I sat down with my dad's dad after helping rake some leaves,

He began asking my opinons on our country's state.

I told him my discomfort with our President and he just laughed and replied, 

"I told my siblings who voted for tht bimbo that I was right! He is crazy!"

Then like any old man would do,

He took me back to his time.

He told me things I had never heard about him.

"During the Vietnam War, I had the honor of serving in the Air Force,"

Okay well I already knew that,

I had always known from the fading ink of pride on his back shoulder.

"I never actually went to Vietnam,

I was stationed at the Korat Air Force Base in Thailand."

This I never was told,

"At first I lived in the barraks with everyone else,

But after a while me and some eight or so guys moved into these littlle shacks,

With netting as walls to keep the bugs out and the air in."

From then on I just sat listening captivated by the long held story.

"I was a Air Force Crew Chief,

Which basically meant before the planes went on missions,

I had them fueled, checked, and safe."

He seemed happy telling me this with fond memories glazing over his eyes.

Remembering friends, inside jokes, and meals he had shared with his brothers.

"I couldn't let a plane go once because the pilot had some how deployed the parachute,

That was a really embarrassing day for him,

But funny for all of us!"

He told me of the time him and some friends got to go to Bangkok.

"We just rented a car and drove,

It was our R & R time.

I'm pretty sure there is still a video of me in a hotel swimming pool!"

He didn't tell me much else about Bangkok,

But from my parents facial expressions when I told them about our chat,

I must've been a wild time.

"Yeah there were some fun times,

But it can't be forgotten that while most pilots came back,

Some didn't.

I had a pilot come back and immediatly want to take off again.

Another pilot had gone down and he wanted to go and rescue him if he could.

But his plane wasn't in good shape and I had to send him to the back up plane.

Yeah those days where some guys didn't come back weren't so fun."

Even though my Grandpa wasn't a pilot himself,

He witnessed and assisted those who were.

While America right now isn't where a majority want it to be,

Its people who help others 

Like my grandpa,

People who jump at the chance to save someone,

Like the pilot,

And people who nuture the little moments,

Like my grandpa's fellow service men,

That made this country driven for the sake of,

Not just themsleves, but each other and our citizens.