Growing up as most boys do playing army and raising cane throughout the neighborhood. The military was always visable as all branches had members at one time or the other. one item always caught my eye in my uncles house, only 8X12 bronze in color with a tank in shadow above a map of Europe. As I got older I started questioning what it was no one would answer till I was about 15 when my aunt sat down with me one day and explained what it was. It was my uncles war time experiences traced out showing when he landed at Normandy till the fall of Berlin noting all the dates of battles which were listed at the bottom no one not my cousins had ever bothered to asked what and my uncle never mentioned it...After I had joined and sitting talking to my uncle one night I wanted out of the AF bad I guess we all have second thoughts at one time or the other, My uncle looked at me and said If you ever get out before 20 I will personally kick your butt the biggest mistake I ever made was getting out. my other uncle going through the same experience of WWII kept quiet but always had a large scrapbook of his time in the army to look through the kicker like so many others he never mentioned he was awarded the bronze star with a V my cousin found out after he passed going through his belongings. My dad poor guy as a Seabee got stuck on Kwajalein atoll for three years as a plumbing but yes the military was something held sacred and patriotism was not taken lightly