Beginning with the Mayflower in 1620, twelve generations of the Knowles family have served in battle as soldiers and officers of the American military forces. They fought as members of infantry, cavalry, intelligence and special operations units. One Knowles ancestor was at Bunker Hill in the Revolution. Another was with Sherman in the Atlanta Campaign of the Civil War. Others served with the OSS in China, with Patton in the Ardennes and with the Army's First Cavalry division, in Korea and Vietnam. Another Knowles was a hospital corpsman on a Navy aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. All were volunteers or were called in wartime to defend American freedom against its adversaries. Some were wounded. All faced isolation, danger and hardship. All were transformed by their warrior experience. After their wars, they left the service and returned home, prepared to rear and lead a new generation of Americans. This is our story.