Why Every American Should Serve In The Military

All of my life I dreamed of joining the military. It may not be everyones dream, but it is life changing and I think everyone could benefit from experiencing it themselves. My interest in the military started at a young age of six years old. I remember spending summers as a child at my grandparents house, specifically so I could hear old war stories from my grandfather. He served in the United States Army as an Infantryman in World War 2. He had a very specific routine where he would wake up at 5 o’clock every morning, stumble into the kitchen, make a cup of coffee, and watch old cowboy movies in the living room. I would lay in bed listening for the sound of  his old wool slippers dragging against the tile and stagger in shortly behind him eager to hear the story of the day. He would sit in his old worn down recliner as I gazed up at him begging for stories about the military. You’re probably thinking my grandfather is biased and my impression of the military at such a young age is the one he wanted. That isn’t the case, his stories were about the harsh reality of being a soldier. He painted a very dark picture and spared no details. He hated talking about the military. He hated that I loved hearing his stories that were meant to discourage me. Although my grandfather is my hero, it wasn’t the glory or the heroism that made me admire his career. It was the selflessness of him and his comrades that truly intrigued me. They were drafted from all over the country, sent against their will to fight in a war that most of them didn’t believe in. As their deployment came to an end these men who deployed as strangers had developed a bond, a friendship like none other.