Dad respected Ron's service even though it was in the Army because he served through two wars and achieved a high rank. That would normally not stop Dad from teasing Ron about the Army, but there was a dynamic present when I was there: I was a non-combat veteran who served in the Air Force. They would gang up on me about those things.
It wasn't my fault that there wasn't a war going on while I served, but that didn't stop them from goading me about it. There wasn't anything I could really say. I had no experiences that come close to what they experienced in Korea and Vietnam. For goodness sake, my dad was at Inchon Landing, the Chosin Reservoir, and the Punchbowl. Those were some of the fiercest battles ever. Ron had been through two wars and had seen combat in both.
I worked stateside on steam pipes and boilers. We worked weekdays. Our competition was in intramural sports. We had two-man barracks rooms with bathrooms.
Once the taunts started flying, they would just keep going.
"Did you hear about the big fight at the Air Force base? About twenty flyboys were slapping each other. Eight of them went to the hospital with hurt feelings."
"Maybe they will get Purple Hearts without slipping and falling at the base pool."
I would pop in that they would have joined the Air Force if they had been able to pass the test. They would laugh and proceed.
"You know the Air Force doesn't have green dress uniforms because they might be mistaken for Girl Scouts."
I miss those lunches with Dad and Ron MacDonald. I had to take some chiding, but one of them would always pick up the check. It was a smart move on my part!
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More about Dad:
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