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World War II

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For freedom or greed: A Veterans Day reflection

In honor of Veterans Day, I set out to write an article about my father’s brief stint in the army. He was 20 in 1943 when the call came to serve his country during World War II. Just three years before, he left Pacentro, Italy, to join his father and other family members in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Like his fellow immigrants, he came with the hope of a better, more prosperous lifestyle than he might have had in his hometown. Fortunately for my dad, he never saw a battleground. He did his basic training at Camp Custer in Michigan and Camp Robinson in Arkansas. Due to stomach ulcers that kept him in the infirmary more than on duty, he was granted a medical discharge six months later. But not every soldier was that lucky. While doing some research about Veterans Day, I found a list of the 11 wars or…