The Night - Original Writing

I brought up the Honor Flight to talk about something positive with him. For a man who takes about four naps a day, you can tell how much the honor flight meant to him because he took zero naps that day. He could talk any stranger’s ear off about the Honor Flight and the Changing of the guards which was his favorite part, (even though he said it was hard to keep quiet). The Honor Flight was an amazing experience to see my Grandfather coming home from his experience in Washington D.C. and to see his pride in his country. The picture on the right shows my Grandpa with my uncle Chris returning from their long day. My uncle Chris, who rarely shows emotion, cried when pushing my Grandpa’s wheelchair through the airport. Chris told the rest of the family, that Grandpa opened up more about the war during this honor Flight process than he has ever shared before. This explains the rush of emotions Chris was feeling, joining his dad during this process. Uncle Chris felt that he was the honored one because of the opportunity to share this experience The whole family felt this rush of pride that he was our veteran and we are so grateful that we have him to this day. Ever since that day, he wears the Honor Flight jacket everywhere he goes, with great pride that he was able to go Washington

“That’s understandable,” said Eli. “He and your grandpa have been friends for fifty years or more- I reckon his being

Ed paused and wiped a tear from his eye, staring right across the table at his grandson, who preceded to ask the age-old question.

No matter how bothersome it was when my parents got on my back for not saying “Yes ma'am” or “No sir,” I now realize they were teaching me responsibility, integrity, respect, and leadership.When I pinned my mother's rank of Master Sergeant to her shoulder it instilled a sense of pride in my family. We earned that insignia alongside her through all of our sacrifices over the years. My inclination towards engineering and flying is reflective of the dedication and pride my family has set before me. Between my mother who would arrive home late due to her six-hour commute and my cousin who depended on my family while his parents served in Afghanistan, I learned what it meant to be selfless. These members of my family, these role models, show me every day what it means to put service before self. These are the footsteps I aspire to follow

For my veteran essay, I decided to interview my grandpa, Joe (my mom’s dad). When he served, he served in the army as a chef for two years. His rank was specialist, 5th class. In 1965, Joe came home from work and saw his girlfriend (my grandma) and his mom looking at a letter, crying. She gave him the letter and he felt a bus token. When you were drafted, they would give you a bus token to get to the army. He was stationed in Fort Gordon in Georgia. He stayed in the U.S because his father died when he was eight years old and he had to support his mother and my grandma.

The veteran I selected to research for this paper is Carl D. Beck. He was born in Avondale, Missouri on November 21, 1925. Mr. Beck served in the US army during WWII and the Korean war, with the 501st parachute infantry regiment. It is unclear what his rank was at the time of his service, but by the end of his military career, Mr. Beck’s rank was master Sergeant.

At the core of every Soldier or Veteran is a family that is influenced by their service. Nowhere is more evident of this service and sacrifice, than

In 1963, when my grandfather was only nineteen-years-old, he was drafted into the United States Army. He was sent to boot camp in Fort Ord, California where he spent six weeks training to become a soldier. Then, he went on to complete military police training in Augusta, Georgia. After graduating and finalizing his training at the “Advance Independent Military Training” as an SPC4, he was assigned to Fort Meyers, Virginia. There, along with his other duties, he had the honor of standing guard at President Kennedy’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

“We are here to tell you something very important.” Gray’s father walked up to her.

Rion calmed from his night terror easily, and he and Percival went back to sleep. When morning arrived, Rion shot out of bed with a grin, full of his typical energy. He had no memory of his tears and screaming the previous night, which was just as well; the boy deserved peace after all the heartache he had weathered.

Watching my grandfather’s dedication in the United States Air Force, and my father’s in the Army influenced my commitment to sacrificing different aspects of my life in preparation to attend a service academy. Both men serve as examples to me of service and dedication to our great country. Continuation of this legacy weighs upon me to advance the ball further. As a member of the NAACP, my grandfather fought in the civil rights movement to afford an equal opportunity for me to succeed in our ever-changing world. Providing an opportunity to prosper and tools to serve, remained an important priority for him as he encouraged his children and grandchildren to make their own place in their community. His experiences and mission taught me important

“Oh,” Grant muttered, mostly to himself, “well that’s good, I guess. Thanks, Auntie.” Grant shuffled over to the dining room to help finish setting the table with the other women. He didn’t look back.

After Lucinda had given me this letter, I put things into motion. As Francois had me watched like a hawk, there was only one place I was free from his henchmen’s icy stares, the dressmaker. He allowed me to have a new dress fashioned when there was a social event where I needed to accompany him for appearances. He liked to parade me in front of Creole society coerced to portray the image of being happily married. We had such an event coming up the first week of June.

“Daddy, it’s your daddy.” She says matter-of-factly, and John can almost hear the child’s enthusiasm.

"I wonder- is this where I went wrong with you, Ralf?" I spoke. "I wonder if all those performances I made you give as a boy led you to this. Dressing up like a puppet on a string."