I wrote this article about 4 years ago shortly after my Dad passed. I will never forget his sacrifice.
As I stood there next to that bed back in January, watching a soldier fight for his last breaths, I reflected back on Dad's lifetime of sacrifice for his country. Growing up with a true American hero, there are certain things that one takes for granted....watching that American hero lose a battle with Agent Orange instantly put things back in perspective for me. I watched my Dad suffer greatly for his country the last ten years or so of his life. He did so without one word of regret or complaint. Little did he know 46 years ago, that it wouldn't be a Vietnamese bullet that would end his life, it would be a herbicide that he literally was bathing in on a daily basis. Dad suffered bouts of illness throughout his adult life due to the exposure....but he did so silently.
I never heard my Dad brag about any of his many accomplishments...and he had many. I never heard him say how things could have been different if he hadn't volunteered. I only saw a Green Beret that went to work every day, always told the truth, and made an outstanding example for his children to follow. I will never know all the missions he went on or the battles that he waged. All I have are a few pictures and a uniform that is filled with proof of things he would never talk about.
The Green Beret...it says more about a man than he would ever say about himself.
