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To A Satisfactory Son #9933848 05/25/15 Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 8,423 dogzapper OP Campfire Kahuna Emeritus & Campfire Outfitter OP dogzapper Campfire Kahuna Emeritus & Campfire Outfitter Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 8,423 My friend, Rocky Raab, posted one of his wonderful pieces for Memorial Day. I thought I'd follow his lead and post a little blog entry I did last year on this day. It's a true story. Enjoy and God Bless, Steve TO A SATISFACTORY SON One day, in the 1980s, a young man walked into our jewelry store. He handed me a pocket watch and a ring and said that he wanted to sell the pair for scrap gold. I looked at the items and was surprised. The ring was marked "United States Military Academy" with the date 1916 and it was gorgeous. If memory serves, the ring was fourteen-karat yellow gold and the inside of the shank was engraved with the graduating cadet's name. The watch really set me back on my heels. It was a twelve-size Howard, which was arguably the finest pocket watch ever made in America. The case was eighteen-karat yellow gold, hunter style with the crystal cover and in perfect shape. On the back of the watch was engraved: To First Lieutenant William A. Johnston, From your Dad & Mom Upon Graduation from the United States Military Academy, Class of 1916 To A Satisfactory Son I had to read that again. "To A Satisfactory Son." Later, I came to understand that the cadet’s Mom and Dad were so incredibly proud of their son that mere words totally failed. After all, this wonderful young man had excelled to a degree that was well beyond what any reasonable parents could ever expect. And he’d worked for four long years at West Point, scoring high enough in his class to be commissioned a First Lieutenant in the Army. Sometimes words fail. I suspected that the long-haired youth who was trying to sell me the watch and the ring had stolen them. His story was that he'd inherited them from his grandfather, who was a local medical doctor. Anyway, the stuff didn't mean squat to him and he just wanted to sell it. He told me that it would be fine to call his mom, just in case I suspected the items were stolen. His mother happened to be a good customer of ours, so the call was friendly. She told me that her son had inherited the ring and the watch from her father, the doctor. Further, that nobody in the family particularly wanted them, so it was fine with her if the kid sold them. She went on to tell me that the ring and the watch had been given to her father’s cousin by his loving parents. She was aware of the fact that the cousin had graduated from West Point and he’d left a lot of personal effects, including the ring and the watch, with his parents when he shipped out to fight in World War One. And he was killed in action. Tears welled up ... Steve kills furry critters, but part of him is a big old softy. To make a long story mercifully short, I paid the kid about three times gold scrap value for the ring and $200 for the watch. I kept the watch and the ring for a couple of years. It seemed inconceivable to me that anyone could sell such a family treasure. I vowed that if any of the family came into our store, wanting to buy back the watch and the ring, I would simply sell them back to the family member for what the articles cost me. Nobody ever came. Meanwhile, I enjoyed the pieces of history. Every time I popped open the hunter case and looked at the Howard's enamel dial, it was like I stepped back seventy years in time. And, in looking at the engraving, especially the "To A Satisfactory Son;" well, to me the words always related a special love between parents and an exceptional young man. I guess I always knew that it would be my responsibility to find the proper home for the watch and the ring. Eventually, I called the US Military Academy and asked to talk to someone in their museum. A very nice young man answered and he was thrilled when I told him about the Howard watch and the USMA ring. When I offered them to him, he guardedly asked "How much?" I said, "It would be my total privilege to donate the ring and the watch to the USMA Museum. This young man, this ‘Satisfactory Son' gave his life for our freedom. How could ANYONE sell these wonderful pieces of history?" At that, the young man was silent. He did not speak. The phone was silent for a couple of minutes. I was beginning to think that he just thought I was a crank and put me on hold. Finally, he came back and said, "How can we possibly thank you? This is literally beyond anything I've seen here." I told him that no thanks were needed; I just needed a proper address and I'd drop the watch and the ring in the mail. He gave me the address and asked me to send them in care of him, so he could truly appreciate the additions to the USMA Museum. I mailed the package to him that afternoon. About a month later, I received a really nice “thank you letter” from the Head Curator of the USMA Museum. They loved the items and would put them in a proper display of WWI items. Also enclosed was a long letter of thanks from the young man I’d talked to on the phone. In the letter, he told me that he was an upper classman and that he would be graduating from West Point in a few months. The cadet told me that his father had been killed-in-action in Viet Nam and it was by his father’s sacrifice that he had been allowed into the United States Military Academy. He wrote that, without pride, he was in the top ten-percent of his class ... and he prayed to God that HIS father considered HIM to be a "Satisfactory Son." I wrote back: “There is no doubt in my mind that your father, that Martyr For Our American Freedom, is in heaven and looking down upon you right now … And he absolutely considers you to be A Satisfactory Son.” In looking back over the three decades since I bought the United States Military Academy ring and the Howard watch, I’ve never regretted the donation to the USMA Museum. In my mind, they were never truly mine to own. Indeed, there was never any other choice BUT to donate those incredible pieces of history and of sacrifice. If I had kept the items, only I would have enjoyed them. And if I’d sold the pieces, the buyer alone would have gotten pleasure from the ring and the watch and I’d have eventually spent the money on something considerably less meaningful. As I saw it, the only right choice was to donate the ring and the watch to a facility where they would be enjoyed by the public for all perpetuity. Eventually, I decided that the perfect place for the items was the United States Military Academy Museum. I always intended to visit the USMA Museum, just to see the First Lieutenant’s ring and watch permanently and properly enshrined. Reality seldom equals our dreams, however, so maybe it’s just as well that I never made the effort to travel there. After three decades, I really don’t know why I even bother to think about the watch and the ring. After all, I never really owned them. Indeed, we never really “own“ anything … we are only stewards of the physical things that we acquire. We are made richer only when we see that physical things that are temporarily in our possession are properly used and then passed on for others to enjoy. I believe that there are no coincidences, that there are no accidents and that our existence on earth is not guided by mere chance. Further, I believe that God carefully weaves situations, opportunities and problems into our lives. He does this because He wants us to learn patience, tolerance and love; He wants us to become better people. The real meaning of life is the love we share, the love that we selflessly give and the lives we touch in a positive way. That is the only heritage we truly leave behind. Nothing else is important. by Steve "God Loves Each Of Us As If There Were Only One Of Us" Saint Augustine of Hippo - AD 397

