Today is Veterans Day (no apostrophe!) and thus I take the time to think about the military men in my family tree (as there are no women who have served).
My maternal grandfather, John Baskette, served in the military for most of his life and was a proud veteran of the Pearl Harbor atrocities. He died about a year and a half ago, and I regret that our family was not closer and that we could have seen him more in my teen years. That's him over there when he was 18 years old.
Very far back in the day was William Semple Baskette of Virginia, who served as a lieutenant in the Revolutionary War. As well as Abraham Baskette (also of Virginia), who served as a private in the War of 1812. And another big one was William Turner Baskette, who managed to be caught by the North approximately THREE TIMES during the Civil War. He's quite a prolific fellow in Tennessee, where much of my family on the maternal side spent quite some time.
My paternal grandfather, Joseph Edwards, (also my little brother's name) served in the military during World War II, though to be honest I'm not sure where. I don't believe he saw much combat, and he wrote to my grandmother throughout the war -- telegrams are beautiful relics. He died in the 1960s when my father was just a child. My father, Robert Edwards, served in the Navy toward the tail end of the Vietnam War and (thank G-d) saw no combat time.
So, it is on this day that I honor all of the military men in the family (of which there have been countless numbers), as well as all of those brave souls who have fought and continue to fight for freedom and justice for this country. Though I do not always support our government's decisions regarding war, I always -- undoubtedly -- support our troops!