Oldest Military Blogger Crossroad

Oldest Military Blogger ..Crossroads!

I was standing aft, on the starboard side of my
Liberty Ship. entering New York‘s harbor .
It was early afternoon and the Western sun made
the Manhattan skyline glow and shimmer,
in the cloudless blue sky.
I walked around the stern of the vessel to the
port side, to see if it was possible to catch
a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty ..
There She was....silhouetted against the
Jersey shore.
It was exciting for me see this icon, whose
revelation to thousands of arriving immigrants
to America, simply thrilled them, with wonder
and amazement.
I was very happy to be getting home
after 2 years abroad.
What was I going to do when I was discharged
from the Army???
How was I going to get a job?
My parents had moved out of N.Y.C. while I was in service...
Where was I going to live?
Am I going to marry the girl of my dreams?
Are my friends survivors of the War?
With great introspect, I thought about staying
in the Army..
Great!
Nothing changes!
No worries!
Food, shelter,money ..all supplied by the USA.
But!!
Was I a quitter on Life?
No!
So I looked at the re-up form in my hands.
Check the appropriate Box it stated...
4 year Active Service........( )
4 years Inactive Service.....( )
Active Service, was all the above...
Inactive service was a cop out on Life,
to go the Army way, if I couldn't make
it as a civilian.
I Checked the inactive selection.

I had to sweat out the Korean “ War”....
Some of my friends who chose Active, got
called up for that one,immediately..
That, innocent, meaningless, little, CHECK MARK!
The Crossroad of a career, a life, a family
and a 52 year marriage.

Never thought about it then.

Today is my 88th birthday.
Can’t get it out of my mind....now!