SALUTE to all our Veterans

[powerboatr]

SALUTE to all our brave folks who chose or were to chosen to serve our GREAT Country
BRAVO ZULU from the Navy side of the house

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[Buyer2021]

Lucky lottery number 36 and the end of student deferments yielded an invitation I couldn't refuse, it arrived the week of my freshman final exams at UT Austin School of Architecture in May of 1972.

Not particularly thrilled about it at the time but it turned out I had a "Civilian Acquired Skill" (cartographic draftsman, aka MOS 81C20) the Army needed so I was sent straight from basic training at lovely Ft Polk, LA to the 652nd Engr BN stationed on Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor, HI (yes, a Navy base with space available hosted our small and specialized Army unit).

I didn't make a career of it, opted-out at the end of my 2-year active duty stint, but we got our part done and GI Bill made completing my architecture degree possible without having to work my way through college. Could have been a lot worse for sure. Seems very long ago and very far away, which I guess it is!

My Dad had been drafted, too, served in Europe during WWII, was in the Army Signal Corps landing at Omaha Beach 2-days after D-Day (in one of his rare mentions of his experience he explained he always arrived 2-days after the action ended to set up and operate HQ teletype communication systems). He was sent home and discharged shortly after VE day. GI Bill put him through college, too, and helped with buying the house I was born into and lived in through 6th grade.

So I suppose a family tradition of 'being chosen' and doing the job asked (3 uncles and 2 cousins, too). Grateful especially for those who volunteer, making conscription a thing of the past . It's a job that needs doing.

 

[RossRR]

Maintaining and operating the Navy's computers and radars peaked my interest in electronics and the GI Bill paid for my engineering degree after my 4 years service. I'd recommend a technical rating in one of the services for anyone coming out of high school not knowing what they want to do with their life.

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