My Dad will be 89, and still going strong, on March 11th, and he is a 1-arm amputee from WWII. Trained for 11 weeks, wasn't there maybe 3 weeks and he was hit - and he was only 19. He laid out there for days before he was found and had so little blood in him they didn't even know he was alive. He ended up in the field hospital, then England, then in Savanna, GA where they sent a letter home saying he was there, gravely wounded, and sinking fast. He didn't sink - he fought back and convalesced there for over a year, got married there, came home, worked for the post office for 25 years, and Hazeltine for 15 more. Although not a "car guy" like we all are, he built decks, refinished basements, played baseball at the Polo grounds where the 1-arm guys (Broken Wings) played against the 1-legged guys to raise money for the amp vets along with many celebrities of the time. Believe me when I tell you, my Mom never knew he had 1-arm and neither did I.
He's never complained, is always laughing, and is an inspiration now to amputees retuning from Iraq and Afghanistan and to everyone who knows him. These were a special breed of men and they must be honored for what they have given us for all time. But we haven't lost them, not that special breed of men - they are out there still, protecting us, and sacrificing for us. The survivors of WWII we see today are the ones who fought back and survived, having fought there own personal demons by hard work and even further sacrifice for their families. Our new breed of vets need time to heal too, and the support of family, and a job, and a goal to shoot for so they too can heal like our WWII vets who are leaving us at a rate of 3000+ per day.
I was never in the military - my poor Mom, having lived what she went through with my Dad, would have done everything and anything in her power to keep me out. I'm sorry to have rambled on - but these men are special and are family to all of us. Please keep all of them and their families in your thoughts and prayers.