My dad, never made his service in World War II sound like a big deal in comparison to that of other soldiers. He more often talked about his brother's service in Europe as meriting respect. So when he ended a story yesterday about how he traveled from North Dakota to where he was stationed in India with "and that's how I got one of my battle stars," I was really surprised. I didn't know he had a battle star. He has two.

He traveled from North Dakota to a number of bases in the United States including Florida, but departed from Los Angeles. That ship took them to the South Pacific, with a stop in Tasmania, and another stop in Perth, Australia. The ship then took the men to India. When they got to the base, it was late in the day. The base had been attacked that morning. Anyone on the base that day got a battle star. That was his first.

Later, the squadron that he was assigned to bombed Japan. He was a weatherman, so remained in India providing information to those in the air, he got his second star because his squadron got one. As a result of having two stars, he was able to get home earlier at the end of the war. Dad says he was never shot at during the war, "Not like what my brother went through." (His brother once had to drop from a bridge into the Rhine because the Germans were shooting at him.)

Dad circled the globe in his service to his country. On his return home nearly 4 years later (with no leave, no visit home during that whole time) the ship went across the Indian Ocean and then up to the Mediterranean Sea. Two soldiers had to sit at the front of the ship and shoot mines out of the water. They traveled across the Atlandtic Ocean and landed in New York Harbor. They were deloused in NY. The soldiers went to a base in Wisconsin where they were discharged, and he finally returned to North Dakota.