To those who strapped it up, this day is yours. On behalf of myself and my family, we say thank you for your sacrifice!
Like I do every year, I’ll be highlighting some of my favorite veterans today!
#VeteransDay
We’ll start w/ my great Uncle Daniel. Enlisted at 17 and was quickly trained and shipped overseas to join his unit fighting the Nazis. He was killed during the Battle of the Bulge and never got to see his 19th birthday. His sacrificed quite literally shaped my family’s future.
Then there’s this guy, my Grandaddy. He was an infantryman and bayonet instructor. Married my granny in Fort Ord, CA. He instilled love of military in me, and I hung on to every story!
Then there’s this guy, my Grandaddy. He was an infantryman and bayonet instructor. Married my granny in Fort Ord, CA. He instilled love of military in me, and I hung on to every story!
Then there’s this guy, my Grandaddy. He was an infantryman and bayonet instructor. Married my granny in Fort Ord, CA. He instilled love of military in me, and I hung on to every story!
My Great Uncle RJ. He didn’t talk much about his service, of course I never questioned him. I do know it made him the man he became and it was legendary. This man was the Czech sausage king of Texas.... and it’s not even close!
My Great Uncle RJ. He didn’t talk much about his service, of course I never questioned him. I do know it made him the man he became and it was legendary. This man was the Czech sausage king of Texas.... and it’s not even close!
My Great Uncle RJ. He didn’t talk much about his service, of course I never questioned him. I do know it made him the man he became and it was legendary. This man was the Czech sausage king of Texas.... and it’s not even close!
Soldiers once, and young. My first Army roommate. Daniel Luna, a fellow Texan. Basic, first unit, Bosnia, we did it all together...and in the same platoon always. “Bulldog” wasn’t scared of anything. He was scary quiet, but loyal as they come!
Soldiers once, and young. My first Army roommate. Daniel Luna, a fellow Texan. Basic, first unit, Bosnia, we did it all together...and in the same platoon always. “Bulldog” wasn’t scared of anything. He was scary quiet, but loyal as they come!
Soldiers once, and young. My first Army roommate. Daniel Luna, a fellow Texan. Basic, first unit, Bosnia, we did it all together...and in the same platoon always. “Bulldog” wasn’t scared of anything. He was scary quiet, but loyal as they come!
Adam “Jerry” McGuire. (Right) We called him “tiny dancer” but there was nothing little about the fight in this guy. He took it to bad guys over and over again. One of my best friends on the planet. A Virginia boy who done good w his life! Tough as nails
Adam “Jerry” McGuire. (Right) We called him “tiny dancer” but there was nothing little about the fight in this guy. He took it to bad guys over and over again. One of my best friends on the planet. A Virginia boy who done good w his life! Tough as nails
Adam “Jerry” McGuire. (Right) We called him “tiny dancer” but there was nothing little about the fight in this guy. He took it to bad guys over and over again. One of my best friends on the planet. A Virginia boy who done good w his life! Tough as nails
My homie Justin..Sacramento, Cali dude who loved everything Texas. We played guitar for our barracks many a night, drinking Southpaw beer. He now works in the White House but will be joining his SF group very soon. Loved our surfing trips in Santa Cruz!
My homie Justin..Sacramento, Cali dude who loved everything Texas. We played guitar for our barracks many a night, drinking Southpaw beer. He now works in the White House but will be joining his SF group very soon. Loved our surfing trips in Santa Cruz!
My homie Justin..Sacramento, Cali dude who loved everything Texas. We played guitar for our barracks many a night, drinking Southpaw beer. He now works in the White House but will be joining his SF group very soon. Loved our surfing trips in Santa Cruz!
