Veterans Day 2014

When I added it up, I realized it's been

45 years since I joined the Air Force in 1969.

Wow, that makes me feel old.

Of course I was just a baby then...

I joined because my family was extremely

patriotic and there was a war going on.
Both of my older brothers had already enlisted.

I had no clue what an Air Traffic Controller

did, but 8 months later I was one.

As the first female controller stationed overseas,

(18 months at Clark AFB in the Phillipines)

I was in an article in the overseas military

newspaper called The Stars And Stripes.

Today Air Traffic Control is full of women,

but being one of the first meant always being the

only woman at work or in meetings.

My father-in-law is one of the real hero's in our

family. He was at the frontline, in the trenches,

at the Battle of the Bulge during WWII. 

My own father lied about his age and joined

the Navy when he learned his older brother Sperry

(U.S. Navy) was captured and was being held in a

prisoner-of-war camp in Japan.

My dad died over 20 years ago, but here's a picture of

him as I remember him best, taken in the early 1960's.

He loved cigars and I think of him whenever I'm

lucky enough to catch a whiff of cigar smoke.

Yes, I love the smell of cigars...

I recently discovered the Government's
website for archived records and was able
to read about my uncle's prisoner of war
camp, Fukuoka POW Camp #1
(Kashii-Pine Tree Camp), which was
on the Japanese island of Kyushu.

If  you're interested in researching about

a family member's military records,

here's the website.

http://www.archives.gov

Happy Veterans Day!

Many restaurants offer free meals for

veterans in honor of their service. In our

area the following are a few of those

restaurants:

International House of Pancakes

Texas Roadhouse

The Rib Crib

Starbucks Coffee

Golden Corral