met my maternal grandfather, who died when my mom was a teenager - he never recovered completely from wounds he suffered in WWII, where he fought in the European theater under Patton (he was a Captain, and commanded a platoon of tanks in the Battle of the Bulge). He was awarded a Purple Heart, and Silver and Bronze stars.

I've always felt cheated by WWII - I'm very proud of his service and sacrifice, but my mom suffered a great deal after his death (her mother was crazy and w/o her father's tempering influence, home life was difficult), and I was obviously robbed of any relationship with him.