Troucul,
First of all thank you for your service. I am no war veteran but am in awe of those who put their lives on the line.
My uncle was a Marine during WWII and was wounded during the invasion of the Island of Pelielu. When he wrote back to his family of JW's he could not reveal where he was going. So he started each paragraph with one letter spelling out the Island. One of his sisters figured it out. 12,000 men died there within the span of 3 months. He survived to raise 3 sons who all became Marines. Those 3 boys died due to complications of Agent Orange after the Vietnam War.
My uncle, the oldest, was never patted on the back or thanked for his efforts by our JW family. He was considered the "black sheep." and just barely tolerated. His younger brothers who went to prison for refusing to serve were highly revered.
My great great grandfather served along side Sherman in the civil war. We have a picture of him in his uniform along with his rifle which is almost as tall as he was. Strangely, the family was quite proud of that!
r.