December 8, 1941

On December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, my dad volunteered for military service.  A proud Polish American, my dad was the sole surviving son of a widow.  He volunteered out of patriotism and love of his country, and anger at Nazi atrocities in Poland and elsewhere. My dad flunked the Selective Service eye exam (he was color blind).  The 82nd ABN DIVN welcomed my dad, a veteran of the Pennsylvania National Guard and civilian youth Conservation Corps.  After training at Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, my dad and fellow paratroopers sailed to the U.K., on the Queen Mary, which was converted to a troop ship.  My father jumped out of C-47 airplanes into Nazi-occupied territory on two continents, machine-gunning  Nazis in North Africa, Sicily and Normandy. My dad and his "band of brothers" helped America and our allies to liberate the very first French town taken back from Nazi tyranny, on D-Day, June 6, 1944, before the sun even set that day.  My dad taught me, as JFK's dad taught him, that you have to stand up to people with power or they walk all over you.  Thanks, dad! Thanks, veterans!