"Remembering Our Fallen" Win a MPC Coop May HAL w/hosts Mike & Sally

[Jessimom]

I am humbled. I hope the stories and photos keep rolling in!

@NaJoBeLe It is tough. But at the end of the career is an entirely new world waiting for you, the kids, and your wife. They can hold their heads high because they've been through things many people can't even imagine! And at least today Vets are respected. I think the toughest part for me was watching Ken coming home from VietNam, getting out, then trying to find a job. Nobody would hire vets. We tried to find a nicer apartment but landlords wouldn't rent to VietNam vets. So Ken went back into the military just a few weeks after getting out. The day he was flying back out he was in uniform and we made the mistake of stopping by a small diner for lunch. The waitress - out loud and not caring who heard - gave our table to another server because she wasn't "going to put food in front of a baby-killer." I hated the embarrassment in Ken's face and the sadness in his eyes. Yeah. Things have improved since then for vets, but it's amazing how much of it is lip service. Well, at least most of the open hatred is gone. I've had people tell me that we lived off "their dime" since they pay taxes and the military is paid from tax money. Well, the military pays those same taxes, both during active duty and retirement, so I always smile and ask them if they'd risk their necks and their family's stability plus pay their own wages. Kinda makes me sad, but I still would do it all over again.

@Cynthia12 You must be so proud of your husband, son-in-law, and grandson. Think of that - so much honor there!!

@Jessimom Nuclear power school is tough, and Jamie called several times to tell us he just didn't think he could get through it. But with the help of some excellent instructors and a few words from Grampa, he made it.

We raised Jamie and he had decided to into the Navy when he was only 11 years old. He never thought of doing anything else. After he finished protoype school in Balston Spa, he was stationed on board a nuclear submarine. He had to do all his classes and get his "quals" done to earn his submariner's dolphins. Ken put in a call to the CO of the boat and explained that he'd served on an old diesel sub, and wanted Jamie to have his dolphins. The CO thought it was fantastic, so Ken sent his old dolphins to the boat. Jamie had no idea that during the ceremony when the dolphins were pinned on, they'd be his grandfather's. They look a little different than the new ones, but still within regs, so those are the ones Jamie has. He sent his new ones - the ones he would have been awarded - to Ken. Love tradition!


Jamie with the set of dolphins once worn by his grampa.

Congrats again on graduating and getting his dolphins. How did they tell him that the dolphins were his grandfathers?

 

[Blooie]

The letter we got from the CO had an enclosure in it with what he said. Ken has it put up somewhere but it talked about Jamie continuing the proud traditions of submariners all over the nation, all of whom were following the traditions of men like Jamie's grandfather. And then he told Jamie that the dolphins being pinned on Jamie's chest had already been initiated into the Domain of Neptunus Rex on the uniform of his grampa, and while Ken regretted deeply not being able to be there to see them pinned on, Grampa knew Jamie would keep them well polished and honor them. Wish we'd been there to see it all!

 

[Cynthia12]

How could I forget my Nephew?! He serves in the Marines. He is the one on the left.

 

[Jessimom]

MANY times the damage that is done to the military is not visible. The horror that they see, and things that they have to do, stays with them, and they don't always recover. My brother has severe PTSD, depression and alcoholism. He isn't alone. Alot of them do. And like many of them, they don't think they need help. It's sad.

 

[Blooie]

MANY times the damage that is done to the military is not visible. The horror that they see, and things that they have to do, stays with them, and they don't always recover. My brother has severe PTSD, depression and alcoholism. He isn't alone. Alot of them do. And like many of them, they don't think they need help. It's sad.

My heart goes out to him, and to the entire family.

 

[Whittni]

Here's my entry:

My great grandfather was drafted into WWII from the United States and shipped overseas to Cornwall, England. He and his buddies had a lot of waiting around time before going on bombing raids to defend against the Germans. During this time, he went to a lot of shows. He was a very tall 6'4" blond haired, blue eyes guy who was just in his early 20s when he saw...*her*. She was 19 and a beauty. Short pinned up red hair, eye liner and a whole lotta lip and red lipstick of course. She was curvy and she was gorgeous. The first night they met, she was singing on stage with her brother playing the piano. It was a snappy jazz song and my great grandpa couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her red dress sparkled in the light, sequins were everywhere. A high pair of red heels matched her red dress and hair. My grandpa's buddies saw the look in his eyes and encouraged him to ask her out. And so he did. And she said no. And no and no again. Her brother didn't like Jim. After a few months of asking, the red haired English gal finally said, "if I go out with you once, will you stop asking?" my grandpa said, "deal". And that is how they ended up engaged. She became my great grandma and her brother my great uncle. They made their way to America with their singing career and did well in places like New York City. Once my great grandpa got back home from the war, they had one boy and three little girls. The boy became my grandpa and he's still around today. He's the one who told me his parent's love story.

 

[sasafras4u2]

My grandpa. Joesph Andrew Jarnagin. He seved his country well. He was proud of his service he was happy to protect this great country. He was proud to be a part of our history. But i cant tell you much more than that because that is about all he ever said about it. He would say the past is best left in the past and I'm proud i got to help this country stay free. Andy my pawie was a great man he drank too much and my granny always blamed it on the war he wouldnt talk about. But he lived to be 86 years old. My oldest grandson was born on his birthday the year he passed away. He was mighty proud of that!

 

[sasafras4u2]

Im so glad there are people in this country that i am proud to say thwy look after me. Thaey protect me and my family. I do not think i could ever make it through even one day of basic training. My feeling get hurt and i cry at the drop of a hat. First time i got yelled at or someone wlse got yelled out id be sent home.... i am so thankful for our great soldiers. Honorable men and women who stand up for us, love this country, and protect it with their lives. God Bless you!

 

[jnr005]

MANY times the damage that is done to the military is not visible. The horror that they see, and things that they have to do, stays with them, and they don't always recover. My brother has severe PTSD, depression and alcoholism. He isn't alone. Alot of them do. And like many of them, they don't think they need help. It's sad.

It is extremely sad. My parents best friends from when we lived in a different state are still dealing with the aftermath of Vietnam. I can remember the first time we visited them, my mom told me to be nice to Uncle Art and to not make loud noised. The entire weekend him and my dad would sit in the other room drinking beers and my dad would just listen as he told story after story. My mom tried to keep me busy in the other room, but I could still hear what they were talking about. Some of the stories were funny about random mishaps and stuff, but I remember some of them were the bloodiest most horrific stories. The worst part was as much as he tried to be normal, you could see his mind was still wrapped up in the war.

To this day some people would describe him as "off", but when I think of him it makes me appreciate the sacrifices that the military men and woman make even more. He saw some of the most horrific things in that war and even though he lived to tell about it, you can see the scars run much deeper than what is visible. I just pray that the military finds better and more effective ways to help the veterans that make it back to deal with what they saw and did. I think its sad that sometimes we forget that just because they made it back alive doesn't mean they made it back whole.

 

[sarasweatman]

My husband was adopted. We found his biological mother after the birth of my first son. She told us about how his father fought in Vietnam. Shortly after he got back, he killed himself. She soon found out she was pregnant. She gave my husband up for adoption because her mother wouldn't let her raise a child with no father.