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9933874 05/25/15 Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 8,777 WNY L Lawdwaz Campfire Outfitter Lawdwaz Campfire Outfitter L Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 8,777 WNY What a beautiful story Steve.

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9933876 05/25/15 Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 20,683 cold & forbidden 2legit2quit Campfire Ranger 2legit2quit Campfire Ranger Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 20,683 cold & forbidden well done indeed nice form Steve, but have come to expect such from you I'm pretty certain when we sing our anthem and mention the land of the free, the original intent didn't mean cell phones, food stamps and birth control.

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9933902 05/25/15 Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 69,567 Not In The City rockinbbar Campfire Kahuna rockinbbar Campfire Kahuna Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 69,567 Not In The City Nice write-up, Steve! Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla!

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9933908 05/25/15 Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 21,690 Kentucky C CrimsonTide Campfire Ranger CrimsonTide Campfire Ranger C Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 21,690 Kentucky I struggle sometimes, to fit words together for the purpose of telling my son how proud I am of him. With your permission, I'd like to use "To A Satisfactory Son". I still don't know what I'll put it on, but the sentiment is very much what I feel for my own. "The number one problem with America is, a whole lot of people need shot, and nobody is shooting them." -Master Chief Hershel Davis

Re: To A Satisfactory Son CrimsonTide #9933980 05/25/15 Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 8,423 dogzapper OP Campfire Kahuna Emeritus & Campfire Outfitter OP dogzapper Campfire Kahuna Emeritus & Campfire Outfitter Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 8,423 Originally Posted by CrimsonTide I struggle sometimes, to fit words together for the purpose of telling my son how proud I am of him. With your permission, I'd like to use "To A Satisfactory Son". I still don't know what I'll put it on, but the sentiment is very much what I feel for my own. Absolutely, I would be totally honored if you'd use it. Steve "God Loves Each Of Us As If There Were Only One Of Us" Saint Augustine of Hippo - AD 397

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934028 05/25/15 Joined: Sep 2008 Posts: 12,530 Blue Ridge M MagMarc Campfire Outfitter MagMarc Campfire Outfitter M Joined: Sep 2008 Posts: 12,530 Blue Ridge Thank You Steve!

