The Hat Says It All

You often see war veterans with a hat. These hats are important as they tell something important about the soldier who proudly wears it.  They offer a kind of history lesson for the reader. It either invites a question about the reference or an acknowledgement of respect for those who paid attention in history class.  

About 15 yrs ago I met an old vet with a black hat that said ''Ploesti Bomb Raid''. He was a bomber crewman in Operation Tidal Wave.  In bombing the heavily defended Romanian oil refineries in 1943, about 530 guys didn't come back from that raid!  If totally successful it would have shortened WWII by months.  I knew what a brave important thing he did and I told him so.

My dad has a "Desert Storm Veteran" hat.  There was a time when he would hang out at Burger King with other vets and their hats and talk.  That has me thinking...

If or when I start hanging out with them at Burger King what's my hat gonna say?

I dont wanna start trouble... (oh, who am I kidding?  I love to start trouble!) 

Here's a list of hat ideas:

'CIVILIAN' (the truth)

'COWARD' (ALSO the truth!)

'4F!'

'DON'T ASK - DON'T TELL (I know, I'm on thin ice!)

'DESERT STORM - I SENT MY DAD!" (I had better things to do) (Dick Cheney reference)

'KNEE DEEP NAVY' (Coast Guard)


'BLACK OPS'


'CIA'


'NSA'


'NWA' (I told you I wasn't kidding...I love starting trouble!)


'BATTLE OF THE BULDGE' (Not with Patton in WWII - but my widening waist)


'BATTLING ALS'

I could wear a hat to reference my tours of duty in Tennessee:


'BATTLE OF FRANKLIN 1864'

'FORT GRANGER - Never Forget' (oh, wait...who? what? when?) 

'CONFEDRATE AIR FORCE' (commemorative hat)


'MARINELAND SEAL'

'FRAT BOY - RETIRED'

Of course, I would need to give reference to my time served in Nebraska!:



'BATTLE OF THE PLATTE'

'BATTLE OF SADDLE CREEK'

'BATTLE OF THE BANDS - PEONY PARK 1975-1980'

'FORT ROBINSON'


'Nebraska Navy - ADMIRAL'(on the front) - (on the back)'Kentucky COLONEL'



And finally the random just because:


'VETERAN OF THE '60s'


'KISS army' (fan club for '70's costumed glam rock group)

'HALO KITTY - the claws come out'

'WORLD WAR III - third times the charm'

'TELEPHONE WARS (p.s. the consumer lost)'


I think it is obvious I need a whiteboard cap or a bus-like scroll sign that I can constantly change....

-=j=-