In Memory of My Brother and All of the Others Who Served -- Thank You
For now, I'm laying aside the fictional characters and little spats that go on over them and focusing on Real Life.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I am taking this time to pay homage to all of the men and women who have served our country, and a special honor to those who died during that service.
To all of you who have had family members serve in the military, I extend my deepest appreciation for their service and your's too. To any who have lost loved ones while serving in the military, I extend my sincere condolances. There is nothing that will ever erase that loss, not even time.
To show my gratitude and why their service means so much to me, I would like to share the following with you:
On April 26, 1972 my older brother was killed when the C-130 on which he served as Loadmaster was shot down while providing emergency supplies to the besieged city of An Loc, Vietnam. He'd just turned 26 eight days before that. There was only a memorial service at that time, as they were not able to recover his body.
On June 20, 2006, we were able to lay him to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, only a few yards away from our parents and our maternal grandmother. During the search for a new Unknown to inter at Arlington, they had identified our brother's remains and were able to repatriate him.
On April 23, 2011 (look at this date and the date on the letter) my younger brother was going through some of our parents' things and found a letter. It was the last letter our older brother had written home. It was written on April 23, 1972, three days before he died and it wasn't recieved until about a week after my parents were notified of his death. It is transcribed as it was written, and here is what he said:
23 April 1972
Dear Dad;
Well, dad, I've been flying my ass off lately! It keeps my mind off of my problems. I've made two drops at An Loc. The first one we had not took any hits the second they have not finished counting all the hits as of yet. I'd estimate at least 30 hits, all aft of the main landing gear. We had a reporter from life magazine on board, so in about 3 weeks check and see if you see anything in life on it. We got interviewed and pictures taken also, I hope you're proud of me! I'm doing my job Pop! Someone has to fly this mission. I didn't volunteer for it but I was just qualified for it so I got selected for it. I'm sorry, dad, but it's my job. I miss you and mom and the kids very much if anything happens to me I want to be put away in Maryland or Arlington, please take care of that for me. Pop, I have to fly, so this will be short. Write soon. I miss you, but I'll see you soon.
Love, your son,
Calvin, Jr.
This is the link to my brother's page on the "Virtual Wall":
www.virtualwall.org/dc/CookeCC01a.htm
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I am taking this time to pay homage to all of the men and women who have served our country, and a special honor to those who died during that service.
To all of you who have had family members serve in the military, I extend my deepest appreciation for their service and your's too. To any who have lost loved ones while serving in the military, I extend my sincere condolances. There is nothing that will ever erase that loss, not even time.
To show my gratitude and why their service means so much to me, I would like to share the following with you:
On April 26, 1972 my older brother was killed when the C-130 on which he served as Loadmaster was shot down while providing emergency supplies to the besieged city of An Loc, Vietnam. He'd just turned 26 eight days before that. There was only a memorial service at that time, as they were not able to recover his body.
On June 20, 2006, we were able to lay him to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, only a few yards away from our parents and our maternal grandmother. During the search for a new Unknown to inter at Arlington, they had identified our brother's remains and were able to repatriate him.
On April 23, 2011 (look at this date and the date on the letter) my younger brother was going through some of our parents' things and found a letter. It was the last letter our older brother had written home. It was written on April 23, 1972, three days before he died and it wasn't recieved until about a week after my parents were notified of his death. It is transcribed as it was written, and here is what he said:
23 April 1972
Dear Dad;
Well, dad, I've been flying my ass off lately! It keeps my mind off of my problems. I've made two drops at An Loc. The first one we had not took any hits the second they have not finished counting all the hits as of yet. I'd estimate at least 30 hits, all aft of the main landing gear. We had a reporter from life magazine on board, so in about 3 weeks check and see if you see anything in life on it. We got interviewed and pictures taken also, I hope you're proud of me! I'm doing my job Pop! Someone has to fly this mission. I didn't volunteer for it but I was just qualified for it so I got selected for it. I'm sorry, dad, but it's my job. I miss you and mom and the kids very much if anything happens to me I want to be put away in Maryland or Arlington, please take care of that for me. Pop, I have to fly, so this will be short. Write soon. I miss you, but I'll see you soon.
Love, your son,
Calvin, Jr.
This is the link to my brother's page on the "Virtual Wall":
www.virtualwall.org/dc/CookeCC01a.htm