I did Not Know My Uncle Ward . . .

Every story that I hear from my dad about my Great Uncle Ward is underlaid with the theme that, for any faults Ward had, he was nearly impossible not to like.

Also a veteran, I'm honoring Ward Gerald La Porte:

Uncle Ward was advanced to Quartermaster 3 in the U.S. Navy before he was honorably discharged. 

He and my grandpa Lloyd used to play in swing bands together. According to my dad, Ron La Porte, the news item above got one thing wrong -- apparently Ward's nickname was Pinky and his father Henry was "Skip."

For anyone interested or researching him, I have a handful of military records -- muster schedules, newspaper clippings, etc.