H is for Heroes #AtoZChallenge

H is for heroes. 

David and I both come from a long line of military folks. Pretty much every male in our family that was physically able to do so has served in the armed forces.  Here are a few of our heroes…

 My daddy, Jimmy Ray Gunter, was unable to serve due to a back injury.  He was still a hero to me. :) 

Our brothers all served as well.  One of my brothers started out in the US Air Force, but then was also in the US Army and US Navy.  My other brother served in the US Army.  David's brother was in the US Army to begin with and then was in the US Navy.

Here are a few of our extended family heroes...

These three brothers are my maternal grandma's first cousins: Theodore David Rivers, Oliphant Mitchell Rivers and Marion Symmes Rivers. They are the sons of my great-grandmother's sister Sallie Williams Rivers.

And the following three Pressleys are the children of my Great-grandpa Julius Jared Pressley's brother, James Franklin Pressley.

I don't know that I ever met either of the two Pressley guys pictured, but I grew up in the same neighborhood with Rose.  She was also my grandma's first cousin.  As a kid, I was unsure of my actual relationship to her.  Mama had us calling her "Aunt Rose".  It was a common thing for us to call older people 'aunt' or 'uncle' whether they really were or not.  I found out much later that she was actually a cousin. I think she would be a 1st cousin 2x removed. 

Many, many more folks in our families served, but these are the few for which I have pictures.

May Heavenly Father bless all of the heroes out there, in whatever branch, wherever they serve!

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