Don

My dad went into the Iowa Air National Guard right after high school, in the 60’s. He continued for several years and then joined the Army National Guard and later served in the Army Reserves. For medical reasons, he left the military in his early 40’s. He proudly served in the military after his two older brothers (18 and 16 years older than him) served in World War II in Europe and the Korean War. Being part of the United States military made him so proud. He never spoke about his military service, but he was always so proud of being part of the military and supporting the military. He and my mom were very involved in their local community during the Gulf War. Also, my dad was a psychiatric nurse and served his entire pre-retirement career working with veterans at the local VAMC. He was highly respected by his nursing peers for his professionalism and confidence in his nursing skills. I’m proud to call him my Daddy. He’s been gone for almost 9 years now and I miss him everyday. He is one of my heroes and I wish I would have told him when he was still alive. ~ Jan