Thank You Veterans.

11-11-10.
Thank you to all the Veterans.
I love the United States. In my own biased American opinion – It’s the Greatest Nation on Earth. What do they call it? I think it is called American Exceptional. I think we, Americans are very fortunate people and we own a lot of that to our Veterans who have fight for what America stands for!

I’m very pleased to announce that all three of my grandfathers were in WWII and they all survived.

Posey Boyd Pettry (father’s father who passed away before I was born.) I regret to say I don’t have any stories about his service.

Alex Napier (father’s step-father). The only grandfather who I knew. He had told me several stories from WWII. He was born Canadian, but lived most of his life in the U.S. He was a U.S. solider and arrived at Normandy shortly after the allies had it secured. He always warned his grandchildren that being in the infantry was dangerous. He often told of a story where he was about to get in a jeep to go somewhere while in Germany. He really wanted to go, but his direct supervisor asked him to stay back to do something else. The jeep hit a landmine shortly away and there were no survivors. He said he found God while in Germany. He said he looked over the mountains one day grateful to still be alive and noticed how beautiful the mountains, skies, and clouds were. He said they seemed so much brighter that day.
Alex was an avid volunteer at Beckley, W.Va. V.A. Hospital. He had met my biological grandmother who was a volunteer at this hospital and married her. He’d put flags up in downtown Beckley every Veteran’s day as far back as I can remember. He was always in the Beckley parades with the Veterans.

Raymond Keesee (mother’s father who passed away when I was too young to remember him.) I regret to say that I don’t have any stories about his service.

Thank you Grandfathers and all Veterans on this fine day.