My Uncle Warren served in World War II. I don't know much about what he did or where he served, but I'm sure it was an unforgetable experience. All my generation knows about World War II is what we read or heard about in history classes or saw on TV or in the movies. Most of the TV shows and movies we saw as kids downplayed the violence and misery that our soldiers and sailors experienced. Think of Hogan's Heroes or John Wayne movies.
More recently, the movies made by Spielberg and Eastwood are almost too real, but they point out that service in World War II was not all about drinking with your buddies and soaking up the sun on a Pacific Island.
Even if military service during wartime did not result in being fired upon, the potential for being killed or wounded, and the pure loneliness of being so far from home for such a long time, must have been difficult. Remember that they couldn't make long-distance calls back then... let alone internet video calls. Even letters might take months to get back and forth, if they weren't lost in route.
Warren and his fellow Indiana vets were honored for their service in conjunction with the new World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. As mom used to say, "better late than never". And it looks like they went first class, with jet service right out of Bloomington.
The pictures above include a priceless welcome back shot with several generations, a group shot of the honorees at the memorial, and a shot of a sign which commemorated the occasion. I'll add another post to publish a few more pictures, as I'm limited to three pictures per post.
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