If you ask Bill, he will say he is no hero. He will say all he did was serve his time and did his job to the best of his ability. He says the real heroes are those who die in combat or taken prisoner never to be heard from again. But I think he is a hero for several reasons. He did not just serve his time and then get out as fast as he could. Some times it is what you do after combat, and after you return that counts too. He is a role model for us all. Bill Hoover followed the family tradition and joined the Coast Guard right out of highschool. In '66 he was stationed out of Boston Mass on ocean patrol, available for search and rescue, watching, charting and advising ships about ice bergs. He says it was a cold and boring time at sea. Then he transferred to US Coast Guard Squadron One based out of Da Nag, Republic of Vietnam. A fact that I never knew about was that from 1961 to 1975, 1100 Coast Guard people served in Vietnam. Bill was over there fighting on the coastal/river ways agenst the Viet Cong and North Vietnam troops from '67 to '69. After being injured and spending time in US Navel Hospital at Yokoska, Japan he returned home and was honorably discharged with the rank of Gunners Mate First Class '72. O.K. so like that wasn't amazing and honorable?? I think it was, since the stories I have heard from my family is for my dad it was Vietnam or Canada or join the Coast Guard assigned to some lighthouse. Bill served when others chickened out and ran from duty! For that I am proud of him. But that is not the end of his story. What he did after makes him just as much a hero in my book.
Monday, November 10, 2003
"> If you ask Bill, he will say he is no hero. He will say all he did was serve his time and did his job to the best of his ability. He says the real heroes are those who die in combat or taken prisoner never to be heard from again. But I think he is a hero for several reasons. He did not just serve his time and then get out as fast as he could. Some times it is what you do after combat, and after you return that counts too. He is a role model for us all. Bill Hoover followed the family tradition and joined the Coast Guard right out of highschool. In '66 he was stationed out of Boston Mass on ocean patrol, available for search and rescue, watching, charting and advising ships about ice bergs. He says it was a cold and boring time at sea. Then he transferred to US Coast Guard Squadron One based out of Da Nag, Republic of Vietnam. A fact that I never knew about was that from 1961 to 1975, 1100 Coast Guard people served in Vietnam. Bill was over there fighting on the coastal/river ways agenst the Viet Cong and North Vietnam troops from '67 to '69. After being injured and spending time in US Navel Hospital at Yokoska, Japan he returned home and was honorably discharged with the rank of Gunners Mate First Class '72. O.K. so like that wasn't amazing and honorable?? I think it was, since the stories I have heard from my family is for my dad it was Vietnam or Canada or join the Coast Guard assigned to some lighthouse. Bill served when others chickened out and ran from duty! For that I am proud of him. But that is not the end of his story. What he did after makes him just as much a hero in my book.
If you ask Bill, he will say he is no hero. He will say all he did was serve his time and did his job to the best of his ability. He says the real heroes are those who die in combat or taken prisoner never to be heard from again. But I think he is a hero for several reasons. He did not just serve his time and then get out as fast as he could. Some times it is what you do after combat, and after you return that counts too. He is a role model for us all. Bill Hoover followed the family tradition and joined the Coast Guard right out of highschool. In '66 he was stationed out of Boston Mass on ocean patrol, available for search and rescue, watching, charting and advising ships about ice bergs. He says it was a cold and boring time at sea. Then he transferred to US Coast Guard Squadron One based out of Da Nag, Republic of Vietnam. A fact that I never knew about was that from 1961 to 1975, 1100 Coast Guard people served in Vietnam. Bill was over there fighting on the coastal/river ways agenst the Viet Cong and North Vietnam troops from '67 to '69. After being injured and spending time in US Navel Hospital at Yokoska, Japan he returned home and was honorably discharged with the rank of Gunners Mate First Class '72. O.K. so like that wasn't amazing and honorable?? I think it was, since the stories I have heard from my family is for my dad it was Vietnam or Canada or join the Coast Guard assigned to some lighthouse. Bill served when others chickened out and ran from duty! For that I am proud of him. But that is not the end of his story. What he did after makes him just as much a hero in my book.
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What is it you say to the men and women who have served our country?
ReplyDeleteThank you just doesn't seem like it is enough! But I guess it is all I have.
Bill, You put your life on the line for all of us...you are truly a HERO in my eyes.
From the bottom of my heart..Thank you.
On this day..We All Honor You!
Dottie