My Father, Philip Raymond Gustlin

My dad was in the Army Reserve for many years. He was a Sergeant for most of his years in Military service. He was stationed at Fort Ord.

My Uncle William (Bill) Weisman Huss, Jr.

Bill joined the Navy at age 17, right out of High School. He could not swim. He was standing in line with many others beside the pool. He watched how the other men swam, then dove in and copied them. He passed.

He served in Korea as a code operator. He stayed in the Navy Reserve after his four-year commitment, for the remainder of his life. He became a lawyer and was in Navy JAG. He became a Commander, and then finally a Captain in the Navy Reserve.

My Uncle Christopher (Chris) Darryl Huss

Chris is Bill’s youngest brother. He also joined the Navy at 17. He served on the USS Constellation; at the time it was the largest aircraft carrier in the fleet. He started as a Yeoman. He served in the South China Sea for a nine-month deployment at Danyang. The ship held Agent Orange in the hull. But his deployment lasted eighteen months.

He was boots on the ground in Vietnam. There was an explosion on the ship that was traumatizing to many people.

He suffered some disability later in life. Doctors contributed it to his prolonged exposure to Agent Orange.

My Great-Grandfather, Clifford Judson Huss

He fought in the Spanish-American war.

My former husband, Dr. Harold Martin Maller

Harry was an Officer in the CDC. Back in the day, USAA only accepted Officers and their families as members. I half-jokingly say that if I had known how great USAA is, I would have married Harry just for that.

My Cousins SOLOMON HUSS and Sebastian Huss

As brothers they were not supposed to be deployed together. But they were deployed together because their talents and specialized training were needed in the same unit; so an exception was made.

They were deployed in Iraq. Sol went with the NATO forces to train Ukrainian soldiers.