Veteran's Day

I have to thank my cousin Bruce for the photo in the third panel, my dad in Korea. My dad passed away in 2003. He didn't leave a lot of photos behind, and he was reluctant to talk about his experiences in the war. Bruce, who was about the same age as my dad (long story) served in Korea during the war as well. He's the one who has given me all the stories about what happened over there.

Dad always said that he didn't have any exciting war stories, that he was more like Radar O'Reilly in M*A*S*H than Gregory Peck in Pork Chop Hill. Bruce told me otherwise -- Dad was on the hill while Bruce's company was shelling it. He took very careful aim so that he didn't hit "Uncle Blaine."

The one story that Dad DID tell was about seeing Marilyn Monroe. As company clerk, he had to man the fort while the rest of the guys went to see her USO show. He got to see her as she was driven through camp after the show!

Dad thought it was great that both my brother and I got called to serve as missionaries in Korea, my brother in Seoul and me in Busan. And there were a lot of the Korean people who thanked me profusely when I told them that my dad was there as a soldier during the conflict. It made me proud!

So, as Kerri Jo says, thank you, Dad, and all the other veterans out there who put their lives on the line to protect our freedom!