Thinking of my dad this Veteran’s Day and wishing he were here.  He didn’t share a lot of memories from his time serving our country as a Marine in World War II.  I’m sure the memories were too painful.  I know, however, that he was very proud to have been a Marine in the South Pacific and in his later years, he continued to assist service men and women and their families by joining the Navy-Marine Corps MARS program.  Dad was an amateur radio operator and through this program he was able to deliver messages from those serving overseas to their families back home.  This was WAY before computers were available for communication.  Messages would come to my dad via a huge (and noisy!) teletype machine.  Dad would review the messages and acknowledge the ones that were for our area of Pennsylvania and he would accept them and then call the recipient.  The messages brought so much joy to those families who may not have heard from their relative for quite a long time.  I remember the many kind and thoughtful letters dad would receive in the mail from families who were so touched to have had a personal call from someone who read their son or daughters words to them.  It was very rewarding and my dad enjoyed it so much!  I guess he knew first hand how hard it is on families who are wondering about their loved ones who are so far from home.  In his small way, he was able to give back.  Thank you for serving our country, dad.