The funny thing
is that his generation was roundly criticized by their elders for being lazy,
dumb, drinking too much, and dancing to dangerous music. Eminem does the
Jitterbug. But millions of them laid their lives on the line for a nation. They
were the greatest generation.
Whenever
I have a tough day I find inspiration from the experiences of my father. The
burdens he endured and the hard experiences of his life make mine pale by
comparison. Even on the worst of days - I’m not landing at night, no one is
shooting at me, and I don’t have two minutes to load up 18 wounded Marines and
take off while enemy is lobbing mortars on the runway.
After
he left the Marines he struggled during the post-war recession which left a lot
of warriors unemployed for many years. He found his stride about 10 years later
and raised a great family.
Taken together
the plight of the Greatest Generation trumps anything subsequent generations
experienced. But most of them don’t talk about it- we did not learn about my
Dad’s medals until after he died in 1979. He was just doing his job - as only a
Marine can.
The
lesson it to take inspiration from the experiences within your own family.
Among your own parents and grandparents you will find similar experiences.
Learn them, listen to them, explore them, and pass them along to your
children,. It must become a part of the fabric of the family history. And it
will.
Five
years our family visited the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington
National Cemetery depicting the flag raising on Mt. Surabachi on Iwo Jima in
1945. The next Christmas our daughter Shannon gave me a drawing she worked on
for months that depicts the Memorial.
The
only change is that she listed on the black granite base some of the islands
where her Grandfather had served in combat - Bougainville, Munda, Guadalcanal,
Rabaul, Borneo, New Guinea, Tontuta, and all the rest. I asked her how she
knew. She said “I listen, Dad.”
That’s my inspiration. Tell me about yours. I hope if we meet that
you’ll visit my office and look at Shannon’s picture. It’s a showstopper.
Ten
years ago I had the honor meeting Lt. General Julius Becton, who served for
nearly fifty years in the United States Army. General Becton, one of the first
African Americans to wear a star on his shoulder served in World War II, Korea,
Vietnam, NATO, and the first Gulf War. He left the army as a three star General
- a rank exceeded by only 196 in the history of the Army, and 44 in the history
of the Marines.
In his eighties
now, he’s tall, fit, sharp as a Ranger’s knife, and still looks like he could
break your neck with his thumb without spilling his drink. In person he’s fast, witty, funny, and
charming. As I’m prone to do we
started exchanging lawyer jokes at a reception and it turns out he loves lawyer
jokes so I e-mailed him a roster of my favorites.
We’ve
corresponded about the stuff of life in the last ten years- no deep think
pieces - just politics, kids, sports, and life. But he is quite serious about
service - and honoring those who have walked in muddy boots some of the miles he marched through
Germany, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf.
He
sets a standard of excellence for service to the nation. He wasn’t done when he retired - just
warmin’ up - he then took on the job of running the D.C. school system for a
few years. He also served
with the Agency For International Development and as President of Prairie View
University A&M, his alma mater.
He’s raised five children and has I believe 10 grandchildren.
He
signs his e-mails “Julius” and keeps insisting (ordering) me to call him by his
first name. I can’t do that, sir. Even a President I didn’t vote for is still
“Mr. President.” Call it old school.
General Becton earned the right to be called General by every American. I’m just glad to have been able to get
to know him and bend his ear.
General: I know you’re reading this a new load of lawyer jokes will be
on its way early next year.