Grandpa Baird fought in the Pacific Theater of World War 2, going through Indonesia as part of the navy. Before the nuclear bombs, he was told he'd be part of the Japanese invasion force. Thankfully, he never had to go through that. My dad was born after he got back.
Grandpa Li fought the Japanese in mainland China as part of the GMD special forces (i.e. black ops spy stuff). He was never allowed to tell mom everything he did, but it was enough that he had very high level connections in Taiwan after the GMD fled there.
Uncle Jim fought in Vietnam as part of the army, doing artillery. He earned a medal for saving the lives of his fellow soldiers by stopping a Vietcong suicide bomber who ran into the bunker he was in.
So, yes, this holiday means something personal to me, thanks to the service my family has had over the decades. (I tried joining in 2004 to be a medical officer, but having asthma means they won't take you.)
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