Please send prayers, however you may pray, for a man who passed yesterday.
He never shot a bow. He was a retired Navy Captain, 91 years old. He served the United States from World War II through Viet Nam. He served with Honor, Courage and unswerving Duty. He stood for what he loved, Freedom, doing the right thing, and taking responsibility for his actions. Truth. Hard work. For the American dream of working your way up from whatever poverty or ill circumstance you were in. He said that you are never a failure until you quit.
He rose from a pitchfork in a muck pile through education and focus. He said that he was not the smartest in his classes, but he worked harder, and got higher grades. He worked in a tank tread factory while in school, got a scholarship to Case University and became a Navy Ensign.
Gradually, he was entrusted to a Destroyer's command. He scouted for subs in the Pacific, served underAdmiral Combs on the St. Paul in the Tonkin Gulf during Operation Sea Dragon, supplied combat ships in the Med, commanded a DLG and skippered a desk in the Pentagon.
He was a good father, giving what he had to his family, and providing for as stable a childhood as a serviceman could, with all the moving around. He married a good and loving woman who gave her all to her children, while maintaining a household and supporting her husband with the things that Service wives do in the community and with social obligations.
He could speak for hours about the Founding Fathers, how wonderful the Constitution is, and how in this country, with education and hard work, you can rise to your potential. He was my father, and while I dragged him through the trials that only a teenager can think up, he never lost hope in me, or his other children.
God hold him, as You do my Mother.
He will be buried in Arlington, in view of the Pentagon where he worked so many years, where my mother llies sleeping.
Yesterday morning, his caregiver called me to relay a message. She said, "Your father told me to tell you to come immediately." So I did, but when I got there, Dad denied it and set me to work on a couple of tasks. A little after noon, his breathing became labored, he did not answer questions, and I called 911. He died shortly before 1:00.
"Come immediately!"
You knew! I know you knew! And Mom was smiling at me through the moon!
I saw her last week, in the morning, upside down. She smiled soft, but fierce, she knew, too.
Killdeer
Topic: Please, no PMs. My box is too full. (Read 2901 times)
