Talking to some friends about this trip, and it was suggested i take "My" Vet out to dinner,But, after a good 12 hour day,nobody wants to go anywhere but home. My wife suggested we "adopt" one, then set up a dinner out for another night..now theres a good idea. At lunch today i was asked why? why do this? why worry about these things ...Good question , i guess because i never paid much attention to anything other than my little world,Its a full time deal..wife..kids ...work..Then my Dad died..i knew he was in the Military and served in the U.S.Navy Armed Guard,as a gunner and semifore, but i never really thought about it, and never asked Dad about the War.
Among the items he left behind were notebooks from Navy Collage and photos of Europe,so i became interested, i wanted to find out all i could about Dads service,and
researched the Armed Guard, well the subject isn't as well mentioned as other branches of the service,but i did find a fellow by the name of Charles A. Lloyd who is the official publisher of The Pointer - an annual magazine published for and about Armed Guard servicemen,Mr Lloyd signed me up to receive a subscription..free. Keep in mind these guys are well into there 80's by now ,so the source material is becoming harder and harder to find. My research hit a wall when i found out the service records from the years Dad served had been destroyed in a fire....But..using what little i had i was able to locate the family's of two shipmates..i'm still waiting to see if they found anything in there attic....
Off on a tangent went i...after lots of time spent looking at websites and reading articles ,i realized..These guys fought in one helluva war,and it was fought for freedom,our freedom,and to look at the big picture,there a mostly forgotten bunch..oh yea,on Memorial day and the 4th we wave our flag and shout Horray..but all in all..its back to the rest home and a pat on the back. I've heard them called "The Greatest Generation" and they are, Selfless,Honest and Hard Working..traits seldom found today, and this generation..my generation, hardly gives them a thought, and what spare time i do have, i spend it doing things they fought for... freedom to go anywhere..do anything..freedom. So partly in honor of my Dad,partly out of Respect..i am attempting to allocate 20 hours a month to service to our Vets, This is step one..seems I'll figure out the rest as i go........
Gotta mention this..I posted on another great site named The Hull Truth...
received excellent feedback as well as donations...Like Boats?..Fishing? hit it up -
http://www.thehulltruth.com/dockside-chat/335716-honor-flight-vets-dc.html#post3589193
This is the link to Armed Guard -check it out..
http://www.armed-guard.com/
SEA POWER MARINE
8752 NC Hwy 99 S
Bath,NC 27808
Owner - Frank Smith
100 ton Master Captain
USCG
If you wish to donate:
Steve Gould
156 Cool Run Court SW
Ocean Isle Beach,NC 28469
PAYPAL -marine4003@yahoo.com
Thanks!!

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