Not allowed to serve.

Veteran's Day is always tough for me since I'm patriotic and have always wanted to serve my country. I feel guilty that I have not done my part like so many others. And with the new incentives to join coupled with the fact that at the age of 41, I still have one year of eligibility to join up. But the military has always found a reason to turn me away.

Right out of high school, I went to the Navy, but they said no because I had ulcers at the time. In my early 30's, the Air Force recruited me to be an officer, then denied me because I was a sleep walker. Several years later, I was ready to go into the Army Reserve and made it all the way to the physical when the doctor pronounced my mitral valve prolapse a "heart murmur" (which, according to my cardiologist, isn't). I don't see how any of those things could stop me from pulling a trigger, but rules are rules and I still respect an honor those who went...and are still there.

Thanks. For all you do.