Veterans

Recently you may have seen pictures of World War II veterans floating around the internet. Most look something like this guy:


And, today's young people find it difficult to connect. It's somewhat like looking at the picture of George Washington on a dollar bill. Nearly impossible to animate that person, to comprehend what they were like as a living, breathing human, the ones who took up arms for America.

Too bad you couldn't know some of these guys as I knew my Army buddies. Like Bill Martinek:

Cpl. Martinek (from Topeka, KS) was a good looking guy. He would have caused heart throbs among all the girls at a high school prom. But Bill wasn't at a High School Prom. He was in the Western Pacific, in the service of his country.

And, how about Chester Liszka? Maybe today Chester looks like the old pictures of Vets we now see. But this is what he looked like back on Leyte:


We used to hear a lot about our "boys" in uniform. The Army never called them "boys" - the Army always called them men! But, they were boys. Good, wholesome American boys who loved their country enough to interrupt their lives and enlist in the Army.

So, the next time you see an old, stooped guy with a VFW hat, close your eyes for a moment, and see Bill Martinek or Chester Liszka as they were 65 years ago.

Maybe, though, you can avoid imagining those few, devil may care, undisciplined types who had fun no matter what... like this guy. Uh... oh, never mind... that was me!