May 28, 2001    
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Do you know anyone who has been in a war or at least seen combat duty?

Well, besides no school, I get to go places and do things without distractions... This summer I'm going to try to do as much as possible before high school, and try to learn something new about myself...

Jeremy, 14
Highlands Ranch
, CO USA

Yes, an ex-boyfriend of mine.

Talia, 23
Wilton
, CT   USA

Yes. My grandfather fought in the Korean War and my friend's dad  fought in  the Gulf War.

Jennifer, 19
Wilkes-Barre
, PA  USA

I've had a few teachers who were drafted and sent to Vietnam, and I believe my cousin fought in Desert Storm.

A-Dog, 18
McMinnville
, OR  USA

My father and step-father were both in WWII.

Cathy, 26
Mandan
, ND   USA

Yes, my uncle was in Vietnam, where he stepped on a land mine.

Katie, 25
Seminole
, FL   USA

My grandfather and all his brothers served in some way in WW2,  two of my uncles were in Vietnam.

Angela, 16
Bella Vista
, AR  USA

My grnadfather was in World War II, he passed away a few years ago. I'm not sure of his role, but I do know that he was captured along with many others and held hostage at a German POW camp.

Gavin, 16
Sydney  AUSTRAILA

Yes, my grandfather faught on the pacific front of World War II.

Eric, 19
Beverly Hills
, CA  USA

Both my father and stepfather

Melodi, 19
Gahanna
,
OH  USA

my uncle is a vet of vietnam. i don't know a lot about what he did or where he went but i know hes been active in the US military since that day, forever going down to the pentagon or out of the country on business.

Karen2, 15
Boston
, MA   USA

My Grandpa was in world war 2, he was a paratrooper. And he still  goes to ALL of the reunions no matter how many health problems he or my grandma might have, or how far away it is.

Dianne, 16
Oshawa, Ontario  CANADA

My father was in World War II ("the big one").   My grandfather and his three brothers fought in WWI.

Reba, 51
Rockville
, MD   USA

Yes, several people. I truly feel for them and admire them for doing whatever it was they had to do.

Fisch, 45
Preston
, CT   USA

I don't think so. I remember an old picture of my uncle that shows him in what looks like a military uniform, but as far as I know he never saw combat. My co-workers (all three of them) are all ex-Coast Guard, but I don't know their histories.

etoile, 20
Washington
, DC  USA

Not any more, they've all died - all the people who've seen combat duty in person anyway.

Shanna, 16
Cardiff  ENGLAND

My father served in World War II and the Korean War. He saw combat in both wars. The only time I remember him talking about combat was when I directly asked if he saw combat. He said "yes". I asked if he was scared. He said "yes", and then changed the subject. He retired from the military right

Laura, 36
Lowell
, MA   USA

A close friend of mine was about 15 when the war broke out in her town - her people had to leave - immediately. They had to leave everything behind - on the run - and it was all burnt by the thugs who took over in the name of another ethnic group. She says the worst thing was that all the personal stuff is lost forever - photo albums - everything.

That was ten years ago. For four years, she lived in refugee housing, separated most of the time from her brother and parents, while people who had themselves fled from somewhere took their house. Four years later, her family returned home in the wake of "their" army.

"Their" army - it's funny how that happens. All her life she'd been a Yugoslav - formally she'd be half-Serbian, quarter-Croatian and quarter- Hungarian, I suppose - but come 1995, she and her folks returned, as Croatian refugees, to a hometown liberated by their Croatian army.

I spoke with several Albanian refugees, too, who hinted at what'd happened to them, in Kosova, when they'd had to run - but I didn'tknow them as well.

no-itsme, 29
HOLLAND

Yes I know men and women who have served during WW II, Korea, Viet Nam and the Gulf War.

Jill, 60
Saylorsburg
, PA  USA

Erm, I know afew old guys who were in world war two, Tommy T-cake, who was a tank driver, my great grandad who got his eye blown out by a piece f shrapnell, although I never met him. My grandma lived through the end of the war and made parachutes, so that she could take the left over silk to make clothes. Also my friend Andrew who has been to the middle east, and my friend dan, who has spent a year in the medical core.

Maria

Yes, my sister's boyfriend (Gulf War) and my grandfathers (WWII).

Tracy, 24
Ocean City
, NJ  USA

My ex-boyfriend's father was in Vietnam. They exposed him to agent Orange, but because the military wasn't willing to admit that they were using Agent Orange, the VA Hospital refuses to diagnose his disorders as being caused by that. His arms and feet break out--it's like the skin peels so badly that his hands and feet bleed. All non-military hospitals he's been to have said that it's definately Agent Orange, but he can't afford to get treated there. The VA says they don't KNOW what causes it, so they just give him all this experimental medicine to see if it will help. If they admitted it was Agent Orange NOW, they would have to pay him SO MUCH disability, so they're never going to do that. Folks, this is our government for you.

Tiny, 21
Beaumont
, TX   USA

Not that I know of.

Firelady, 23
Dallas
, TX   USA

A number of relatives and friends of my parent's generation served in World War II, most notably probably the friend who was among the flag raisers at Iwo Jima. While most of my exact contemporaries escaped combat, an older cousin was in Korea and a slightly younger brother-in-law on the front lines in Viet Nam.

Jane, 60
West Linn
, OR   USA

I know several people who were in reserves when the Gulf War happened. All of them were moved into active duty, but none ever made it across the Atlantic. So - not really.

Deb

Yes.

Karen, 21
Marshelltown/Ames
, IA  USA

Some of my friends have fathers/uncles who have, and, well, don't really know, but a friend of mine lives in a flat together with other people in a commune-like thing (this is common in Germany) and one of his "co-dwellers" is a girl  whose boyfriend is an G.I., and that guy was in Kosovo…

Holger, 21
Linden  GERMANY

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