Who are you remembering on Veterans Day?

Most people may have someone specific they think of on Veterans Day. For me, it’s my grandpa, Erle LeeRoy Pettingill, whom everyone called Lee.

Lee served in the U.S. Navy at the end of and just after the Korean War. He went to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, located almost 40 miles from San Diego, California, and became a corpsman. He was based out of San Diego and was deployed to Korea in 1954 and also went to Japan briefly.

It is not clear exactly when he joined, but my dad said he was told by my Grandpa Lee he joined earlier than he was supposed to. This lines up with a picture of my grandpa in the service, which was dated in 1952, when he would have been 17 at the oldest. My grandpa also did not have his high school diploma before he joined and got his GED while in the Navy.

Growing up, I knew my grandpa was a veteran, but I didn’t know much else. He didn’t seem to be ashamed of his service, but he never did anything to stand out as a veteran. He never wore the hats with the field of service or years he served; he didn’t put any bumper stickers on his car or have any American flags hanging. I got the impression he did not care if other people knew he served. He was the kind of person to not dwell on the past, either, so I think he was just humble and didn’t need or want the recognition. You would have never known he was a veteran unless he told you.

He also didn’t talk about it unless it came up. I don’t remember my grandpa talking about having any friends he served with or any stories of what it was like in Korea; I only know three things. The first was my grandpa got very seasick and did not know until he was already in the Navy and on the boat. He made jokes about the experience he had in the Navy of being bent over the side of the ship being sick.

The second was he told me he used to remove other sailors’ tattoos. In those days, or maybe just because of resources, he would use sandpaper to rub off the skin where the tattoo was. It would scab over, and once the scab healed, the tattoo was gone. I don’t know how well it worked.

The last thing I distinctly remember him telling me was, as a corpsman, he was a medic and they would wear bands on their arms with a cross. He told me essentially the band was a target. I didn’t understand at the time because I knew he didn’t serve in conflict. I was always told his service was after the war. What I know is the Korean War ended in July 1953 and he was in Korea in 1954. But just because it ended does not mean everyone was on the same page. I think what he was trying to tell me was that his life was in danger regardless of not serving during wartime.

My grandpa met my grandma, Carol (Harris) Pettingill, while on leave in Utah, and they got married in 1954. So, as soon as his time was up, he did not re-enlist. They immediately moved to Utah and my grandpa attended Utah State University and got a degree. Their main focus was starting a family and building a life together.

There are many reasons why my grandpa may have chosen not to talk about his service much, maybe because I was so young at the time. I do not know all he went through or may have seen. I don’t know if he was going to tell me more when I was older or if he would have told me if I had thought to ask.

My grandpa died in 2012, when I was 14. He was sick for several years, so it was not something at the forefront of my mind. Looking back, I wish I had asked more questions. My grandma is getting older and can’t remember a lot of the details from that time or what he may have told her.

So, on Veterans Day, if you can, ask your service member about their service. Ask to see pictures, if they have any, and listen. Some of those stories may not be written down anywhere else. And be sensitive, because they may not want to talk. Lastly, thank them. Thank them for their service and for telling you about it if they choose to.