My Father's War

I got my copy of Nam ’68 as a late pledge and I’ve gone through the book to get an idea of what I’m about to give my dad for Christmas. It looks like a solid rules set and should be easy enough to build/paint forces for. The dynamic of making it a personal wargame with names and ranks in creating the platoons might well crush my dad but I feel as though it is something worth the risk. If he has anything to work out in his heart or head I hope it’s a safe place to get them out on a gaming table. The idea of having him relive the war and be in pain isn’t my intention. I want it to be something I can use as a bridge for him and his grandkids. I have little to no idea what he did other than be in the war.

His story to tell was how after he got his draft notice from the Army with the order to report to Ft. Ord in California he turned to the Air Force recruiter and was off to basic in the next three days. I want him to bring more of who he is as a man out and share with the boys the human side of being an enlisted service member. Hopefully he won’t be so damnably lonely and can go off on a tangent during a game that will create a bond between unconnected people stretching a couple generations.

“The bad times are the good times”, even though it was war and he suffered his own wounds seen and unseen I really hope to give my old man a continued reason to get up in the morning and get out of bed as he hits his second retirement. If he can’t go out to work, then he might as well go out and play.