Great-great Gramps served in WWI. I have his passed down M1911A sidearm with original holster. Very cool piece of history.
Gramps served in WWII in the pacific building runways. Dad served in Korea. Got frostbite in a couple spots that still bother him to this day. I had a cousin that was killed in Vietnam in a tunnel. Yes, he was a tunnel rat. I can't even fathom what it takes to blindly jump down into a hole just barely big enough to squeeze into. He was killed his second week in country.
I enlisted in the Army in '73 and went to Germany as things in Vietnam were scaling back by the time I got out of boot camp luckily. Did my three and out. My brother enlisted in the Air Force two years after me. He lasted 22 years in service and fought in the Gulf Conflict in the early '90's and worked directly with General Schwarzkopf (sp?).
Lastly, my niece and nephew (siblings of my sister) both enlisted and are currently serving. My niece is Army Reserve and has done two tours in Afghanistan. My nephew is a Navy Seal now for 11 years. Much respect for what he does. Haven't heard from him in a while now though, but my sister says he's okay.