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I always enjoy reading Fred, as he is just right upfront about what he believes....sometimes I agree with him, sometimes not...but hes always a good read, plainspoken, and just gives us lots to think about...

I think he is right, somewhat about why our men go into the military...my dad originally joined the army, to get out of the east coast area where he was living, and to learn a good trade...he went into the army at the end of 1940, and indeed learned to become an airplane mechanic, and eventually became a navigator on the planes..or course, at the end of 1941, Pearl Harbor had happened, and we were off to war...dad learned that one of his very best friends, went down on the Arizona...broke his heart....

So, I do suppose that if he was not already in the army, he would have enlisted right away, enraged about Pearl Harbor, made all the more personal by the loss of his good friend...asnd he was pleased to be on planes that were involved in the Japanese theatre, as he felt he was personally avenging his friend...

My hubby on the other hand, was already in the National Guard, when I met him, and into our first year of marriage...he initially spent 7yrs in the reserves...he got out, but then six years later enlisted in the regular active army....by that time we had our two boys...

Mine and my hubbys friends and family wondered why he would do such a thing at 34yrs of age....putting himself through Airborne School and passing that school, was quite a feat for someone his age...when people asked him why he did that, his only response, was that he felt being in the army, was the best way he could insure his boys would live in a safe country...perhaps not a patriotic reason, but it was his reason...it was his own way, to live with himself, that he was protecting his family, by being in the army...

He left the active army after 9yrs.(the reasons are too long and complicated to go into)...but now he had already 7yrs reserves and 9yrs full time...and he wanted that to count for something....so 3yrs after leaving the full time active army, he went again into the reserves, ,and spent about another 11yrs there...insuring him of getting a military pension, at age 60....would that be a greedy reason? I dont think so...he wanted to make sure that he and I would have enough money for our retirement...and he wanted something to show for his military years...

So he had different reasons for going into the military, at different times in his life, but he was proud to serve, and he says he is forever glad that he gave as much time as he did to the military...it was an wonderful experience for the family also, and we had great pride in BigDom for what he was willing to do...

His main reasons for being the military, may not have been what one would call 'patriotic', yet in the end of it all, he feels that he did support his country in a 'patriotic' manner...