"SteveB" wrote in message
...
Got my dad's military papers back ....

flight maintenenance gunner 748

30th Bomb Gp 270th Bomb Sq

Decorations and citations: Southern Philippines Luzon New Guinea Bismarck
Archipelago Borneo Philippines Liberation Ribbon Good Conduct Ribbon World
War II Victory Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with One Silver
Service
Star ( A Silver Service Star is awarded in lieu of 5 Bronze Service Stars
Sharpshooter Badge with Carbine and Pistol Bars WWII Honorable Service
Lapel
Button

Last rank, Sergeant, United States Air Corps
Service outside Continental US: 25 Apr 45 to 10 Nov 45

Help me understand my father, who I never understood in his life.

To me, it looks like something impressive.

He never spoke of it.

Thanks.

Steve



It is very hard to tell what a person's service was actually like, just
looking at a list of service medals. One gets them for just being
there. Someone just passing through gets the same medal as a
soldier going through hell on the ground (witness the pile of awards
a typical high-ranking officer usually sports...).

But, I'll tell you a personal story. When I was in grade school, the
father of my best friend was regarded as a bit "strange." He was a
WWII Navy veteran who had been on the USS LEXINGTON when
she was sunk. Many years later, I was in the Navy on board the
USS ENTERPRISE when she burned off the coast of Hawaii in
1969. A couple years later, I was talking about the fire to a group
of neighbors, my friend's father among them. He, perhaps hoping
against hope that, maybe, I could understand, blurted out something
about the sinking of the LEXINGTON. Even after all those years,
the look of horror on his face was terrible to behold. For a brief
moment, he revealed a gaping wound that had never healed. A few
minutes later, I saw him headed home.

Some years later, after his death, I was talking with my old friend,
his son, and told him about the exchange. My friend had never been
particularly close to his father (no one was) and had never heard.
He simply thought his father was not a very nice person. But, after
we'd talked, he began to understand a little better who this stranger,
his father, really was.

Veterans tend to talk about such things only to other veterans and
then only to those who had similar experiences because they are the
only ones who seem able to understand. This is largely the reason
for such organizations as the American Legion and the V.F.W.

So, when a veteran doesn't have much to say about his service, it is
for one of two reasons: either there is not much to tell or there is too
much to tell.

And it can be tough to know the difference.

Jerry
Viet-Nam Veteran
United States Navy