Ballad of the Green Beret

My dad rarely speaks about his service in the military. But on those rare occasions when a conversation somehow turns in that direction, it is a treat. You see, my dad loved serving. And has casually mentioned that he probably would had made it a career if it hadn't been for meeting my mom during that time. "She wouldn't have been able to handle it," he explained with a shrug. But he definitely would have. After hearing bits and peaces of conversations over the years I have this to conclude about that period of his life. Directly after high school he enlisted in the army, somewhere down the line he was asked to continue training and after a million "schools" later he served as a weapon specialist on a team who spent most of his time trampling in the jungle during the Vietnam War. And surprisingly, he had the time of his life. He became a Christian in the army, one of his good friends (my current uncle) introduced him to his future wife (my mom) during the army, and he has expressed many times how many valuable lessons he learned during serving. "The first time I rode in an airplane I jumped out of it" (obviously with a parachute)... to this day he still loves weapons and has an interesting collection of guns, has called the Vietnamese "cruel little varmints", still can speak a bit of Hebrew, his "language", still loves to scuba dive (in caves!), was a bit of a legend/scare factor with the round of boyfriends who entered our house, and is pretty much a rock star at 58 years old...ok, not really but is pretty much my hero. So happy Veteran's Day to all those rock stars out there! Have you heard this song? I grew up hearing my dad sing it...