Bad news today.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by Don Rickles

You're not alone.....72 is the oldest male here, my Uncle Jan. Dad dod @ 57, GDad dod @ 62, GDad @ 63.....

I'm right in the thick of it now....

Condolences Mick!

Thanks. My Mom passed at 61, so now being 58, I think I've been in the thick of it for a while!

Hug your loved ones folks! And Happy Thanksgiving!!!

[Mick]

Two flags presented today:

Flag #1:

Kenny graduated high school in 1966, and was, shall we say, less than well directed. In 1967, he volunteered for the US Army. He served, IIRC 4 years, leaving the Army with the rank of E-5. He volunteered right when the draft was starting to ramp up, and knew full well his ass could end up in a combat infantry unit in Viet Nam, but he volunteered anyway (I told you he was a good dude). As it turns out, he was not deployed to Viet Nam. He was honorably discharged, and as is apparently customary, the US Army sent a detail to his funeral today where he was buried with military honors, and the flag that draped his coffin was presented to his widow.

FWIW: Although he clearly qualified to refer to himself as "A Viet Nam Era Veteran", he would NEVER do that, and in fact, rarely spoke about his service at all. He had the highest level of respect for all those who did serve in Viet Nam.

Flag #2:

My Dad was drafted into the US Army for service in the Korean War, and as a result, a detail was also sent to his funeral, where he was buried with military honors, and a flag presented. I have posted before how my siblings believed that upon my Father's death, basically everything belonged to them, so I got almost nothing. I had assumed for the last 22 years that my Father's flag had been presented to my Sister as next of kin (Mom was already gone, and she was the oldest child), and I would never see it again.

Well, I guess I wasn't paying sufficient attention on that day, because what I didn't know was the my Dad's Sister (Kenny's Mother) had asked my Sister if she (my Aunt) could receive her Brother's (My Dad's) flag at the funeral, and my Sister agreed. So my Aunt had my Father's flag all these years without me realizing it. Kenny's sister found the flag with a note specifying what it was when they emptied my Aunt's house (she is in assisted living, and not doing well), and grabbed it. Kenny's sister was well aware that my siblings had little respect for my Dad's service, hence the lack of desire to have the flag. Let's just say that representatives of Kenny's family presented that flag to me today without informing my siblings. It will be displayed respectfully in my home as soon as practicable.

And to think I almost got through the day without shedding a tear.