My time, my life in uniform

North Bend, WA

My time in uniform predates my membership in The American Legion. My dad, a World War I Navy veteran, was a lifetime member of the Legion and a member of the William A. Leonard post in Flushing, N.Y. As a small boy growing up during World War II I remember his post marching in their Legion uniforms in Memorial Day parades for quite a few years. My own time in uniform began in 1955 when I enlisted in the Air Force and later, in 1959, in the Army. In 1967 I went to Vietnam as a SP5, and when I returned en route to Germany as a SP6 in 1968 Dad took me to his post and signed me up as a member. It seemed that in spite of my 13 years in uniform the Legion would not accept me until Vietman. Since that time I have been a member of posts in Nuernberg, Germany; Salinas, Calif.; Munich, Germany; Parkland, Wash.; and now Snoqualmie, Wash., after 47 years.

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