Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day.

If there are any Veterans in your life, be sure to thank them, especially today.

My favorite Veteran also happened to share a birthday with Veteran's Day. My Grandpa Hickok (mom's dad) was born November 11th, 1920, and passed away when I was 4. He joined the Air Force at 21 and flew over Europe during WWII, getting shot down twice, once over the English Channel, and once when he had to be rescued by the French Underground. I wish I knew more, but he never spoke of any of this and my Grandma never let us go through his service trunk for his war records. After she passed away we found two purple hearts, his flight records and 4 other medals (I can't think of their names at the moment). My mom has all of this locked away for safe keeping now.

My Grandpa Hines (dad's dad) also enlisted in the military, immediately following his highschool graduation in 1944. He joined the Navy and served in the Pacific, stationed on a supply ship taking ammunition and food into our bases in the Philippines and then later went into Japan to get Allied troops out of prison camps after the atomic bomb was dropped. He's still living, but I'm not sure about anything else in his service record as his stories change every time he tells them and he's gradually started taking ownership of his brothers and friends stories, but that's what happens when you're his age. :)

Thank you to all our former and current servicemen and women. We owe you more than I'm sure we even realize.