My great uncle served as a side gunner on a B-26 bomber during WWII, and served as my mentor on the golf course nearly 50 years later. He flew on 66 missions during the war and was shot down, behind enemy lines, during the Battle of the Bulge (his entire crew survived the crash).

After the war, he took-up golf and continued playing through the early part of this decade. When I first took-up the game, he was in his late 60’s and his best golfing days were behind him…Yet I was still no match for this senior. I would out-drive him by 60 yards, but he was a master at accuracy – he’d hit it 200-yards into the middle of the fairway, and I’d hit it 260 into the right rough or OB left. We’d meet on the green and he’d putt-out for bogey and I’d take a double – it never failed.

Now, in his 80’s, his golfing days are over (though he still enjoys watching the tour on TV and hearing about the latest course I’ve tackled, and how well (or poorly) I fared). I wish he could still get out there on the course, but age has a way of catching up to all of us.

I thought of my uncle today, on Veteran’s Day – the service to his country, and his tutoring of me on the golf course – and it reminded me that some people went to hell and back for the freedoms we have – even something as immaterial as playing a round of golf.

If you are looking for a golf connection to our veterans, please spend some time on the Birdies for the Brave website. If you would like to read more about my uncle’s 66 missions, or other stories from veterans, please visit Witness-to-War.org (see the listing under “Frank Maturo”).

Update: Unc passed in 2011 but his memory – both what he did for his country and for me on the golf course will remain.