Kenny Gowins (right). One of my mentors in the beginning. Steadily set the example for junior soldiers who didn’t know shit! A land navigation genius who taught me everything about terrain, direction, tracking, and not getting lost. Drank coffee by the damn gallon too
Kenny Gowins (right). One of my mentors in the beginning. Steadily set the example for junior soldiers who didn’t know shit! A land navigation genius who taught me everything about terrain, direction, tracking, and not getting lost. Drank coffee by the damn gallon too
Kenny Gowins (right). One of my mentors in the beginning. Steadily set the example for junior soldiers who didn’t know shit! A land navigation genius who taught me everything about terrain, direction, tracking, and not getting lost. Drank coffee by the damn gallon too
This is A.C. “Doc” Collette. This dude has seen some bad shit. We called him when we needed him, and when we needed him..it wasn’t good. He was one of our medics. All 5ft of this stud, saved lives. Many of em! Hempstead, Tx resident and joke extraordinaire
Jim Fulford...so much to say but this man taught me how to be a good NCO, how to lead and train men. Jim was a deployment machine, including Somalia and Afghanistan. He’s struggled heavily over the years but he’s still standing tall. Very proud of him!
Reginald Asbury...who we so lovingly called “Sgt. ASSbury”. This self proclaimed nerd was the best communications guy I ever saw. If he couldn’t get our radios and GPS fixed...nobody could. Soft spoken and took the hazing like a pro. A mind way too sharp for idiots like us
John Carter. The newbie Lieutenant before I moved on. Great guy! He later spent a few years delivering the unfortunate news to families about the death of their loved ones and also delivering their belongings back home. Takes a tough man to do it but he handled it!
Emil Busby. Another Texas boy. Tall in stature but quiet as a church mouse. That is, until shit hit the fan. Dude was a stone cold killer who really studied his craft.. he was cerebral in everything he did. I just imagine him coming up with a mission brief just to brush his teeth
John “Opie” Orpin. Opie was the “chunky guy” of our skinnier crew. Terrible runner, puked almost daily. Those feet hated the concrete. He’s now a body builder in Pennsylvania and loves it!
This bag of Lay’s chips was the real MVP. When you’re on a diet of 3 MRE’s/day for 63 days straight...these chips just hit different! Thank you for your service!
Clarence Gilbert...the San Fran fella who loves his football. One of the most gentle humans I’ve even known and was absolutely intrigued with “country white boys”. Pretty sure he was secretly jealous of Texans. I’d take 15 bullets for this dude and never think twice!
My dude @jbar2525 I remember sitting at a bar in Humble and him asking me questions about the Army. I guess I gave the right answers cause shortly after, he went off to be ass kicker! Happy Vet’s Day homie!
My friend, mentor, and all around badass, Mike. He was Special Forces in the Marine Corps, then Special Forces Army after that. He went on to Dallas PD where he lost a leg on a SWAT call. Taught and certified me to be a SWAT instructor and is a tactical genius! Love this guy!
Travis Heilman. Twice the “neck” I’ll ever be. If ever anyone was born to live off the grid.. it’s this guy. Loves anything that goes pow, and is a hunter extraordinaire
My neighbor and friend, Karl. He spent 24 years in the Air Force flying F-16’s, with well over 2,000 hrs in that screamer. These days he flies folks around in his beautiful bi-plane, enjoying life!
Robert Arnholter (center) Dude was nutty as a squirrel turd but one hell of a scout. My first truck commander, section sgt, then platoon sgt. I spent more time in a turret with this guy on my truck, than anyone else. We burned through some CD’s in Bosnia together
Ooops
One of my life long friends @FlightRoc . We’ve known eachother since grade school and we both love some baseball! Roc served multiple deployments over his time and no doubt saved countless lives. Guys like him are angels to guys like me!
SFC Patrick Henn. He was such a hard ass, and his platoon was full of the “rebels” so to speak. Nobody thought they’d be anything worth a shit but he/they proved everyone wrong! Such a tight group they had who worked amazingly well together.
SFC Patrick Henn. He was such a hard ass, and his platoon was full of the “rebels” so to speak. Nobody thought they’d be anything worth a shit but he/they proved everyone wrong! Such a tight group they had who worked amazingly well together.
SFC Patrick Henn. He was such a hard ass, and his platoon was full of the “rebels” so to speak. Nobody thought they’d be anything worth a shit but he/they proved everyone wrong! Such a tight group they had who worked amazingly well together.
My final and favorite. Our last day in country, on our way home. This particular group was my favorite. Cam, Nick, Brian, and Jose. These guys were the very best of the best. From West Point grads to country boys from El Campo. These men are the ones who you never forget! Ever!
You can follow @Vet4Stros.
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