You have a wise daughter Mike.

I've shared your feeling about the "aw, I didn't do anything special............." . A few years back at a Christmas gathering of my brides family one of her cousins urged her Dad to share some of his career exploits as a AAC/USAF pilot from WWII on up through the Cold War. Somewhere in his engaging tails he made reference to my being in the USAF. The rest of the family turn with looks of disbelief, a couple saying something along the lines of "I didn't know you were in the military. Did you go to Viet Nam?"

It wasn't shame or fear that had kept me from ever mentioning it, just that none of them had any similar life experience so I didn't feel there had been any point in bringing it up. It was probably an offshoot of Dad's good stories, but they showed genuine interest in my brief history in service as well. It was then that the obvious occurred to me. As "big" a thing as the Viet Nam war was as a societal event, those of us who were involved are a comparatively small cadre within the baby boom generation.

I hope someone in your family will have the heart and mind to treasure the mementos you are assembling on behalf of your family.