Final Little Rock report

I've been back a few days now. I was glad to have made the trip. When we said our goodbyes, people were asking if I'd be back next year. I'd be happy to if Dad can manage it. I was impressed by the cohesiveness and strong sense of community in the association, borne of shared experience more than a personal contact. Most men met through the association and see each other once a year. I felt I was among friends from the first day. I met men who were not only war heroes, but accomplished later in life: a protege of W. Clement Stone, a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a fiber optics researcher who got a patent for Corning.

One of the veterans mentioned an army history of the Battle of the Bulge, which I found here. Look to Chapter V for the story of 99th Infantry Division. Dad was in the 3rd Battalion / 393rd Regiment. I'm almost finished with Infantry Soldier, the book I'm reading. The writer suffered a severe ankle sprain and was evacuated to a series of hospitals behind lines, not too unlike Dad's situation, bad enough to get out but not too bad. Dad said his therapy when his shoulder was healing was to shoot baskets (with a basketball).

More photos on Flickr.