Thursday Three: Always Remember

This week the Axis of Weevil Thursday Three is in a slightly more serious vein.

In a break from the usual frivolity of our Thursday Three offerings, Miss Diane suggested that we ask some questions this week in honor of the upcoming Memorial Day.

1. Have you or any of your immediate family members ever served in the armed forces, and if so, what branch(es)?
2. Were you or you family member ever on active duty during wartime?
3. If your family member died in service, how do you honor them on Memorial Day (or throughout the year)?

As always, we welcome anyone who wishes to participate--leave your comments below, or a link to your blog with your answers.

And to those families whose loved ones have given their lives in service to this country throughout its history, a very profoundly felt thank-you for their sacrifice.

They will not be forgotten.

1)My father and my step father-in-law both served in the Navy and I have various Uncles that were in the Coast Guard. The closest I personally have come to being in the armed forces was campus security in college. I got paid to do homework in the parking lot and shot the breeze with campus security when I was in the gate house.

2)My father, SFIL and aforementioned Uncles were on active duty during WWII. As I recall my Uncle Bill at one point was surveying glaciers in Greenland. Uncle Gus, in order to foil the censors, sent a small fish home in a letter to tell his family where he was. Meanwhile my Dad was on a mine sweeper in the Pacific. It is possibly the most boring and the most dangerous duty you can get. At one point he was in actual combat and had some teeth shot out of this mouth.

3)Fortunately none of the above relations died in service. However, I do try honor those that have died for our freedom. We fly the flag and thank any uniformed veterans we see when we are out and about (admittedly that is more fitting for Veterans Day, buy hey we try). Oh, I think I am eligible for DAR membership so I’m sure some ancestor of mine has died while in service.

I have posted this picture before, but it is a nice one of my Dad in his uniform.

dad+grandmadotGURobert
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.