Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that April 27 is the anniversary of the birth of American television personality, Christian preacher, hunter, outdoors-man, retired U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran and retired soldier. Silas Merritt Robertson known as Si Robertson and often referred to as "Uncle Si."
I certainly enjoyed watching Duck Dynasty.
Happy 72nd birthday Silas Merritt Robertson

Duck Dynasty: Recognizing Si's Military Career | A&E
The Chennault Aviation and Military Museum unveils the Silas Merritt Robertson Exhibit and honors Si for his military service in this look back at the Season 8 episode, "Induckpendence Day".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIqOAtRSFNs


Images
1. Silas Merritt Robertson - Army SPC Vietnam Veteran and Duck Dynasty Star
2. Si Robertson with wife Christine and their daughter Trasa Cobern
3. The Robertson Family of 'Duck Dynasty' - Si at left

Biographies:
1. geocaching.com/geocache/GC4YWJY_duck-dynasty-series-silas-merritt-si-robertson?guid=c1a75fea-a124-45f3-99ec-4cb2c67f324a
2. godtube.com/news/si-robertson-bio-quotes-and-faith.html]

1. Background from {[https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4YWJY_duck-dynasty-series-silas-merritt-si-robertson?guid=c1a75fea-a124-45f3-99ec-4cb2c67f324a]}
Silas Merritt "Si" Robertson (born April 27, 1948), often referred to as Uncle Si, is an American television personality, preacher, hunter, outdoorsman, and duck-call maker at Duck Commander. He is best known for his role on A&E’s Duck Dynasty, on which he has emerged as the breakout character. He has also appeared on other shows such as the Outdoor Channel's Buck Commander..

Robertson was born to James and Merritt Robertson (née Hale) in Vivian, Louisiana, the 6th of 7 children. He has 4 brothers, James, Harold, Thomas, and Phil, and two sisters, Judith and Janice. Due to financial setbacks of their family during Si and his siblings' childhoods, the Robertson family lived in rugged conditions with significantly fewer amenities than the average American enjoyed. Si and his older brother Phil were the best of friends; while Phil was in high school, Si almost always tagged along with him and his girlfriend Kay. In high school, Si attended North Caddo High School in Vivian, Louisiana. He played on the football team in the footsteps of his brother Phil, even wearing the same #10 jersey. .

After dropping out of Louisiana Tech University after three quarters, Robertson was drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War. During the war, his mother sent him a set of Tupperware cups, two boots, and two jars of jalapeno peppers in each boot, because he loves jalapeno peppers. These gifts are his greatest treasures, and he is rarely seen without one of his plastic cups drinking iced tea, which he treats with equal importance. Si retired from the Army in 1993 with the rank of Sergeant First Class (E-7) .

After retiring from the Army in 1993, Si found employment at his brother Phil's Duck Commander business. Si has been a big part of the growing business. His job is to fashion the reeds that are inserted in every patented duck call. Si thinks that it is a pretty easy job and is depicted in Duck Dynasty as having difficulties staying on task; he often seeks breaks to take a nap or play around with equipment in the warehouse .

In an interview with Good Morning America, Robertson talked about his wife. He said, "One woman has already got my heart, we've been married for 43 years and her name is Miss Christine." He also talked about how after he had asked for her hand in marriage about 100 times, she finally said yes. The two married in 1971, and they had a daughter; Trasa, and a son; Scott. They also have 8 grandsons..

Like the rest of his family, Robertson is very open about his Christian faith. "That's what got me through 65 years of life, my belief in God and what He's done for us and what He will do for us". His favorite Scripture verses are John 3:16 and 17. "When I sign people's stuff I put down John 3:16 and 17. Most people can tell you what 16 says, OK. 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.' But they don't know nothin' about 17. It says Jesus didn't come to condemn us. If anybody had a right to condemn someone, it would be the son of God. If he didn't do it, then hey, we definitely are not qualified to do it." Robertson lent his voice and personal appearance to the VeggieTales video, Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas in which he narrates the video and appears as an okra mall janitor. Along with Willie, he appeared on an episode of Last Man Standing. .

In A&E's reality television show Duck Dynasty, Si (or Uncle Si) is one of the main characters. He is perhaps the most well-known and recognized character of the bunch, due to the frequency and quality of his jokes, as well as his general manner. His spontaneous nature often launches the plot of the show into action, whether handcuffing himself to his nephew Willie, or spending the prize money of $2,000 at a children's arcade .

