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Sunday, November 10, 2013

Across years and wars, local veterans share bond

Across years and wars, local veterans share bond
News Journal
By Ray Weiss
Published: Saturday, November 9, 2013

News-Journal/PETER BAUER Members of the Spruce Creek Gaggle fly overhead during the annual Veterans Parade, along Woodland Boulevard, in DeLand, on Saturday morning, November 9, 2013.
Norman King looked across the table at Bruce Hall, an 89-year-old fellow Army veteran from a very different war and time.

No matter their 60-year difference in age, the common experience of surviving combat in World War II and in the Middle East created a bond rooted in a shared understanding and deep mutual respect.

“He can tell a story and I'm there. And I can tell a story and he can picture it,” said King, 29, an Army reservist who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “It doesn't matter how the faces change or what era it is. Combat is combat.”

King and Hall recently joined a Korean War veteran, a Vietnam War veteran and another Afghanistan veteran at Daytona State College for an informal round table conversation, reflecting on their military experiences. They are among 12 local veterans being honored at Daytona State College on Veterans Day starting at 11 a.m.

“You're looking at different eras here,” said Rick Minor, a Vietnam veteran who lost his right leg to a land mine. “There are no two wars that are the same. Each one is going to have its own thing on how people felt about those coming back. There are some people of certain ages who cannot begin to comprehend.

Vietnam is not being spoken of in classrooms. The mood is to forget it. You had that welcome home party in WWII. We never had any of that.”
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