A retirement community in Dallas celebrated veterans among its residents this week. Edgemere Senior Living has two retired admirals, a colonel and a Blue Angel pilot among its residents.
Edgemere Senior Living held a toast to the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy at the center in North Dallas. A veteran of each branch started the toast.
"I have met people from all walks of life, some really high rollers," says retired Air Force Admiral Tim Beard. "But all of them who put on a uniform are patriots. The men here and a couple ladies wore a uniform for some time, and they're proud of it."
"When World War II broke out, the whole nation was together," says retired Air Force Major Bill Nichol. "It was an all-out effort. Everybody contributed what they could, whether they were home doing a job that had to do with the military or whether they were in the military. But it was an all-out effort by everyone. Everyone was very patriotic and all together."
Nichol is now 104 years old. He joined the Army Air Corps cadet program after graduating high school. He went to basic training and began his service in March of 1945, two months before VE Day and five months before VJ Day. He then spent 20 years in the reserves.
"All my service was state-side, unfortunately or fortunately," he says. "I did not see combat. I must have been where I was supposed to be because that's where I was. I'm very thankful for all my life and career in the military. I love this country, and I'm thankful to be here (at Edgemere)."
Ben Alvord served in Korea. He was first sent there in 1947 before the war started.
"It was perfectly safe," he says. "As a matter of fact, the sign that said, '38th parallel,' was rusty. No one cared at that juncture. This was before the Korean War, before the division between north and south."
He says he was sent to Korea at 17 and spent a year and a half using IBM equipment and punch cards to keep track of troops' locations.
"At that time, we had over 60,000 troops there," Alvord says. "Then I got discharged and started school. Once I started school, the Korean War broke out. I was recalled, and that time they sent me to Japan. I got lots of good training and no combat, so that was a very happy experience."
Another resident at Edgemere, Army Lt. Col. Don Munson, was unable to attend Tuesday night but did speak at a roudntable earlier this week. Munson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Silver Star for his service in Vietnam.
"They were not picking on me. I was there with the 1st Cavalry Division," he said. "First Cavalry Division was an expiremental division because we were equipped and trained in the kind of combat we were going to see in the jungles of Vietnam."
Munson was company commander on the mission that led to him receiving the Purple Heart. An explosion behind him from a grenade or mortar sent a fragment through his cheek and knocked out nine teeth.
He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross when his unit spotted enemy troops and notified him in a helicopter. He says they would have been able to blend in with the local population or get into a tunnel if they reached the beach.
"If we want to get them, we're going to have to put a blocking force out there so they quit coming to the coast," Munson says. "He looked around. 'Where's your blocking force?' If you put me down, I'll be the blocking force. He said, 'That's ridiculous. You know that.' Well, we got away with it the first time, so we went down, I hopped out and went up the rise to where I could see them coming. I wasn't sure if they had seen me, yet, so I pulled out my .45 and fired a couple shots into the air just to make sure they knew it was me. Then I went into my Oscar performance. I became John Wayne. 'All right, you guys on the left, move it up. Now you get straight.' They knew there was a company about to catch them from the rear. They knew there was a helicopter overhead with two machine guns on either side. They saw me and didn't know who the hell I was or what kind of force I brought, so they just thought, 'the heck with it.' They just dropped to their knees and threw their rifles away, so we captured three."
Munson says he still exchanges Christmas cards with some from his unit.
Beard, the retired Navy admiral, says people may doubt the patriotism of the generation coming of age now, but he says the enlistment rate is now increasing among young people.
"If they're needed, they'll step up," he says.