For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for November 10, 2017

Veterans are serious folk. ’Tis best to remember their heroic sacrifices.

I had 2 uncles who fought in World War 2 in Europe. My dad couldn’t go cause he was deaf in one ear.

My uncle was a naval medic at the Battle of Guadalcanal (pardon my spelling). He just barely talked briefly about his experience with his brother (my father) once. It was too traumatic to discuss ever again. It was not true PTSD that messed up his life but just memories he did not wish to ever revisit.

My great-grandfather was in Pearl Harbor when it was bombed. He survived, and I’m proof of that.

I had an uncle who hit the beach on D-Day. He could remember the clouds of planes flying overhead.

My grandfather served in the Navy in WWI, my uncles in the Navy, Army, and Marines during WWII (two deployed, the other two were just finishing training when the war ended), and my Dad in the Army in Korea.

The Navy Uncle was coxswain on a landing craft during the Invasion of North Africa. His troop ship was hit by a German torpedo just as he was coming alongside to take on troops. The ship almost rolled over on top of him.

One of the Army Uncles spent time in a German POW camp after being captured during the Ardennes Offensive (a.k.a. The Battle of the Bulge).

Dad was an Infantryman during the Korean War. He went ashore with the second wave during the landing at Inchon.

On the other side of the family, I have 3 uncles who served in Vietnam. Two served as MPs, one was killed in action at Pleku in October of 1970.

I served aboard the USS Belknap-(DLG-26) during the Vietnam Era. 1971 – 1974. Bravo Zulu all!

And so now every April, I sit on me porch, and I watch the parades pass before me.

And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march, reviving old dreams of past glories

And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore. They’re tired old heroes from a forgotten war

And the young people ask, what are they marching for? And I ask myself the same question.

ERIC BOGLE – AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA

My father-in-law lied about his age so he could serve in the Royal Canadian Air Force overseas. His experiences made him a very serious man. My own father was a very young teen at the start of the war, so he did not serve.

My father was a radar tech in Italy, then the Pacific. He had a Marine with a .45 assigned to him to protect the country’s secrets. He didn’t talk about it much but did mention the pair of them drilled every month: out of the blue the Marine would command “Drop” and my father would drop to his knees and the Marine would press the .45 to the base of his skull. They could do it in under three seconds. The controversy about respecting the flag comes from it meaning different things to different people, but this is what it means to me …we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. I abhor partisan political comments where they don’t belong partly because they bring pointless division to undermine our unity. We are digging under our house from both sides.

People should always pay he highest honor and respect to the military because they’re asked to o so much and possibly even make the ultimate sacrifice. It’s shameless how America treats their military these days.

My grandfather was an Army paratrooper in WWII, my father was a crew chief in the Marines in Vietnam. He was KIA in February 1968. My dad (mom remarried) was in the Army in Vietnam, but he never talks about it or what he did there. My Uncle was Navy, as was my cousin. My oldest son was Army right after 9/11. He was KIA also. And my husband was Navy in the early 1980’s. Both Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day mean something in my house.

Lynn’s Notes:

This scene was done with reverence and gratitude.

Many thanx to all the veterans mentioned above for their service!

Spouse of retired servicman. Navy…Twenty-three years and two major conflicts…..injured. Can’t say how honored I am.

God Bless all those who fight for our country. It is through their service and sacrifice that we remain free.

My Father was a Pearl Harbor survivor (USS Cassin, DD-372), then thru the Solomon Islands campaign aboard USS Gamble, DM-15. I was in the Navy in Viet Nam, in country, now with Agent Orange disability. Today’s strip by Lynn is very powerful…….. very appropriate. Wonder if the kids today even care? Doubt it, the way they act about the flag and the anthem. Very sad……..

Echoing Carl Rennhack, thank you to all the above vets who served. And also thanks to the posters for sharing your/their stories.

My dad was in the Philippinesin World War 2

God Bless Our Military and Veterans. We owe you so much.

I had an uncle who flew Mustangs in Europe during WWII. Got three, an FW190, an ME-1o9 and a JU-88. Another uncle served with Patton from Normandy until his company liberated the Buchenwald death camp. What he saw there haunted him until the day he died. They didn’t take another Wermacht prisoner for the rest of the war.

My dad fought in the Korean War in the 101st Airborne. Mom was a nurse in the Korean War in Pusan (they call it Busan now).

My brother and me both served in Vietnam. Me in the Marines and him in the Army. My last fight was Desert Storm. We went through the berm and on to liberate Kuwait City. God Bless our troops today.

My dad was a 18 year old on board the USS Bunker Hill CV-17 and was an anti aircraft gunner during the Battle of Okinawa kamikaze attacks. The ship had the second highest casualty rate along with very heavy damage due to two kamikaze hits but survived as did he. He almost never talked about it except to say he ha a really bad case of warts on his hands before the battle and after it they had completely disappeared. Adrenaline and stress?I served two combat tours in Vietnam 67-69 with 1/9 USMC.

