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.
I was fine when we signed the release form (he was 17), and I was even fine when he had to write his Will, but when the day approached that he was actually leaving, the floodgates of tears opened wide.
I know he will be fine, because he is in the center of God's will, and serving during a time when the US Military is again respected! Thank you, George W. Bush!