To my Nephew

Dearest Nephew

Let me just say that we are all very proud of you, and love you.  While it may be true that on occasion ..... we have wanted to beat you for neglecting your obligations .... these thoughts are a penance to restore your worship of uncles and aunts, because they are holy.

And let me say also that you finishing law school and passing your bars, was a secular miracle and we were tickled pink to be part of it.  And you did this first time out. We are all proud of the man you have become and know that you are resourceful and know an economic recession is but a stumbling block in your life.

My commission is still hanging on the wall, and there it will remain, until I die.  I enjoy looking at it and is one of my proudest achievements.  My brother in law, Stan is a retired army officer, x helicopter pilot, and a veteran of multiple tours in Viet Nam.  He is practically bullet proof.  Your brother and my Nephew, is also a retired officer, we served together in Desert Storm.  Although he did not make general, I blame the congress for their poor judgement.  My brother, also is retired, LTC.  He didnt make general either, so now Im sure the congress has conspired against us.

You have another uncle, retired Air Force Maj, who shall remain nameless, for mistreating us.  Over the course of many years he has always given us OJ in tiny glasses and no refills.  We are sure that if he didnt make Full Bull this is the reason, he always gave his republican friends large orange juice glasses and all the refills they wanted.

I have another nephew, Army Helicopter Pilot and xcommander of all helicopter pilots in central america.  I was there in Soto Cano, and so was my brother.    Now he is in the Hot LZ and has agreed to bring me back a pair of ears.  I will hang them below my commission.

I was not always an officer, for a long time I was scum enlisted.  Hell I could not get promoted..... couldnt make E6.  It was only after I got that degree that DOD and Army Nurse Corp, felt pity on me.

I do have a son and daughter in the Air Force both of which you grew up with.  My daughter is short  and should be home by COB, Sept 31.  She is in Guantanamo, has been away from my grand-baby for 7 months. She should be E6 when she gets home. She joined the service when she was 17, what a woman!  My son has had about 5 tours in the Hot LZ, with his last duty in Bahrain.

There are more your uncle D in Alamogordo, your uncle R in El Paso, Steve's mom and dad where both in the Army.  Steve's mom Shirley, I have her picture, was a beauty.  Your Aunt's uncles were all in the service.  And your cousin S, can tell you how the recruiters use to chase her.

I have many friends and family still who did it right, some in the navy, some in submarines, like your father.  So give all the recruiters a chance, and remember the Navy is always by the coast.  Of course there is always the reserves, you dont have to retire.  

If you go, we will sent you care packages, if you go army, we will lend you our patches and medals so you dont have to buy knew ones.

My first paycheck in the Army was $69 dollars for the month and they tell you what to buy, today the pay is much better.  Keep copies of all your records, in a short time you will have veteran's status, be able to buy a house.

Im sure you will look great in a uniform, careful the women cant resist a man in a uniform.  Then on your return, we can gather and tell war stories!  The difference between a war story and a fairy tale is significant .... a fairy tale starts out with, "once upon a time", and a war story; "now this aint no shit".   Remember that boy it will be on the test, they also have trick questions, like,; how many times does the turret on the tank turn before it falls off.