Show of Hands

I didn’t. My brother is currently deployed.

No, but remembering my late father who served. 🇺🇸

Yes, myself.

No - they are all dead.
I take care of graves on and off year round - not just one day.

Technically I am and do, but not just one day a year, 24/7-365.

Yeah, with my dang self. Acknowledged it’s not about us today, it’s about the fallen. The one I’ve known best died not in combat, but in a motorcycle wreck just one short month after returning from deployment. However, there’s one I always remember. Story time. My last deployment was in Kuwait. Imagine my surprise to learn just a couple hours north of us was Camp Buehring. The post is named in honor of Lt Col Chad Buehring. I knew him. Not as “Lt Col”, but as “Mr. Buehring”, one of the other assistant scoutmasters of the BSA Troop I volunteered with (before I even enlisted). Chad was KIA in Oct ‘03 in Baghdad when his building came under RPG attack. Not being the “lead from the rear” type, he was helping evacuate the premises when an explosion came too close, and he caught a bad case of shrapnel. I was at his memorial, his sons were in our scout troop, and I’ll always remember the sounds of a bugle playing Taps that afternoon.

Nope, I’m the only living veteran in my family.

No. I don't have any such relatives still alive. (My dad and some uncles, including one who was a flying ace, all served in WWII.) I'll be spending the rest of the day with the only 2 friends who are anywhere within miles of me; they're both retired cops (and my local family members are in another state; I'm housesitting for them).

Unfortunately I’ll be spending this holiday alone. Tell your brother thank you for me! 🇺🇸