Today is Veterans Day. It used to be called Armistice Day.



My Dad was living a nice little quiet life in central Washington. Pearl Harbor happened. He and his buddies signed up. His older brother was already serving in the Pacific.



Dad joined the Navy. He went to Hawaii. That's about all I knew for years.



About 8 years ago we were having a summertime dinner on our porch. It was a warm afternoon so it was nice to be outside. Dad and I had become really close. We were really best friends. This was about the time that the WWII Vets were being called The Greatest Generation and all that. I am a history buff and had read some of the popular (and not so popular) books of the time.



For some reason that day Dad decided to start telling some stories. I loved it. Were they heroic war action stories? No. Not at all. It turns out Dad worked at a Navy base. His main job was giving out keys to the Jeeps so guys could go into town.



We laughed as he told the stories about the "gifts" that would be brought back from town so Dad would give out a good Jeep to the Navy man the next time. From his stories it sounded like he really made out.



He said he was always ready to go, but was never called to the front lines. He was proud of his time and was glad to know that the WWII vets and others were getting some credit.



We probably talked for 3 to 4 hours that night. About all kinds of stuff. It was one of the best times we had together.



Here's to the Veterans.