You've heard of G.I. Joe? Here's D.I. Cho posing with his trusty firearm.

In Korea, military service was mandatory. This picture was taken in 1955, two years after the cease-fire that ended the Korean conflict, so my dad (luckily) never entered actual combat. If he had, he might have been killed, and I wouldn't have been born, and you wouldn't be reading this wonderful Web site.