Veterans Day

I never served in the military, but I came awfully close to.  Because I had to work while in college, I fell below full-time status and was classified 1-A.  The first lottery draft was held in December 1969.  My lottery number was 215 out of 365 and my county got up to 205 in that year.  After 1970, I was safe.  I often wonder what my life would have been had I served in the military.  I had many college friends come home with school tuition paid by the GI bill.  But many did not come home.  I remember stories told to me by my Uncle Bill Wagner, Uncle Bill McNish, and Uncle Gray Whitely, all in WWII.  My Uncle Dean Whitely served in the Air National Guard, and still lives in Joppa, Md.  As they say, ”We live in the land of the free because of the brave.”  Thank you for service, Uncle Dean.