How did you come by your username?

[chknltl]

173. You and I were likely on Ft Lewis at the same time!

Before I joined up I was an army 'brat' who spent three 'tours' at Ft Lewis. I remember when it was used as a basic training center and I as a kid I roamed all over it on my bike. I loved watching the sleek Cobra attack helicopters coming and going from Greys Airfield from a 'secret spy perch' hill near that airfield. I fished out past the rifle ranges on North Fort at a place called Solo Point. You may remember the Donut Shop, French Theater, the PX, Commissary and the Swimming Pool, I swam, shopped, watched movies and slurped malts in each of them. Currently I live nearby in Lakewood and utilize the VA Hospital at American Lake for my primary health care.

I think it is beyond cool that you visit high schools and discuss war. You had a ringside seat to a particularly nasty war, I can not even imagine losing that many friends in so short a timespan. I hear modern battlefield medical techniques have kept our current war-deaths way down but I imagine that there must be some data manipulation going on too.

Not ling ago, we had a Wounded Warrior program out at Ft Lewis, I had the honor of working with a squad of Wounded Warriors on our disc golf course in nearby Steillacoom last year. They honored me with a black disc which had the official Wounded Warrior 'Phoenix' stamp and fifty or so signatures on it for my efforts. It is a treasure to say the least! Btw, disc golf entails a lot of walking, this form of golf is fun but more importantly all that walking is GREAT rehabilitation.

With apologies to the OP for the mini-hijacking of this thread, it has been an honor chatting with you pinboy3niner...Sir.