Veteran's Day 2019: My Family

 November 11th is Veteran's Day in the USA and Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other countries.  

My combat positions: Platoon leader 81mm mortars; Rifle Platoon leader; Platoon leader 107mm mortars; XO Combat Support Company, Brigade S3 Air; Battalion S-1; Rifle Company Commander; Headquarters Company Commander; Assistant Battalion S3; Battalion S3; Battalion XO; Interim (6 months) Battalion Commander; Task Force Commander (unit classified) in Northern Iraq providing military assistance to the Kurds.

My Battalions:

2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry (Raiders)

1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry (Ready Rifles)

 7th Battalion, 6th Infantry (Regulars by God!)

 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry (Warriors)

2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry (Regulars by God!)

Me and Honorable Son #2 (who is now a Captain).

I proudly wear the patch of the First Armored Division on my right sleeve.

Younger me  (in need of a shave) on my Bradley "Audacity" with the 1st Armored Division when I was doing the heavy infantry thing. Always hot coffee with heavy infantry.

My Brother #1 and his lovely bride. 

 My Brother #1's son-in-law with Daughter #2.

My lovely bride and sister-in-law #2 (a retired Colonel who is still my favorite Blackhawk pilot!).

Sister-in-law #2's brother.

Sister-in-law #2's brother and his son. 

My Brother #2 

 Brother #2's son and his lovely bride.

My cousin Sarah's husband Edgar. To her everlasting regret, I introduced him to miniature wargaming!

My Dad.  He was "Doc" to the Marines during 2 tours in Vietnam. I owe a lot to this man.

My Dad's brother Gus. He was a Military Intelligence Vietnamese Language Specialist.

 
 My amazing father-in-law Jim who as a 19 year old 1st Lieutenant flying B-17 bombers with the 8th Air Force in 1944 and ended the war as a captain. Had a great phone call with him the other day. A product of the depression (when he was a very young cowboy), he volunteered to be a pilot because it paid more!

My grandfather Sylvester was a Gunner's Mate on a destroyer in the US Navy during World War II.

 My grandfather Mike served as a civilian civil engineer during World War II building railroads in Persia to help supply the Soviets.

My Great Uncle Jack (Professor Emeritus of English at Princeton University) served with the OSS in World War II in various theaters and Honorable Son #1 still have his Sykes Fairbairn knife. You know how sneaking those English majors are - Right Honorable Son #1?

My Uncle Gus who served in the Army as a Vietnamese language intelligence specialist and my Uncle Glenn who served in the US Navy.