protect and serve

my dad spent two years in vietnam as a jet fighter mechanic. he was one of the older guys in his unit,already over 30... the guys in m.'s unit (infantry) ask him stuff like,"how does it feel to get older?" do you still have the same drive and 'staying power'?... like that is what really matters in life...lust for life is what matters, not how hard you can get it... or keep it...when my daddy came home, he went awol... yep, absent without leave... why? cuz he was an alcoholic, plain and simple... combat/war duty only exacerbated an already existing condition...guys will come home combat weary... we can not understand thier pain, thier heartache... oh my sweet m... i am so glad i could be there for you, even in just a small way to tell you how much i love you...i will spend the rest of our life together showing you how much i love and respect you, and how very much i appreciate your serving our great country... however flawed our leaders might be...