TLEE;
Thanks so much for the good read which serves as a reminder to us all. I hope that this finds you and yours well and that 2013 has treated you all fine thus far.
I believe at one time I shared a couple stories with you of vets that I worked with over the years who indeed fit the description of your thread.
One of them, a veteran of the German Army's failed Russian campaign, who'd subsequently spent 4 years in concentration camp after the war was always like a father to me.
There was however a chap who moved up here from California to avoid the draft in the '70's who loved to torment him.
One memorable occasion when the teasing finally got to my German friend, his countenance changed and he simply picked up the other fellow, walked him 30' over to a garbage bin and dropped him into it. I'll never forget the look on my older friend's face as he sorted out what he'd do next, then he simply shook his finger at him - shared a couple unprintable but pertinent thoughts and left.
As the other chap got out of the garbage bin, I walked over to him and observed, "You just had an honest to goodness near death experience there - if it was me I'd watch how I talked to him from now on....."
Another late friend of my late father foiled an armed robbery in a local bank - this would have been in the early '80's I think, by grabbing the would be robber by the throat and threatening to gouge out his eyes if he moved.
Now the interesting detail here is that this particular robber must have been brighter than average at reading sign - you see Dad's buddy had in fact led an escape of Allied war prisoners from a German prison - and had told Dad that he'd killed one of the guards with a similar move.
Anyway, I'll again say a heartfelt thank you to all the service men and women here. Your sacrifice has not gone unnoticed and many of us do not take our freedoms for granted.
Here's to all the dangerous old men in particular here, may you all have a wonderful 2013 and never again have to use what you learned in your younger days.
Dwayne
