“I’m not a veteran, but my brother is,” a chubby middle-aged guy proclaims.
Standing on one of the battleship’s 50-caliber gun batteries, with a pristine USS Saratoga hat on his head, he scans the tour group.
“Who here’s a veteran? Raise your hand!”
To my left, Paul, an Army Ranger who developed melanoma from exposure to depleted uranium in Operation Just Cause, kept his hands in his pockets.
And to my right, Lou, a Korean War veteran who told stories about Novalis and other German romantic poets, raised his hand, smiling in jest.
“Everyone, give this man a round of applause!”
A vet is a vet, whether he or she admits it or not. Just the way it goes. Good story, Manheim.
Nicely done.
So well done for a complex subject. Good piece!