Vienna, Virginia (2014)

From FB:

“Even stooped over, he was still at least 6′ tall with grey skin and numerous moles on his back and neck. He had a six pack of Harp lager in his shopping cart and was wearing a black baseball cap that indicated he was a WWII veteran of an Army division I’d never heard of.

I stopped putting my items on the conveyor and walked over, extended my hand, and thanked him for his service. I finished with an “Airborne.” His grip was cold, but strong, and he laughed self-consciously and said thanks.

I continued to check out my items and he was finishing checking out his. The customer service employees at the grocery store were treating him with the proper respect and deference, and seeing if he needed help to his car. As I passed him on my way out of the store, I asked if he needed help to his car. He said, “No, but I have a question for you.”

“What’s that, sir.”

“Earlier you thanked me for my ‘service.’ It wasn’t ‘service.’ It was DUTY. I get embarrassed when people thank me for my service.”

“Well, sir, that’s just a general thing to say that I’ve learned. You never know if someone ‘served’ or if they actually saw combat. It’s just easier to err on the side of caution and call it ‘service.’

“He agreed with that and I said, “I served, too, though I never saw combat. And it’s the people of your generation who fought in World War II who inspired me to go into the Army.”

“Well, thank you for your service,” he replied.

“I have to admit, even though I’m well read on World War II, I know nothing about the 27th Infantry Division. Where were they stationed?”

“We were in the Marianas. The Central Pacific. Okinawa.”

I caught myself and said, “I’ve read ‘With the Old Breed’ by Eugene Sledge and the conditions he described there on Okinawa sounded just horrific. You have my respect, sir.”

“Let me tell you something, everywhere you go on Okinawa there’s a 1st Marine Division THIS and a 1st Marine Division THAT. There were FIVE U.S. Army Divisions there as well!”

“Well, you know what Harry Truman said about the Marine Corps,” I rejoined. “‘They have a propaganda machine that is almost equal to Stalin’s’.

“He laughed knowingly and gave me a hearty slap on the back as we said goodbye.”