When my tour of duty was over and I was mustered out of the service, I had three gold bars sewn on the sleeve of my Eisenhower jacket. Each bar represented six months overseas service, for a total of 18 months.
One action I was most proud of, was that I once saluted two of the most powerful men in the whole world at that time. At the end of the war, a meeting was to be held in Germany to divvy up the spoils. All the winners were to participate. A convoy of bigwigs was to pass through the city where we were stationed. We Calvary men were assigned to guard the intersection of every side street along the route and give them a big salute as they passed by. Nobody was prouder than Corporal Joe Negri when I gave them the high five as they passed me. The limo came so close that I recognized Harry and Ike. Wow! I got to honor a president, a future president, and the biggest general of them all with one salute.
You know, I still have that arm.
Right after the war I attended a football game in Frankfurt, Germany. General Patton was there.
Guess what? Make that two Generals. What an arm!