The first was wearing a Order of the Purple Heart hat, signifying his being awarded for enduring injuries he didn't choose to talk about. An army veteran, he fought in the infamous "Battle of the Bulge."
"Our unit was dubbed the 'bloody bucket' by the Germans," he told me. His wife of 65 years was beaming at his side as I repeatedly thanked him for his service to our country. I try to personally greet each World War II veteran I see. These "real men" won't be around much longer.
It takes a real man to earn the right to wear a hat like that. In moments, I had introduced myself and was learning about his experience on a Navy ship in the Atlantic during World War II as an 18-year-old from Massachusetts. He then went on to join the Air Force, where he flew B-26 bombers over Korea during that bloody conflict. Then on to action in Vietnam in 1965-66, retiring in 1967 with 25 years of service. During that 25 years, he'd lived multiple lifetimes in vastly different combat zones.
He'd gone from the victories of World War II to the drastically different political culture of the U.N. dominated Korean and Vietnam conflicts, where the U.S. troops' hands were tied by rules that made no sense then, and make no sense now.
"We're too busy kissing everyone's ass," he commented on the politics of today. "We have no sense of nationalism."
I had to wholeheartedly agree. Our sense of loyalty to the grand old U.S. of A has whithered to a wimpy apology to our enemies. We are so busy not offending those who want to harm us that we bolster their resolve against us.
Bring back Truman. Bring back Reagan. Let's quit kissing ass and start kicking some.
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