My question about where do we get such men was from a movie, Bridges at Toko Ri, I think.
I know where they come from. As an Iowan I'm also very proud of SSGT Giunta. I know where they come from. The only National Cemetery in the State of Iowa is in a small town in SE Iowa by the name of Keokuk. There are 3 generations of my family buried there. WWI for my grandfather, WWII for my uncle, and my dad, Korea. Several friends of my dad and uncle are also buried there. They are all around us.
They are in every small town across the country, hiding in plain sight.
I recently attended the 90th birthday celebration for a friend of my dad's. He's a great old guy, has some great stories. However if you just saw him walking through the Wal-Mart, you'd never know that he was captured during the Battle of the Bulge using an M-1 Garand trying to stop the advance of German tanks, while covering his buddies pulling back. Remember this the next time you want to swear at some little old man or old lady who's driving too slow. They might have might have piloted a B-17 in the first raid on Berlin, been a guerilla fighting in the hills waiting for Gen MacArther to return to the Philippines, or a Rosie the Riviter working to build tanks in the old John Deere plant here at home. My dad worked on the railroad, then collected toll on a toll bridge. He was wounded at Chosin in Korea when the Chinese crossed the Yalu.
I know where they come from. They're right here. And they always seem to step up when we need them. I Thank God for each and every one of them.
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