Not the typical thing that I write about. March 29th is coming up soon and it is a day to remember Vietnam Veterans. My father is a vet, he is the toughest vet.
I can remember as a child in school all the boys would compare their dad to other dads. I know for a fact that some would build up their dad beyond what he really was. We all did a little, but just not to the extent of others.
I told stories of mine being a military sniper, a martial arts genius, and probably more if I could remember correctly. The stories children tell, especially boys, would make great movies for sure, but many times these stories lacked a lot of truth.
As I got older, past my teen years, I would thinks about those school days stories. Much of what I said was true, but I did stretch the truth a little. I also never mentioned things I didn’t understand about my father, things that just went over my head and didn’t seem like story material that would make Him appear tougher than other dads.
What I didn’t realize back then was that some of the things I left out was the very things that shaped my life. These things were also the exact things that truly makes my dad tougher than yours.
From a poor son of a Baptist preacher, to a young soldier in the Vietnam War. The father to four and husband of my mother. He showed me by his actions how to treat and respect women and taught my sister how a lady should be treated by men. He was a provider for my family for as long as the Lord allowed him to be and showed me that work is hard but being a hard worker is a title that a man should desire to be known by.
I learned much of what I know about life, building, woodworking, mechanics, and art from him. I also learned not to push people and not to be pushed. I learned basketball and fishing, plus learned a large amount about Vietnamese booby traps, joint locks and pressure points that would paralyze you for a short time.
I have heard stories of his days after the war. How people feared him and he had no fear of anyone. These stories didn’t come from him, but from those who knew him and would hang around him. Stories that will still make images in your mind from a Charles Bronson movie. These stories were true and the scars on his body show proof of them.
A true American. Joined the Army and left his home and went to the other side of the world as a young man. Became part of an elite group of men know as the Green Beret. Put his life and dreams aside and fought to secure freedom and stop the domino effect of communism spreading across the whole world. We are free today because of young men like that.
He suffered a major wartime injury and continued the fight for freedom. Old enough to carry a gun but still too young to really know what the fight was about. He only knew that his place was in those jungles so we could live free.
I was with him the night his heart began to fail. And I watched him recover from near death back to working and enjoying life again. Later he had a terrible stroke that ended his work career, but he managed to almost fully recover from that also.
He has suffered many health issues but his faith has stayed strong and remains in God. He is the type of man that others can only dream of being. I have many traits of his, we look alike in many ways, I inherited his walk and his temper. My skin tone and eye color are the same as his. I have a work ethic that came from him but could never out work him. I care for my family and others as He does, putting myself last on the list. But I could never measure up. I am a dad, but only half of the one he is, I’m a man but maybe a quarter of the man he is.
He was a hero to people who never knew he existed. A father to kids who will never be able to thank him enough. They don’t make men like him anymore, they don’t make dads like him anymore. I am a man because of him. Your dad may be tough but I promise mine father is still tougher.
No King but Christ 