Veterans Day
A day to honor men and women who have served our country as members of the United States Armed Forces.
SIGNED INTO LAW MAY 26, 1954
Veterans Day. A day in November to honor all veterans- men and women in the military who have served their country. And the correct spelling “the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling “ according to an article “Apostrophe Sparks Veterans Day Conundrum”. I had to look it up here.
Who do you know who has served? Scan and email a photo of a veteran you know, along with name, rank and service branch and I’ll add it to the Gallery of Veterans. rutheh(at)gmail(dot) com
U.S. Army Cpl. Elvern Kletscher, my father, in the trenches in Korea. (From my father’s photo collection)contributed by fellow blogger Audrey Kletscher Helbling
“My Dad*, born November 17, 1915
Served US Navy Seabees during WW II. Built the runway on Tinian that the Enola Gay took off from with the first atomic bomb
4 out of 5 of his children are also veterans, 2 serving in Vietnam.”
*(father of LTC Linda Dempster, scroll down)
______________________________________________
“My dad’s blouse from WW2. He was in Germany and at Dachau Concentration Camp a couple of days after being liberated to “immunize and vaccinate” the population. When he called back to the hospital outside of Munich to explain that the population didnt need vaccines – they needed food and water – and when he asked them what they should to as they just kept dying… they said “ we dont know”. No one has seen anything like this….. Picture is one he sent my mom walking down the street in Germany.” Eileen Hunt sent these photos of her father
______________________________________________________________________________
S Sgt Michael R Pace was a graduate of Airline Mechanic School and was an Airline Propeller Mechanic as seen in the next three photos sent by his daughter, my friend Vincie. He served in Sicily, Naples, Rome and Egypt
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
WWII Veteran Robert S Hinkle in Agra, India , February 1945. Deb Beozzo’s father
Lt. Colonel Kathryn Ingram, US ARMY
_________________________________________________________________________________
Retired Lt. Colonel Linda Dempster ( see her father’s photo at top of blog) – she served our Country for many years including a side trip as a very young nurse to Viet Nam and eventually becoming one of the first Army Nurse Corp’s Certified Nurse Midwives
( P.S. I was her Case Study at Fort Knox Kentucky when expecting my son Mark in 1976- Scroll down to see him in the USMC)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Colonels Rick and Kristin Foerster, US Army
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Colonel Rose Miller, US Army Afghanistan 2006
Don Anderson and Ed Kichi Sept 1966
Phu Bai, Viet Nam
Mike Kichi USMC Sent by blog follower and friend and frequent commenter Toni Kichi (RIP)
__________________________________________________________________________________
From Anne Hamilton- UK-
Charles Albert Kydd ” I thought Ruth might like the attached photo of my great uncle, the brother of my English grandmother (the one you met). Charles Albert Kydd was born in 1896. He went missing and I’ve also attached a document relating to this which I found in amongst my gran’s papers. Unfortunately I don’t know anything else – not even what regiment he was attached to.”
Thankfully he did survive the war and lived into old age!
To include those currently serving in the military This photo sent by Sally Nauer of her son’s unit (Jonathan Nauer) neighbors at Ft. Knox in the seventies
WWII, on the left my father’s brother T Sgt Alan Ray Hendricks, US Army Air Forces who “observed his 28th bday by flying a bombing mission over Japanese-held Koror Island in a 7th AAF Liberator on which he is a gunner”.(old yellowed newspaper clipping) Received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Uncle Harold “Butch” Hendricks (USN)
Suzanne sent me her father-in-law and father and that sparked the idea. rutheh (at) gmail (dot) com
_______________________________
_________________________________________________
These next photos are from my DIL Erika’s side of the family.
Her mother Marlene’s father Frank Simok was in the Navy in WWII.
Donald Payer after returning from Bicentennial Cruise in the Mediterranean, my DIL Erika is the little one in her mother Marlene’s arms. 
_________________________________________________________________________
“Picture of a staged Christmas Eve service, 1969, in a camp we called the Zoo, located at Cu Loc on the outskirts of Hanoi.” Col Howard Hill (see bio below)
Colonel Howard Hill, USAF, Retired
Howard Hill graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1965 beginning a career proudly serving his country until he retired 24 years later as a full Colonel. During his career he was a command pilot flying fighter and transport aircraft. He served in the Vietnam War and was shot down, spending over 5 years as a POW in Hanoi. Twelve years after his release from captivity, Colonel Hill was selected as the Principal Advisor to the Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs. He twice returned to Hanoi as a member of a U. S. Government delegation seeking information about his fellow servicemen still missing in action.
Howard has always taken an active role in supporting community activities including coaching youth sports teams and volunteering in schools. He is currently serving his 27th year as President of the all-volunteer PAL Soccer League in Niceville, FL, which typically has over 1,000 players. In 1996 he was elected to the Okaloosa County School Board and served 14 years. Additionally he continues to educate and motivate groups throughout the community speaking about patriotism.
His military decorations include the Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorius Service Medal, Air Medal and POW medal.
He is married to the former Elizabeth Andersen of Shalimar, Florida, and has three grown children and four grandchildren.
Ruth ~ thank you so much for posting this each year. It’s very meaningful, emotional, and heart warming. Today let us celebrate, honor, and remember.
What a lovely comment, JB. Love you.
Thank you for posting this.
Thank you for being part of the gallery
So very many lives, Ruth!
Thank you for your visit, Jo.
🤗💕
Very moving! Thanks Ruth,,,,,,,,, thinking of the military men on my Mom’s side of the family [Wells] wish I could get
you photos!
Let me know when you find them, Erica.
This is a lovely and moving tribute to the men and women who have served our nation. I am touched by this post every year. Thank you for including my father and my uncle this year.
Thank you for finding the wonderful photos and sharing them.
This is beautiful and certainly touches the heart. So nice to see their photos and a write up, letting us get to know each of them. Thank you for sharing this Ruth, you did a great job. I will send my son’s picture for next year’s post.
Thank you, Carrie. I’ll be happy to add your son to the Gallery of Veterans❤️
Outstanding. Thanks Ruth. God Bless the USA. dc
Thanks dc❤️
These are very special men and women! Thank you, as always for including my father and brother.
Ruth, thank you for taking the time to put this post together and share the images and background of these men and women who served. A big thank you to each of them.
You are welcome to pull any photos you wish from my blog post today about my father, Elvern Kletscher, who served on the front lines in the Korean War.
Thank you so much Audrey. I will add your father to the gallery today. I appreciate your writing, always.
Thank you, Ruth, for including my dad’s photo and linking to my blog post. And thank you, too, for appreciating my writing.
Your writing takes us many places, Audrey. Right into the heart! ❤️
Ruth…Thank you for taking the time to create this gallery of veterans. It is heartwarming to see our father/grandfather among the other service men and women some of whom we know personally. I shared it my family.
Thanks, Jack. Good of you to share.
Your annual tribute is always a treasure.
I hope it continues to grow.