Veteran’s Day reminincing, Nov 11 2023

I had my 21st birthday in Viet Nam. Young and dumb with a taste for adventure. 

Ran into an OCS classmate of mine that was sporting a whole chest full of medals that he earned while being an aerial artillery forward observer. We talked about his job and I was hooked. I wanted more excitement and a chest full of my own medals.

Went down to the HQ and volunteered. “Well, wait a minute there lieutenant, How much do you weigh?” 

“210 pounds.”

“Nope. You’re too heavy to take up in our little planes. You can’t weigh more than 200 if you want to fly with us.”

I tried and tried to lose that 10 lbs, but just couldn’t do it. I never got to be an aerial observer. 

Sadly, my friend got sent home with his medals pinned to his casket. That was the fate of quite a few aerial observers.

Oh my. What a sad state of affairs. 

In the ensuing years I have remembered that episode and have cracked that my weight problem is what kept me alive. So screw you, doctors. This chubbiness is actually lifesaving for me!