Sergeant Majors run the show. I had a great one while permanent party 86’-88’ as a combat medic. I was fortunate as it was peace time. I also did my Basic training at Ft. Dix. Ft. Lewis I forgot to mention,trained/cross trained with the Air Force at the Yakima firing range. Got to meet older guys who had seen live fire ...you learn a lot.
On many pages, however, these books can be a terrific vehicle for learning details about a parent's or grandparent's life that may just go unlearned. I filled in one with my mother. She talked while I wrote. That book is a now a family treasure.
Bump!
I can identify with the excess drinking as a PTSD symptom as I saw it in my WW2 vet father. Of course, in the 1960s-70s PTSD was not a term in general use. Instead, we had another name for it - alcoholism...and it killed him in 1973 when I was a senior in high school.
Thank you for posting this. I’m glad your wife’s father was able to tell his personal story this way; it’s a hard thing for so many. I’ve spent all day thinking about those who lost their lives and loves, families and futures in sudden moments or succumbed to wounds; this was a good reminder of the heavy price paid by veterans who lived on.
My Dad was a farm kid from Minnesota when he joined the Army. He was at Ft Belvoir when a levy came down for troops to go overseas. He thought it was to Germany. He found himself on a troop ship to Korea.
My dad was armor in Korea, advancing just after the barrage from 16” naval guns he said was the most destruction because ever seen. He didn’t stop until his tank unit was on the north side of the Yalu river. Yeah. Dad said was fu@kin cold over there too.
I disagree. This post has nothing to do with vanity.
The American people largely ignored the returning survivors of direct combat from WWII and Korea and Vietnam and pretended that everyone should just act as though nothing happened. Because combat was such a meatgrinder, most of those men who made it home were wounded, physically and mentally and many or most turned to drink to "self-anesthetize" and kept to themselves.
On this Memorial Day, we need to remember the sacrifices of those among us who fought and suffered - and did their best not to bother anyone else with their memories.
At age 18 he was a combat vet and he was training West Point Cadets! Remarkable!