Memorial Day

DutchmenSport wrote:
I'm one of the fortunate ones that have never lost a relative while serving in the military, and I've had someone in my family engage on active military service, consecutively, since 1941. All of my family members returned to a civilian lifestyle. For many of them, the mental scars of combat was a reality that haunted them the remainder of their lives. In a way, they paid the ultimate cost also.

Me: Army
Dad: Army
Dad's brothers: Army, Navy, Air Force
Cousin: He was both Army and Air Force, and then after he had to retire, he returned to the Air Force as a GS worker.
Sister: Army
Brother-in-Law: Army
Other Brother-in-Law: Army

My Wife:
Married a soldier in the Army. (Me)
Father: Marines
Brother: Coast Guard
Brother: Navy
Niece: Air Force

My wife and I have:
Daughter: Navy (Gulf war)
Son-in-law: Navy (Gulf war)

I have searched through countless military archives looking for anyone since the Civil war (on either side) with my last name who might have died while in service. I have never found anyone. I am most fortunate.

There is one more I should mention, my mother's brother (my uncle).

My mother is German. Born and raised in Germany. She and my dad were married after WW2 while Dad was in service in Germany. Dad was among the special forces group that had to around and inform the German soldiers who were in those isolated areas and were not informed the war was over. He told me that was more dangerous work than actual combat. He was also a mechanic.

My mother's brother was a German soldier under Hitler. He was drafted, not his choice. Although he was on the opposite side of the war from us, he served his best for his country as well. Until a shell exploded on the other side of a tree where he was taking a smoke brake. His arm and leg were not behind the tree when the mortar exploded. It severely damaged his arm and leg and he passed out and woke up in an American POW camp. He served the duration of the war in Columbus, Ohio where there was a POW camp. He received the best medical attention possible in it's day, and he sat the rest of the war out, learning to speak English and discovering the Americans really were not all that bad after all. When the war ended, he was returned to Germany where he eventually became a manager at Boehringer Mannheim (pharmaceuticals) and worked until he retired.

All of may Dad's family, all his brothers and sisters are now gone. They all died natural deaths, as did my mother's brother. For this, I am most thankful!

Thank you & everyone in our armed forces for serving our country

Mike