Our dad flew in the same area during WWII. While he was also shot down, he survived.
Welcome home Sgt. Aguirre.
Our dad also fought/flew in Korea and Vietnam. He was shot down in Vietnam, and survived. He had a drawer full of medals. Like most warriors, he did not talk a lot about it. He did state that all of those medals just meant he was lucky. He used to say “the real heroes didn’t get to come home.”
Honors to your dad. A damn good man. Godspeed to him and his fellow soldiers. May they all RIP
I worked in the Coumadin clinic at the VA in Temple. One of my patients was a Bataan Death March survivor. He was a tall and quiet man but very friendly. I asked him if I could ask some questions about Bataan. He said okay. I mentioned that many died on the March due to injury and summary executions by the Japanese. Also, many died in the camp. I asked what the difference between those that lived and those that died? He said, “When you gave up you died.” I asked him what kept him going? He said, “The only way to defy the Japanese was to live one more day at a time.
I had to change his warfarin dosing. That would entail about an hour of waiting for this old soldier. I told him to just wait in my office while I went to the pharmacy and filled it myself. That man should wait for nothing ever.
His strength of character humbled me. I would be proud to be 1/2 the man he was.
Respect