My Dear Uncle BJ Has Left Us

Our family has sent young men to war in every war from the Civil War onwards. To the best of my knowledge, no family member has died in any of these wars. Only two family members were ever wounded in time of war-Uncle BJ and I. We both served in the US Navy. He was wounded in Korea. He was standing in line to get donuts from the USO when a North Korean artillery shell air burst and he got a shrapnel wound. I also got hit by shrapnel in the chin during the Vietnam War. If I had been hit 2 inches higher, I would have lost an eye. If I had been hit two inches lower, it would have sliced my jugular vein and I would have died. My Purple Heart certificate was sent to Elena over 35 years later