•June 7, 2017•

They were young. They went through basic training, then on to more advanced instruction before being assigned to the next state or half way around the world. They operated heavy artillery, or commanded ICBM missiles, or flew rescue helicopters, or handled classified information, or commanded a tank, or sat on the ocean bottom in a submarine.

They were in the infantry, or were a radio operator, or a medic, or an aircraft mechanic, or a cook, or radar repairman, or maybe an electrician. They endured rocket attacks in Vietnam, and cold weather in Korea, and dark, wet seas in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They were wounded, suffered from malaria or was seasick from crossing high seas during a storm. They had fun, built life-long friendships, made good memories or saw horrible things that no teenager should have to endure.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.