my father spent 19 years 3 months in the army. the reason he did not go to 20 years is that wanted him to do desk duty instead of being on the front lines as he had been . my grandfather was upset because my dad did not want to be a priest so he had enlist in the army. my father started out in the infantry taking care of the horses and then ww2 broke out and then they assigned him to the african campaign because my dad could speak fluent german and they had his troop chasing rommel across the desert . later on they assigned to the south pacific fighting the japanese . they told him and a few others that the missions they were on would be secret and if they were caught they would be denied . my dad had ptsd untill he died. daddy would drink beer to help him sleep . many a night he would tell us about the horrible scenes that they witness but the information they brought back would help the u.s to fight the war. we found out after my dad died that he was actually 14 when his dad enlisted him. to this day we can not get any of my dad's records of his service. the info about his south pacific record is not given out but he told us of what he did. i am very proud of him. my husband served in vietnam and we are very proud of him also
