I could never forget this one round of golf I played with a friend and his dad who served in Vietnam. Memorial Day is just around the corner and every year around this time I always reflect back on the stories he shared. For most veterans that served and saw action in any war, I’m pretty sure revisiting the past and relaying what they saw is or was rather difficult.

We arrived at the course, paid our fees and headed out to the first tee. As we were making our way, I noticed my friend’s dad staring at the starter’s tattoo on his arm. Turns out the starter, who was about fifteen years older than my buddie’s father, served in the same branch as he did. They were both 101st Airborne Army Rangers and had similar tat’s.

I knew my friend’s father was a Ranger and served in Vietnam but, now seemed like a good time to slide in a few curious questions about the war. Seeing that it was a fresh topic and all. Let me tell you, I’m glad I did and at the same time wished I never did. We made our way around the front nine and he told us about the basic stuff of Vietnam like where he was stationed and the pranks they pulled on each other but always seemed to avoid the gritty and gorey parts we saw on TV.

I then ask the question that will resonate in my head forever…”How close were the movies to the real thing?”. In my defense, I was about 23 or 24 years old and not quite as bright as I should have been. So, I find out he was one of the only survivors of his platoon and to this day still has some pretty big battle scars and shrapnel scars on his body.

I will not go into detail about what exactly was told to me out of respect for my friend’s father but, I will say one thing. Towards the end of our discussion he told us, “When you are in a tough situation and you feel like quitting or complaining, just think how worse things could be, you could be ducking bullets or fighting to live. Think of me, get your shit together and push through…”

My final score of 105 didn’t matter, the fact that I lost 8 balls didn’t matter, even the club that I broke didn’t bother me anymore. This was something bigger. To my friend’s dad and to all that have served, thank you!