Veterans Day 2010 - Thank You

Well I'm one aggravated pack rat (aka 'slob') today. I had an idea for a post for Veteran's Day which required pictures of my Grand Father's, Dad & other relatives... and I knew just which pictures I wanted... but what with my unique D&T filing system (Dropped and Thrown) I couldn't find them at all. I suppose if I find them later, I can add them in then. Arghhh.
My Dad's Dad, Floyd Harvey, served in WWI, which was what Veteran's Day began as: Armistice Day, marking the end of the 'War to end all wars'... but as that swell idea failed to take hold, it was later transformed into Veterans Day.

My Mom's Dad, Leo Kuter, worked WWII from Hollywood as an Art Director at Warner Bros., he helped make a bunch of morale boosting movies with John Wayne, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, etc, helped keep their spirits up and the homefires burning. I've got some of his memento's... like the phone book for the U.S.S. Hornet, which they did some of the filming on for one of the Errol Flynn movies, I think.

The one picture I did find was of him, Ginger Rogers and his cousin Gen. Laurence Kuter, who had a fair amount to do with the formation of the U. S. Army Air Corps and it's bomber strategy, and later the Air Force and NORAD.

My Dad was an officer in the U.S. Army Airborne, and as a paratroop instructor had the odd position of training his younger brother, Jerry, to fight in Korea.

... Ryan, a few years later



Ryan on his Uncle David's ship...

 And though technically my son Ryan, now in the Air Force won't qualify as a Veteran until he's out... still... Father's privilege, I'll include him too.

My Father In-Law helped keep our nuclear missiles at the ready as a Sgt. in the Air Force. My Brother In-Law who served in the Navy during Desert Storm.

But it goes wider than family, my best friend David was in the Air Force, and had a hand in investigating what went wrong when planes went down, which he continues as a civilian, in helping to design planes so that they stay in the air.

His Dad, who just passed away, flew B-17's in Europe during WWII... under my Grand Father's cousin, come to think of it.

Our good friend Sam who was one heck of a Sgt ('Gunney' is the only name I can ever remember, but that was an early grade) in the Marines, recently retired.

How many others, friends... friends of friends... they are us, how can we not remember them?

Now if I can just find the rest of the pictures and the thread of the idea I originally had for them.... I think it was partly... how in the heck can we possibly forget our Veterans? They are, and were, a part of our lives, part of our community, what may be more important is that they remembered us. Remembered those of us they knew, and those they'd never know, and put their lives on the line to defend all.

Remember them, and honor them, they are a part of your life and had a hand in making your life possible, a life with Liberty and Freedom to make any life you're capable of living, possible.

So thanks to these, and all Veterans, for helping to give me the liberty to misplace my valuables, and the luxury of that being the most aggravating thing I've got to deal with today. It may not be much, but I'm doing what I can to preserve and defend what you, for a time, wrote a blank check on your lives for.

Thank you Veterans. Thank you, and God bless you.