I have a cousin who lost toes as a result of frostbite at The Battle of the Bulge.  In the army they had a saying: "the badder you are the further you go."  My father must have really been bad, as after escorting German POWs from Africa back to the US he was sent to India and then over the Burma Road into China.  He was 6' with a large frame and fit would have weighed 220. He returned from China at 140 and never ate another grain of rice in his life.

Even when we disagree with the decision to go to war or with the conduct of the war we should always honor those who served and sacrificed.

Thanks for your beautiful diary.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."