Phrases The following is a list of some of the characteristic phrases Robertson uses: · The constant use of the interjection "Hey!" · The use of the phrase "That's a fact, Jack" or simply the addition of "Jack" at the end of sentences. · The insult of calling people "heifers." · The use of the phrase "He/He's gone!" · The exclamation "It's on like Donkey Kong!"

2. Background from {[https://www.godtube.com/news/si-robertson-bio-quotes-and-faith.html]}
"SI ROBERTSON: BIO, QUOTES AND FAITH
Mar 31, 2014

Due to the popularity of the A&E series Duck Dynasty, almost everyone has heard of Uncle Si. The series follows the life of the Robertson family; a faith filled family who runs a successful duck call business. Uncle Si is the youngest brother of the patriarch of the family, Phil Robertson. Whatever else can be said of Uncle Si, he is definitely a colorful character who never lacks for a good story or a wise crack. But, what is the rest of Si’s story?
Silas Merritt Robertson was born on April 27, 1948. His siblings like to tell the story of him running around buck naked until he was 5 or 6 years old. Si says that, “...God brought me into the world in my birthday suit, I might as well wear it”; did I say he was a colorful character? Si was born into a family of five boys and one girl who all lived in a log cabin that had no hot water. Their childhood was filled with simple fun, fishing, and family. Si's parents also instilled in him the importance of being honest.

College
Si enrolled at Louisiana Tech in the fall of 1967 at the same time as four of his brothers also attended the school, although Si didn't much care for school and didn't apply himself at all. He lasted one semester and dropped out. One of his funny stories from this time is that he never studied, so when test time came, he simply marked all “C”s on the test sheet. Somehow, by doing this he made good enough grades to almost make the Dean's list for outstanding academic accomplishments.

Military Service
Two weeks after he dropped out of Louisiana Tech, in 1968, he received papers drafting him into the military; he was headed for Vietnam along with many other young men at that time. It was at this time that Si began to drink heavily. He said that he drank to forget where he was; a foreign place where it was difficult to tell friend from foe.
Uncle Si is as famous for the Tupperware cup he carries (always containing ice tea) as he is for his colorful sayings. It was during his time in Vietnam that his mother sent him a care package containing, among other things, that Tupperware cup.

Love for Si
Si left Vietnam on October 17, 1969 and was transferred to Fort Devens in Massachusetts. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Christine...yes, Uncle Si is married. They were married on April 7, 1971. Si's daughter, Trasa, was born on August 30, 1975 and he counts that as one of the happiest days of his life. Si's son, Scott, was born on December 18, 1977. Both of these children are miracles from the Lord because Christine was never supposed to be able to have children. A humorous note is that Uncle Si is said to receive almost 200 letters a day from women who want to marry him.

Smoking and Heart Attack
Si had also begun smoking in Vietnam and, even after giving up alcohol, he continued to smoke, believing that having one vice was better than having many. Near the beginning of 2005, he realized that he was not feeling as good as he used to and he was also having stomach pains. Soon after, during a duck hunt, he succumbed to a heart attack and had to have open heart surgery. After his surgery, Si quit smoking for good and started having regular check ups to keep an eye on his health.

Si sayings
Uncle Si has many colorful sayings, among one of his most used is the word “Hey”. He says, “'Hey' can mean anything. It can mean “yes,” it can mean “maybe,” and it can mean “no.” Hey, it could mean “next week.” The bottom line is, you have to understand “hey” to understand me. And if you know anything about Silas Merritt Robertson, you know I'm a hard rascal to figure out” (Robertson, p. 7).
He's also fond of adding the word “Jack” to the beginning, middle, or end of a lot of phrases; such as “Best of luck with that, Jack” or “Hey, you can take that to the bank, Jack”. Some of the most memorable and enjoyable moments on the show Duck Dynasty are when Uncle Si is telling some of his stories. Some might call them “lies”, but I think they might just be exaggerations. At any rate, they certainly are entertaining.

The faith of Uncle Si
Si has a very clear grasp of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ means to him and to the rest of the world. He had been taught the Gospel by his parents when he was growing up and he watched them live it out in front of him. It's interesting to me that Si grew up in the South but, because of the teachings of the Bible, he respected all people of all colors equally. He says, “Hey, if you're a Christian, racism is out”.

Conclusion
The life of Silas Merritt Robertson is not that much different from the lives of many other people; he has had hard times and he has been blessed too. The one thing that makes all the difference in his life is the fact that he is a follower of Jesus Christ. Uncle Si may be gruff, vocabulary-challenged, and even downright smelly at times, but he has been saved by the grace of God through his relationship with Jesus Christ...and he loves to tell others about it."


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Quite the character! Thank you for your service Brother! Welcome home!

Where is his tea glass ?