My FIL was one of five brothers of a divorced/remarried mother. The brothers all served in the Navy in WWII, one a survivor of the Lexington. FIL married, went to work, enlisted and served in Pearl Harbor after the attack until the war ended. My maternal grandfather enlisted in the Army infantry, but never came home from WWII; my dad served in the Army, and after specialty training served in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and the Phillipines until the war was over, and then he and mom got married. Neither of our dads had more than one employer thereafter nor took any benefit of the GI bill for further education -- one blue collar; one white collar from a "rust belt" state who often spoke of being a notch baby for the purposes of SSA benefits. Both our moms were SAHM who never graduated HS, never worked outside the home for pay, or even became a long-term driver of an automobile.
DH went to a tech school prior to being drafted into Army service and was not responsible for his assignment stateside in Washington, DC, at the Pentagon under the Joint Chief's staff during the Viet Nam conflict. He just lucked out w/a needed skill--IT. He did his time without overseas combat and returned to work as a public servant. Used some GI bill educational benefits but never got a 4 year degree. We definitely married too young, but I got as much education as I could afford debt-free (associates degree) as an alternative student while working after our two daughters were in elementary school in the 80s and returned to work and took early retirement - SMH
My female sibling finally got herself a dream job after college with an Air Force associated company and climbed the civilian GS ladder with her Master's during all those Republican admins. She's retired now. Oh, she's registered as a Dem all right, but judging from her behavior within the family, I suspect she was infected by the GOP and forced to fight, under years of Republican admins, for HERSELF along with her spouse for their child's welfare. She's a "fierce warrior mama."
My brother who never left home or had military service, beloved of my mother, died before he could retire from work and after dad passed. Mom and he found themselves together in the same hospice. She passed age 92 - Result - I was scapegoated early on, estranged, and finally entirely disinherited -- and sister dearest got it all supposedly for her disabled kid's benefit. - SMH
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