re: What's the closest you or a family member has been to a part of history?

I had an uncle who retired from the US Army as a brigadier. In the early '80s he was an exchange officer with the British Army testing prototypes for what would become the Challenger1 tank. The commanding officer broke his leg shortly before Charles and Diana's wedding and my uncle rode with the British 11th Hussars in the wedding procession. I believe he led them due to the injury but I'm not 100% on that.