[Redleg Duke]

My maternal Grandfather fought in the Trenches of France in WWI with the 42nd Infantry Division (Rainbow). He was wounded in the leg by a German artillery shell that resulted in bone fragments that continued to work out long after he came home and married my Grandmother. She told me how she would be woken up by his crying in pain and the blood soaking the sheets.

He was a charter member of the American Legion in Wonewoc, Wisconsin. She was a charter member of the Auxiliary. She used to make Tray favors for the wounded vets at the VA Hospital nearby. Grandpa always played taps at the cemetery on Armistice Day. My Uncle Bob, his youngest son still plays it on this day and sends us a video of it. I was blessed to have veterans in my family who raised me, taught me and encouraged me to accept the honor of serving in their footsteps. To all my fellow Vets, thank you for your service and for “taking up the torch”!

[BroJoeK]

Redleg Duke: "My maternal Grandfather fought in the Trenches of France in WWI with the 42nd Infantry Division (Rainbow).
He was wounded in the leg..."

Thanks for sharing your history.
I can also find ancestors and relatives who served in every major US war, beginning with the Revolutionary War and including all since WWII.
All ancestors survived, or I wouldn't be here, but some were wounded or otherwise scarred.

The idea that in 1918 the Allies should have fought on to take Berlin was discussed at the time, but never seriously contemplated by national leaders.
The war was too horrible, the suffering & death toll too unimaginable to continue even a day longer than absolutely necessary.