Ever since my family arrived in the US (1912) there has been at least one member of every generation on active duty – My paternal grandfather started the family tradition by enlisting in the Army Reserves as a “fast track” to get his citizenship, and served through WW! by time WWII started his eldest son (my uncle) was old enough to enlist in the Army Air Corps, My dad enlisted in the Army in !952 but being a chemist he was kept stateside doing research, I enlisted right out of high school in 1974 , and my son served from 2002 – 2008

To all veterans of conflicts, THANK YOU for your service and sacrifice. Also, to the Police, Firemen, and Emergency Medical people, THANK YOU for you, too, sacrifice so very much.My grandfather drove an Army ambulance in France in WWI, my father served aboard an aircraft carrier in WWII, I served in the Army in Germany (too young for Vietnam), my son served in the Air Force in Iraq, and my grandson is, currently, training in the Army Infantry.The price of freedom is blood and I thank God for those who serve to keep us free.

My father wondered why he was not allowed to serve during WWII, but he did not realize how important he was to the war effort. He was one of two who could design the moulds for the rubber disposable fuel tanks that enabled the long range bombing of Axis targets.

I served in the United States Marine Corps for six years, some during the Vietnam Era, and also participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Happy birthday and Semper Fidelis to all the Marines out there. We stand on guard.

R E S P E C T

My service was during the cold war at a “secret” cold war listening post near Ankara, Turkey – located on a tall hill, near a major highway, distinctive Army buildings, and acres of antennas Never shot at, never asked to shoot anyone. However, a man from our unit later became the first killed in Viet Nam, and intel gained gave Pres. Kennedy an edge during the Cuban crisis. We had heroes and bads, example search: Question of the day Dunlap

I wear my poppy with thanks, and pay as much as I can for them.

And for some reason the nfl players just do not get it. My sign in name DD845 is my proud way to show I served !

Dad and Uncle Robert were in WWII, Uncle Gene and 2 brothers-in-law were in Viet Nam, nephew was in Afganistan and Qatar. All survived, although Uncle Robert died in a train derailment in VA on his way home, Uncle Gene came home a little early because he broke his leg, and one bil still has shrapnel in his leg.

This is for my father who was a career Marine and served in World War II and the Korean police action. Today is the 242nd United States Marine Corps birthday. Happy birthday and Semper Fidelis. A long tradition of faithful service to our country.

My dad was in WWII. Ground support at an air base so he never saw actual combat. He seldom spoke of it, but a couple times he mentioned planes which took off with friends on board, and never came back.About 10-12 years ago we were at a concert in the park where the band started playing the Armed Forces medley, and when the Army song came in, there he was, 80 something years old, struggling to his feet, standing straighter than I’d seen him in years.

A grateful “thank you” to all of you who served. My father was an Air Force intelligence officer in WWII, pulled out of a B-17 crew for that purpose. He never realized how lucky he was. Most of the men he trained with were killed or POW.

My dad was young enough to be in boot camp during the late summer of 1945. He and his platoon were scheduled to be in one of the first waves of the invasion of the Japanese mainland. “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” made the invasion unnecessary, a fact for which my sisters and I are grateful.

I had a buddy I’d sat next to in band for probably 20 years before he told me he’d been a POW captured during the Battle of the Bulge when he was 19 years old. He developed dysentery and weighed about 88 pounds and was unable to walk when he was liberated. I guess he’s probably passed by now, as have most of the old vets I knew. Guess that’s why the Canadians call it “Remembrance Day.”

I would like to call our a remembrance to a former pastor. He was a dive bomber pilot in WW-II and a chaplain in Korea. When piped aboard another destroyer off Korea, the uniform called for ribbons. He was amused at the change of attitude of the crew seeing them: Navy cross, distinguished flying cross with one cluster, air medal with two clusters. They tended to pay attention.

My Dad was in the 4th wave to hit the beach in WWII. And survived without a scratch. He always wondered why that was.

Great comic today.

Both my parents were the eldest of 7 children, so I had lots of aunts and uncles by blood and by marriage. I had uncles in all branches of the service. Some fought in Europe, others in the Pacific, one in Northern Africa and one in India. I had an uncle who survived the Bataan Death March. I had an Aunt who was a WAC. They all came home! My dad had rheumatic fever when he was 10 and it left him with a heart murmur, but his work as a welder was considered vital to the war effort. My grandmother who had 3 sons in the service met every single train that came into the station in her small town because she wanted to be there in case any of her boys returned home. She welcomed many “boys” home before her three came back one by one.

Spent the last week training members of the Armed Services. Great bunch of men and women! Anxious to learn and willing to take on tasks that are 10X more complicated today than they were for their predecessors.