The human mind is a strange thing . Almost to the Man yall said that you
   would do it all over again. ( Self Included) ( Not sure about Gene)
   Remember this, in 1952 their was not much future for 17 yr. old in
   Spartanburg SC.
   I figure it this way ,when we are born we are dealt a hand of cards .
   Now how well we play the hands is entirely up to each of us. I saw guys
   that went to VN wanting a MOH so bad they could taste it. Most of these
   guys only got Purple Hearts.
   Some went to the great beyond and only got PH's .Now the year I retired
   in 1973 I had never made over $12,000. oo in one year. . My first year I
   made over $45,000.
   excluding taxes and above my retirement pay. My 2nd. YR. and 3rd. I went
   to college. Special Forces Training and what I learned in College Let
   me live a very comfortable life. SF got my youth, The civilian world got
   my wisdom. I have found that wisdom is worth more than youth in the
   monetary sense. Hindsight is far better than foresight ( GENE
   understands this) . The funny thing about all this is we are all dealt
   the same hand. Some just play their cards differently. I am very proud
   to have been allowed to serve in Special Forces ,it shaped the rest of
   my life. But I will say this much for those of you that have never held
   a completely Civilian job you have missed out on something that could
   have really helped you in SF. You never appreciate something until it
   has been taken away. Enough rambling. Looking back 48 years is a long
   time.