I loved the simplicity of the Bud ad thanking the troops. Honestly, it nearly had me in tears. While it seems like such a simple thing, the act of thanking a service man or woman for their willingness to serve means so much to them. A short story about my return to "the world".
I left home on April 21, 1969 and returned April 23, 1971, to the girl of my dreams and my wife of 32 years. I spent a year at remote sites in Taiwan and a year in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. All the while, my girl stayed true and sucked it up through all the campus crap of the day.
I left the US in the era of black suits, white shirts, white socks and black shoes. I returned to checkered pants, colored shirts, stripped coats and platform shoes! Talk about a culture shock.
I did not experience the worst of the demonstrators upon my return to Sea-Tac, we disembarked well away from the terminal and were pretty much separated from the general crowd until we were well within the terminal complex. I flew to Chicago and then a short hop to Bishop airport in Flint Michigan, to the arms of my girl and the love of my family.
During the short flight, I chatted with the stewardess and a nice lady sitting next to me. She could not wrap her head around the fact that it had been two years since I had been home. She knew I was coming home from Vietnam and was meeting my family in Flint. Somehow, word filtered forward since I was the one military guy getting off. As I got off, the majority of folks sitting welcomed me home and said how happy they were I got home safe. A few moments of my life I will always remember.
Soldiers give so much, risk so much and love our country so much, they deserve our thanks and, as I know first hand, appreciate it down to their souls.
Conservative Outlook
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