Thank you for your service

This Memorial Day weekend was extra special for me. One of nephews, who made the military his career, has returned home. He’s retired and he and his wife graced me by visiting a couple of days.

We went to dinner Friday night and they favored my Saturday morning breakfast group, the Golden Girls, by helping us celebrate a birthday.

He doesn’t share a lot about his career. I respect that, but one must remember the reporter in me is nosy. I confessed to googling him. I don’t think he was happy when I shared some of the intel I discovered.

He’s lived an interesting and, I figure, a dangerous life, but he’s also given up a lot while he served his country. He’s always made the major events. It’s the small ones he often has been unable to attend.

I was a part of his Memorial weekend. After leaving Poplar Bluff armed with the Daily American Republic’s The Source, which appeared in Saturday’s newspaper, he and his wife headed west. They visited his son, also a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and granddaughter, and then traveled to see his daughter. I don’t know if her sons were there, but, he’ll be living close enough to attend his grandson’s ballgames.

While he’s been offered a job, which he turned down, I’ve strongly suggested some areas of government I feel would benefit from his common sense, along with his education and military training.

They are still in the process of buying a home, getting their possessions out of storage and picking up their vehicles at a southern port, but he and Bing plan to travel the United States. Well, they also plan to still spend time in Europe and other favorite spots in the world.

My family and I are happy to have him back in this country at least most of the time and we’ll see how long he stays retired.

Happy Memorial Day, thank you for service our country and I love you retired Army Col. Randy Horton.

Barbara Ann Horton is a staff writer at the Daily American Republic. She can be reached at bhorton@darnews.com.