In the late 1970s we had a funeral for a local veteran, which I had to cover as a photog for the local newspaper. After WWII, the guy had enlisted in the French Foreign Legion, then joined up with the US Army under the Lodge Act program that gave military-experienced foreigners a crack at US Citizenship after a 6-year hitch. Or two. And some retired after the usual 20/30 years; many gravitated to Special Forces due to their language skills.
But anyway he came back to the USA where he was a citizen of a country to which he'd never been and retired to Southern Indiana. Eventually, he joined a couple of local veterans groups, and served as post commander of one for two years. Accordingly, a pretty fair send-off party in his honor was held at his old post after his funeral. And laid out for the festivities were his medals and decorations from three nations, including his Iron Cross, Second Class, Infantry Close Combat medal and Tank Destruction award. And, of course, photos of him as a young man in his first uniform, a wiser man in his second, and an older fellow in his third call to duty. He was, by all accounts, a pretty good soldier.
