My dad was a great father! He was the most influencial man in my life. Always fair, always just, always loving. He gave me many life lessons which I hold dear to my heart even now. I can recall numerous little tidbits of information he shared...practical things....that have made my life so much better. He instilled in me, for example, the principle that "if a job is to be done, it must be done right". He was a craftsman in his spare time, building furniture, cutting stone and making jewlery, and a real handy-man when it came to fix-it-up.

My dad was a hard worker! He worked 30+ years for the government as an investigator for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It was much like being a military brat. We were transferred often...but saw some wonderful country. My childhood memories of south Texas, Illinois, Alaska, and California are still with me. It seems like yesterday. I can still picture him, up before the crack of dawn, to catch a commuter train for the hour ride into Chicago and back each and every day.

My dad was a loving husband! He loved my mom. They were inseparable. She waited over four years for him to return from the war. In fact, they were so sure of their love for each other that dad sent money home from the South Pacific and had his father purchase mom an engagement ring. They spent many years (52) enjoying each other's company. They square-danced, traveled the world, and raised two boys...never leaving each other's side.

My dad was my friend! I could talk to him. Oh yes, more so in the past few years. Once coming to grips with my Vietnam experience, it was much easier to talk to him about his years in the South Pacific during WWII. We were able to share our military experiences openly and honestly. It's amazing how our experiences, even though a generation apart, were so similiar.

My dad was a soldier! He served his country honorably during WWII. He spent several years in the South Pacific as a radio-operator with the Americal Division.. He performed well and upheld the highest honor of the United States Army. He wrote home faithfully to my mom who waited for him all those years. They were married just ten days after he returned from overseas. A year later I was born.

My dad is my hero! ...and will always be! I love him, I honor him, I salute him........and I miss him, terribly.