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934060 05/25/15 Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 727 Buckskin Campfire Regular Buckskin Campfire Regular Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 727 Hello Steve: I served in Viet Nam 1965 - 1967, and lost a lot of friends there. I still keep in touch with several of the family's. If you don't mind, I would dearly love to pass this on to them if possible. Today, of all days, really seems appropriate. Respects, Richard Cat, the other white meat!

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934092 05/25/15 Joined: Mar 2014 Posts: 973 Alaska Pittu Campfire Regular Pittu Campfire Regular Joined: Mar 2014 Posts: 973 Alaska Wow. Thanks Steve. I had a moment there..guess having kids has softened me up a bit. Eat moose, burn spruce

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934094 05/25/15 Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 41,935 Huntn/Fishn Heaven-NW Ontario New_2_99s Campfire 'Bwana New_2_99s Campfire 'Bwana Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 41,935 Huntn/Fishn Heaven-NW Ontario Remarkable !! Paul. "Kids who grow up hunting, fishing & trapping, do not mug little old Ladies"

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934102 05/25/15 Joined: May 2003 Posts: 10,424 The Treasure State Dave_Skinner Campfire Outfitter Dave_Skinner Campfire Outfitter Joined: May 2003 Posts: 10,424 The Treasure State Well, I'm going to northern New Jersey this summer for a short visit. That's close enough to make a secondary pilgrimage. Thanks for doing the honorable thing, Steve, although I'm not surprised at you. Up hills slow, Down hills fast Tonnage first and Safety last.

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934108 05/25/15 Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 6,019 Minnesota 338Rem Campfire Tracker 338Rem Campfire Tracker Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 6,019 Minnesota Thank you Steve, you a good man. When its time to fight, you fight like you are the third monkey on the ramp to get on Noah's Arc... and brother, it is starting to rain! The chair is against the wall.

Re: To A Satisfactory Son Pittu #9934110 05/25/15 Joined: May 2005 Posts: 17,131 Freedom Pugs Campfire Ranger Pugs Campfire Ranger Joined: May 2005 Posts: 17,131 Freedom Superb honor. If something on the internet makes you angry the odds are you're being manipulated

Re: To A Satisfactory Son Pugs #9934178 05/25/15 Joined: Sep 2004 Posts: 29,383 O Oldelkhunter Campfire Ranger Oldelkhunter Campfire Ranger O Joined: Sep 2004 Posts: 29,383 Steve, Thank you for doing the right thing Ed

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934182 05/25/15 Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 39,301 Oregon City, OR S Scott F Campfire 'Bwana Scott F Campfire 'Bwana S Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 39,301 Oregon City, OR Wonderful story Steve. THANKS The first time I shot myself in the head... Meniere's Sucks Big Time!!!

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934214 05/25/15 Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 1,144 Counce, TN D Double_D Campfire Regular Double_D Campfire Regular D Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 1,144 Counce, TN Bravo! ___________________________________________ Double_D

Re: To A Satisfactory Son Buckskin #9934260 05/25/15 Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 8,423 dogzapper OP Campfire Kahuna Emeritus & Campfire Outfitter OP dogzapper Campfire Kahuna Emeritus & Campfire Outfitter Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 8,423 Originally Posted by Buckskin Hello Steve: I served in Viet Nam 1965 - 1967, and lost a lot of friends there. I still keep in touch with several of the family's. If you don't mind, I would dearly love to pass this on to them if possible. Today, of all days, really seems appropriate. Respects, Richard Richard, Be my guest. Please pass it on. Blessings, Steve "God Loves Each Of Us As If There Were Only One Of Us" Saint Augustine of Hippo - AD 397

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934266 05/25/15 Joined: May 2004 Posts: 2,672 BC P patbrennan Campfire Regular patbrennan Campfire Regular P Joined: May 2004 Posts: 2,672 BC Steve, nicely done my friend.

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934304 05/25/15 Joined: Feb 2011 Posts: 17,760 Wyoming W WyoCoyoteHunter Campfire Ranger WyoCoyoteHunter Campfire Ranger W Joined: Feb 2011 Posts: 17,760 Wyoming AWESOME! Molon Labe

Re: To A Satisfactory Son dogzapper #9934348 05/25/15 Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 52,680 North of Liberalism in Wyoming eh76 Campfire Kahuna eh76 Campfire Kahuna Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 52,680 North of Liberalism in Wyoming Thanks Brother Steve! Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.