Posted on 06/12/2002 7:32:27 AM PDT by ohioWfan
I want you to meet my son, Eric. He was born in 1984, the third of our four children, and on Sunday he graduated from High School in the class of 2002 as part of the so-called ‘Millennium Generation.’ President Bush has told members of the class of 2002 that they are graduating into a very different world than previous classes have done. He is right.
Eric has always been called what child experts label a ‘compliant’ child. As a small boy, he was so sensitive to wrongdoing, that he would cry when we raised our voices at him. He never needed punishment. Eric is still acutely aware of his own sinful nature, even though outwardly he never does anything very wrong. At the same time, he is very sensitive to the pain of others, and has cried because friends of his were in rebellion against God, and hurting themselves and others as a result.
Eric loves to make people happy. From the time he was a baby, we called him our ‘laughing boy’ because he smiled or laughed all the time. He still does. He loves to make others laugh too, and is gifted at imitating voices…….he can do a perfect Yoda or any number of other Star Wars characters, and can recite the entire script of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in flawless dialect, or quote lines from Braveheart and any number of other movies with perfection. He is a charming young man, who makes people happy just to be around him.
At the same time, Eric has always been a warrior. At 18 months he was seen wielding a piece of orange and yellow Hotwheels track, keeping his older brother and sister hostage in the bathroom, and delighting at their yells for help. He once chased the neighborhood kids around with a saw because he felt he had been fouled one too many times in a pick-up basketball game. He was 6 years old. He has been an avid Civil War collector since he was 8 or 9, but the only things he ever really wanted were the guns and the swords. He ran an entire Cross Country race on a stress fracture in his foot because he refused to quit ‘pressing on toward the goal.’
He is quiet, yet bold; so bold in his faith that he told his classmates Sunday in his Valedictory speech that the only way they could have a truly successful future was through faith in his Savior, Jesus Christ. His greatest desire in life is to serve that Savior and live a Christ-like life, and to serve others. He is handsome, mature, stable, interested in history and politics, fiercely competitive, wanting to be the best he can be at everything he pursues, a talented athlete and musician, and well liked by his peers…… and pretty much everyone who has ever met him. He is our son, and we are proud of him.
But today, our pride is mingled with tears, because last night he left for Army Basic training in Ft. Knox, Kentucky. In the Spring of 2001 when he was a junior, an Army Recruiter came to his school looking for potential recruits. Eric took note, but wasn’t really interested. Then in August, he got a call from the Recruiter, and felt as though he should pursue it. He and his Dad met with the Recruiter, we all prayed about it, and knew that God was leading him to join the Army Reserves.
It was a great deal. The men at the recruiting station did not try to hide their pleasure at the new Commander in Chief. The Army would help pay for college, train him in a different field while he attended college, so he would end up doubly ready for a career. He only had to put in a weekend a month, and two weeks in the summer, and would be paid for it to boot, and the only way his unit would ever be mobilized beyond the United States, would be ‘World War III’.......A great deal.
Then came September 11, and the world as we knew it came crashing down. I waited for a day after the attack, so he could start to absorb what it meant for him, and asked Eric how he was doing about the Army thing. He said ‘OK.’ And then said he now knew he had signed up for the right reasons…….not just for the college money, but because he wanted to serve his country, and now he knew they needed him.
Today he is beginning preparation for whatever his country, and his Commander in Chief, want him to do, along with thousands of others of young men and women who have made the same choice. A number of his friends have joined different branches of the service. Some young men and women have postponed college plans to serve actively, while others, like Eric, will be able to go later next year, and serve in a reserve capacity.
Last summer, Eric worked at a blueberry farm, cleaning barns and warehouses, played tennis and goofed around with his friends. This summer will be very different. Even though boot camp is not what it used to be, it is still tough, and Eric will need to pull up all the toughness he has inside to make it through. We are sure that he can do it, and he just might even like it, because he likes to be pushed and tested, and he does have that warrior inside of him. But there is also in him that little boy who cried when he was yelled at, and wants to make everyone happy. That part of himself will have to be buried deep inside for the next 9 weeks.
The reason I decided to write this, is that many of us never put a face on ‘our troops’……..even when we pray for them...... and perhaps my telling you about Eric can help you see one of those faces. Eric is not overseas……yet........ though he is seriously considering a military career, and may well end up there. He is not in combat, but many young men like him are……many young men and women are serving this great country all over the world and are in harm’s way, and in need of our support and prayers. Each one of them has a story that his or her mother or father could tell about what wonderful people they are, as I have done about Eric.
And many young men and women who last summer as teenagers, worked at blueberry farms or grocery stores, factories or fast food restaurants, are now beginning training to serve their country in this very dangerous new world…… as adults, preparing to fight the first war of the new millennium, in a very different kind of summer.
Please pray for them……..and those who love them.
May God bless your family as you make this sacrifice for your country. Again, words fail me - - I just join in prayer for this country, this wonderful president, and your fine son - - and to all folks in freeperdom who have served or had family members serve. (Hubby was in AF, Father in Army, Son in Navy. Proud of all of them.)
My story:
When the recruiter came around to my son's high school he signed up for the Navy. One day the Navy recruiter called and asked if he could stop by to talk to John and have me sign something. I had no idea what was in store for me.
You see, my husband had passed away a year earlier, and the recruiter was there to collect my signature releasing my son since he was only 16 at the time.
I balked. I cried. I screamed. "Where is my husband; he is the one who is supposed to be signing papers like this!"
Finally I called a friend, a Vietnam vet, and went through the whole scene again, crying screaming, asking why my husband was not there to sign the papers. My friend listened calmly, and then got me to think about what I was doing. Throwing a roadblock in front of my son and not respecting his choices.
We must have talked for over 30 minutes, while the Navy recruiter sat by in another room talking with John. I finally DID sign the release papers willingly and did not blame my husband for his untimely absence due to the ravages of lung cancer.
My son served four years in the Navy during Desert Storm on a supply ship to start with and later on a battleship and aircraft carrier. (He fibbed to me, however, and said he was always on the supply ship..........................little stinker. I guess he was just being considerate of me, knowing that I was still dealing with the grief in my life.
And a little footnote:
During his service career, my mother-in-law died from heart failure; I had to identify the body of my father-in-law who had shot himself in a nearby town; my brother came down with AIDS and my mother died. My brother died a year after my son returned from the service.
I know it hurts, ohioWfan; I have been there.
Our not very large church has over 60 men and women in the service that are on our weekly prayer list. Many were or are in Afghanistan or in the Navy ships that provide air cover and supplies.
Recently there was a meeting of the lay readers, prayer leaders and lay chalice bearers at our church. A new citizen wanted to know how long we would continue reading off this long list of service people.
Before anyone could say anything, our flag waving/patriotic priest, said, "Until the war was over and all were home safe. Do you have a problem with that?"
The clymer shook his head. One of the lay readers after the meeting said that maybe the clymer should ask Grampa Dave that question. He shook his head and left.
Pinging some of the "Canteen Crew" too!
BUMPEROO
You must be so proud of him ... God Bless you and your family
The speeches at my daughter's graduation last week were just full of references to God and how he has plans for the graduates' lives. It surprised me too, pleasantly though!
And thank you as well, Bahbah, and SAMWolf for your link to the wonderful USO thread!
You will need support, BIG TIME, and you will get it here at FR!
Thank you!
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