and they find out you are a career military member, they often ask you if your parents were in the military.
I love to tell the story of when my dad was in the NJ National Guard during the Vietnam War. He was a helicopter mechanic, but he didn't really want to fly in the thing after he had worked on it. It had nothing to do with his confidence that he had maintained or repaired the machinery correctly, he just didn't want to go up in something that didn't have wings.
I frankly don't blame him, but I have enjoyed most of the helo rides I have taken during my time in the service. However, there is something more comforting about being in a big C-130 fixed wing aircraft that might have a chance of gliding back to terra firm should something bad happen to all 4 of its engines. I understand the theory of auto rotation of a helo's blades to bring you less precipitously back to earth should its engines fail, but I do not want to experience that first hand.
My dad's brother was a Marine during the same time frame, and though neither of them deployed overseas, they still did their part to serve their country during a very unpopular war.
My Norwegian great grandparents were soldiers of a different stripe. They both served in the Salvation Army in New York for many years. One of them achieved the rank of Colonel. I am not sure exactly what that means when you are trying to save people's souls in terms of what I know of the US military chain of command, but it still sounds pretty impressive!
I always think of these ancestors in particular during the holiday season, when I see the folks with the red kettles outside stores collecting money. Please be as generous as you can during the holiday season (and the rest of the year as well) to great philanthropic organizations such as the Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Red Crescent, Heifer International, etc.
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all!
I love to tell the story of when my dad was in the NJ National Guard during the Vietnam War. He was a helicopter mechanic, but he didn't really want to fly in the thing after he had worked on it. It had nothing to do with his confidence that he had maintained or repaired the machinery correctly, he just didn't want to go up in something that didn't have wings.
I frankly don't blame him, but I have enjoyed most of the helo rides I have taken during my time in the service. However, there is something more comforting about being in a big C-130 fixed wing aircraft that might have a chance of gliding back to terra firm should something bad happen to all 4 of its engines. I understand the theory of auto rotation of a helo's blades to bring you less precipitously back to earth should its engines fail, but I do not want to experience that first hand.
My dad's brother was a Marine during the same time frame, and though neither of them deployed overseas, they still did their part to serve their country during a very unpopular war.
My Norwegian great grandparents were soldiers of a different stripe. They both served in the Salvation Army in New York for many years. One of them achieved the rank of Colonel. I am not sure exactly what that means when you are trying to save people's souls in terms of what I know of the US military chain of command, but it still sounds pretty impressive!
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Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all!
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