I consider that I have two fathers. The pictures are of them at a time when so many of our young men and women were in harms way.
The News clipping picture of my Dad has him in North Africa building a metal runway. It was carried by the wires and printed in many newspapers which, at the time, were proud to show Americans the good our military was doing.
The other picture is of my Father in-law enjoying a well deserved posting in Naples after a bloody and brutal campaign to rid the country of German troops. He was on a boat to Japan when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. A birthday present from President Truman.

Both men came home with purple hearts. Both came home proud. Not just of their service, but of their country and what it had done, sacrificed for the world and for freedom.

Both men built homes and families. Sent their kids to schools and churches and helped to build the greatest nation on the planet. Ever.

My Dad taught me life's lessons from the perspective of a poor dirt farmer. Self reliance and to never quit.

My father in-law gave me good consul and a wonderful wife. He is still living at 84 and is my best friend.

roadster with a stick