“I served in the Marines, and afterwards was a deputy sheriff in Minnesota for a while. A few years ago we had a pretty bad blizzard and I was dispatched to help a citizen stuck in a ditch on a county road. The roads were horrible. Total whiteout and absolutely freezing.

I find the vehicle and notice it has Korean War veteran plates. It’s in the ditch in three feet of snow. An old man is sitting in the drivers seat with a dog in the passenger. I say, ‘Hey Sir, deputy (redacted) with the (redacted) county sheriffs office. Let me call a tow truck.’

The man gets out of the car and pulls out an old corn cob pipe. I said, ‘Sir, it’s freezing out here. Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in the truck?’

He looks me dead in the face and says, ‘Boy, I was with the 1st Marine Division at Chosin. Unless you see some Chinese troops in these fields I’ll smoke my pipe out here. I’ve got an M1 in the back so if they do show up, I’ll keep you safe.’

I just thought, ‘Very well. Carry on, Sir.’

They truly are a different sort of man. A hard breed of tough sons of b*tches.”
– Anonymous Deputy Sheriff and Marine Veteran.
————
This story was documented by Battles and Beers (TM) Every soldier has a story, and every story deserves to be told.