Oh you did lose them all when you were so young. My father was former military also. I know well what you mean. My mother said there was so much about the war she had never heard until I married my husband. When we were in the military my father would tell my husband stories Mother said she had never heard.
You are so right in saying our elders have so much to teach. You sound as though you have done just fine though. Your parents would be very proud of you.
Don’t make me cry. :)