When I left the army, I left for good.
Am I still in uniform? Then I ain't retired.
My dad was a 30-year career Marine. He was stationed in Quantico Va., and another military base.
America's veterans deserve the very best health care because they've earned it.
While this debate today is a belated effort to inform the American people, it is nevertheless an empty gesture. It is time to admit our mistake in Iraq and begin to bring our troops home with honor.
Veterans should not have to fight for the benefits that they have already earned.
After 21 years, six months and 10 days of active military service, I am now a civilian.
My dad was career Army.
I was hoping I could die of old age in the military, but they wouldnt let me.
I had spent years in the United States military. Specifically in the U.S. Navy.
I got out of the Navy in 1990.
My dad was a Marine. He was one of the Montford Point Marines. Those are the equivalent of the Tuskegee Airmen for Marines. He's a tough, tough guy.
In 1916 I was discharged from military service, or rather, given a sort of leave of absence on the understanding that I might be recalled within a few months. And so I was a free man, at least for a while.
I grew up knowing my grandfather had served our country for decades in the Navy, buried in his whites in Arlington; I have family members who are veterans.
Thirty days after high-school graduation, I went straight into the Marines.
I have an honorable discharge from the United States Navy. Hillary Clinton don't have one. Bill Clinton don't have one. Trump don't have one. Obama don't have one.
I was stationed at a marine recruit depot in San Diego from 1965 to 1967.
John Kerry's service did not end in Vietnam. It began there.
My younger brother is a decorated combat veteran and was a platoon leader in Iraq.
I spent 24 years in the United States Army.
I stayed in the Navy until July of 1946.
All I would say is that I have been honored to serve my country for the past three decades and look forward to serving in other ways now that I am retired from the U.S. Army.
I am a retired United States Marine Corporal and I started out in 2nd Battalion Night Marines on my deployment and I finished my career in the Marine Corps at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as a patient.
Father served in the Air Force for 22 years.
