[Displaced Flames fan]

I'll be remembering both grandfathers of mine. One has passed, one who hasn't. The one that is gone served in North Africa and the Middle East in WWII. I never talked with him about it, he died when I was 12. Last Christmas my Mom gave me a little wooden box with a bunch of stuff of his from that time. Letters he wrote home, pictures, Iraqi money. Probably the most special gift I've ever received.

My Dad's Dad served in the Marines in Okinawa. He was shot by a sniper through the shoulder and out the rib cage. The man who shot him stole his watch afterward! He wasn't the only one who thought my Grandpa was dead, the medics who were clearing out the wounded left him for over a day because they didn't think they had a chance of saving him. Eventually they picked him up and he made it, obviously. I have seen his Purple Heart and even as a bratty 10 year old I was aware of the power of that medal as I looked at it.

My Dad was a green beret during the latter stages of Vietnam. He was never deployed. I was concieved at Fort Bragg in 1970 as a matter of fact. My Dad moved up in the army very fast and when he got out in 1976 (because of divorce) he was about to go to Master Sargent school. I've read through his evaluations by his CO's and am in awe of someone with his kind of performance ratings at their job. He graduated 1st in his jump class as well. That discipline and committment to excellence have carried over into his civillian career where he gets the same kind of recognition.

3 great men in my family who deserve every ounce of respect I can show them today.