In honor of Memorial Day (May 29), Snoop Dogg took to his Instagram account to reveal that he almost joined the U.S. military before his music career took off.

In a video posted to his IG, the West Coast legend told the story of how it almost came to be. “1989, man,” he started his story. “We were finna graduate from high school, right? So we went down to the registration office downtown at Long Beach. Me, Duke and a couple other homies. So we’re in there filling out the paperwork and I’m looking at all the questions that they asking me and tryna decide, ‘Do I really wanna go through with this Air Force thing?'”

Tha Doggfather continued: “I told Duke, I said, ‘Duke, give me a minute. I’ll be right back, I’ma go the car.’ Went to the car and never came back. And then four years later, my homeboy was a true vet, Air Force soldier.

“I love you for that, man,” he concluded. “Appreciate the love, man. All the troops out there, y’all know I love y’all. It’s Snoop Dogg, man. One love. I wish I coulda been, shoulda been, but it ain’t no thing but a chicken wing ’cause I’m a soldier at heart.”

Additionally, Snoop captioned his Memorial Day post: “Air Force. 🇺🇸 could of been salute to all the vets and soilders who fought for our freedom 🙏🏾 @dukephoto4u @popsnoop.”

Snoop Dogg wouldn’t have been the member of his family to join the military had he gone through with it. His father, Vernell Varnado, served in the Vietnam War and was awarded a Purple Heart after being shot four times.

Check out Snoop Dogg’s Memorial Day post below.