Happy Veteran's Day!

In light of the recent trauma at Fort Hood, I find it especially important to take a moment and reflect on this Veteran's Day Holiday.
I'm especially grateful for my two grandpa's who served in the Navy. My Grandpa Rowe served in the Navy during World War II. He was actually in the Navy's air corps which is a branch that no longer exists since we have the Air Force. He had just earned his pilot's wings when the war ended, so I don't think he ever flew in the war. Gramma Rowe told me how Grandpa used to always talk about how terribly cold it was in Indiana where he did his pilot training. Apparently he flew in a small open cockpit plane and just about froze!
got his wings just as war ended Indiana, terribly cold in a small pilot open cockpit plane- graduated from Pensacola in Chapel Hill North Carolina
Can't you see why he caught my gramma's eye? One handsome guy!
My Paw Paw (mom's dad) was also in the Navy. After graduating from Baylor Paw Paw worked in Venezuela for two years but then came back to the US as he was being drafted by the army. He decided he'd rather be in the Navy so he enlisted and started as a dispersing clerk during the Korean War. He boarded ship on the USS Ashtabula which headed to Korea where he worked to make sure the crew got paid. Aboard the tanker he helped fuel ships, many of them had been famous ships used since WWII. He took readings from the engineering department on the ship and created billing invoices to charge for the fuel used to fill the ships tanks. He did the same for the octane fuel supplied to the planes that flew carriers which would bomb Korea. He spent about 6 months in the far east, and some time in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania doing accounting work. This is also where he met my Dee Dah at the Officers Club, isn't that cute? I think he spent 4 years total in the Navy, being released only a few months after my mom was born. Here's a picture of the USS Ashtabula where he served, it's since been destroyed but I hear that crew members still gather to remember the time they spent onboard.
Other veterans in my family include my Great Uncle Gayle who spent time all over the mediterranean on board a Navy ship, my Great Uncle Richard who was in the Army, my Great Aunt Sis who went to the front lines of World War II with the Red Cross, and my Dee Dah's brothers who also served in various branches.
I'm grateful for all those that serve my country and allow me to enjoy the freedoms that I do, but I'm especially proud to have so many family members who dedicated years of their lives to make our country a better, safer place.

Hope you can take time this Veterans Day to honor those in your life who have served our country!