Posted on 12/25/2023 9:45:07 AM PST by Krosan
I am reading Christopher Hitchens's before-death memoir. I noticed that he always addressed his dad as "the Commander" (OF-4 in the Royal Navy) as he was taught.
Was this usual for kids born into military families in ~1949 or was it unusually strict?
My dad was in the Army when I was born. I was born at Ft.Lee Army hospital in Virginia.
Growing up, we had assigned seats at the kitchen table. We had assigned plates, cups, and glasses. We were not allowed to talk. I talked once and was backhanded across the kitchen. Same thing when the news or football was on. That was nap time for us. No noise. No interruptions.
To this day, and I’m 69, I can’t eat at a kitchen table and football puts me to sleep. LOL
My father was a USN Commander. He was Dad.
Never heard of such a thing in my 20 years. I think Ike’s daughter called him dad.
My story as well. He was always Dad until we met with either of us in uniform.
I had a friend who was a general. If his kids were calling him General…they were rolling their eyes
It’s either a mark of respect or derision, depending on the family relationship. Nobody ever called my dad the lieutenant colonel. My kids will occasionally refer to me as the Colonel, but usually as a tender poke when I’m being a little too get-off-my-lawn. My dad was always “Sir”, which was standard for military kids and still is in households where courtesy and respect are taught.
I briefly dated a girl 25 years ago who (usually lightheartedly) called her Dad “the Captain.”
He was 30+ year US Navy officer. He was Captain of a destroyer or cruiser.
Heh, I was a military brat...my dad was a 30 year vet, serving through the end of WWII to the end of Vietnam...
My dad retired as a Commander in the Navy. We never referred to him as “Commander”, sometimes as Dad, and always in interactive conversation as “Sir”.
My dad was an intimidating figure to my friends after he retired, not because he was mean or nasty, but because he projected authority. He never tried to be friends with us in my family, and never went out of his way to interact with my friends.
They kept their distance, but would refer to him in the third person as “The Commander”. It was respectful, too, not mocking.
Heh, he used to drive a great big 1973 Buick LeSabre, a boat that would float up and down as you drove it up the highway! It was rusty, and as a joke, my buddies and I were going to spray paint it gray, put a couple of cleats on the front fender, and paint a hull number on the side of each front fender in the standard Navy way!
LOL, same here. I call all men sir, even teenagers...and I call all women Ma’am.
My wife hates it when men call her “Ma’am” in this Northeastern state, but she smirks when I do it...:)
We called my dad “Dad” when we were initiating a conversation, such as “Dad, can I go to a friend’s house..”
But if he called your name, asked you a pointed question about something he was angry about, a yes or no question and you answered in any other way than “Yes Sir” or “No Sir” he would growl at you “Yes WHAT?”
Most often when he was angry. And we had to answer to my mother in the same form, with a “Yes Ma’am” or “No Ma’am”.
And if it was said disrespectfully, which was rarely ever, he would call you on the carpet for an ass chewing. I never had the guts to do it, but my older brothers did on occasion.
In those situations, I watched and learned.
I never called my dad “Chief”. He was Dad.
My leatherneck father was Dad. But he never quite left the DI behind even after commissioned and retiring as a major.
The man who designed that aircraft, also flew the Wright Flyer designed by the Wright Brothers. He was a man of great daring, design genius, patience, and principles. He flew B-25’s out of Italy during World War II. He and his friends were thoroughly dedicated to our individual freedom, our nation’s freedom, and the worthy foundations of our construction. They all knew, that we are only as free as we make the effort to know why; and, we are only as free as we are able to defend ourselves.
The modern day “leadership” are traitors against such - in many locations of our governments, education, information media, so-called “sciences,” medicine, and other areas of fraud that have contempt for truth.
The man who designed that aircraft had literally fantastic skill, but was humble and kind, with a good home and family.
Real courage. Each day. Just to stand up and take another step.
You know the good teachers, because the really do love you. You know a father’s love by his restraint.
H
bttt
The good teachers really do love you.
A young lion will listen to a father who loves him.
That sounds unusually strict!
Helluva aircraft. When I was in, they were only being used as reconnaissance aircraft.
I saw one go off the bow cat, and immediate roll and dive into the ocean...the pilot survived, but that was a close one.
When I was a kid living in Subic Bay in the Philippines, Cubi Point was right near the beach we went to.
How different things were. I was 12 years old, and I would walk around the flightline, peering at all the planes tied down there. One day, a pilot was pre-flighting a Crusader, and he let me sit in the cockpit, put on his helmet, the whole nine yards! First time I ever sat in the cockpit of any plane!
When I had to leave he grinned and said “Watch me take off!”
Well he took off, and went pretty near vertical, did a bunch of aileron rolls before reaching altitude and zooming off.
I cannot tell you how thrilled I was!
My favorite line is “don’t call me sir, I work for a living!” My kids have always called me “Dad “, and I’m “Opa” to my grandkids.
It was normal at the time but all of us eventually rebelled.
Does Peter Hitchens confirm?
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