It wouldn't have been unfotunate to have missed the war

When you said you were 26 years old and "unfortunately missed the war", I couldn't help but recall when I was hoping to make it to my 26th birthday and still be at home with my wife. You see, at that point in time, they wouldn't draft men after they reached the age of 26. But I was 25 years & 3 months old when I was drafted. Consequently, by the time I was sent to Viet Nam a year later, my wife was pregnant with our first child. During the 10 months I was in Viet Nam; my wife and I "celebrated" our 6th wedding anniversary (10,000 miles apart), our daughter was born, I had my 27th birthday, and my dad was dying without me knowing it. I will forever be thankful that I came home in one piece and did not have to fight to stay alive every day. I remember that when I was between the ages of 20 to 25, a lot of the people I worked with (who were the age I am now) considered me a draft evader because I legally tried to avoid the draft by means of various deferments. By the time I returned home at the age of 27, some of those same people were not too pleased with anyone who had any part in it. I had been back for 12 years before the first person (other than family & friends) said "Welcome Home". I almost cried. Well, I did get to rambling here, but that's what we were invited to do. Thanks for reading this.