When the July Fourth parade passes me by, I think of the men and women who served in our military. World War II veterans I remember most often. In 1945 I was seventeen, working part-time as a sports writer on the Abilene daily. I would graduate from high school in May. The war ended in August. Never found out if the Navy would let a near-sighted eighteen-year-old enlist. In the 50s, the Naval Reserve did.