I was really proud and overjoyed at the job the Navy Seals did in freeing Captain Richard Phillips from the Somalian pirates. They did an incredible job. God bless our men and women serving in the Armed Forces.

I don’t know why this has been on my mind so strongly the last few months but I believe it started when I was at my Aunt Joann’s funeral in Mount Pleasant, TN. After the funeral, we all sat at a restaurant and shared family stories, and it was a flood of memories rushing back from childhood — good memories. We cried and then a second later laughed until our side hurt! A few weeks later, I was asked to give the sermon Sunday morning at church. My sermon was called “A Living Sacrifice” and all I could think about was my Dad. He was not a perfect Dad, but as I get older, I start to realize he wasn’t as bad as I thought. Anyway, I don’t want to forget his sacrifice so to help remember it and share it, I do what I know how to do –  make websites. So I created a website to help me remember and share the research I’ve found on my Dad’s service in the US Air Force:

USAFSS Dad

I was doing some research on the internet and came across this film. I read the info and watched the trailer. Wow, did it explain a lot and bring a flood of memories back. I even got the old albums and pictures out from the places I grew up — Okinawa, Crete, Germany, and numerous bases in the states like Alaska, Texas, and South Carolina. My Dad was in the US Air Force and retired as a MSgt.  Here’s more info about the film:

It’s hard to imagine a military BRAT’S childhood. Moving from base to base around the world, they are at home everywhere – and nowhere. There are 1.2 million children being raised in the military today. An estimated 15 million Americans are former BRATS. They include actors Jessica Alba and Robert Duvall, Senator John McCain, and basketball star Shaquille O’Neal.

BRATS is the first cinematic glimpse into a global subculture whose journey to adulthood is a high-octane mixture of incredible excitement and enormous pain. Make no mistake – BRATS is not about the U.S. military – it’s about their children, who grow up in a paradox that is idealistic and authoritarian, privileged and perilous, supportive and stifling – all at the same time. Their passports say “United States,” but they’re really citizens of the world.

Singer/songwriter and Air Force brat Kris Kristofferson leads us through the heart of their experiences, sharing intimate memories with fellow BRATS, including General Norman Schwarzkopf and author Mary Edwards Wertsch, whose ground-breaking book, Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress, was one of the seminal inspirations for this film. Their stories reveal the peculiar landscape of their childhood, the culture that binds them together, and the power it exerts over their adult lives.

A seven-year work of passion by independent filmmaker Donna Musil, BRATS features rare archival footage, home movies and private photographs from post-war Japan, Germany, and Vietnam.

Mrs. Joann Love Foster (Aunt Joann) passed away on Monday, November 24, at Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro.

Born April 10, 1930, in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Althea Satterfield Love. She was the wife of Gene Foster, Sr., of Murfreesboro whom she married on June 1, 1952. She was a graduate of Hay Long High School in Mt. Pleasant. Mrs. Foster was a homemaker and a partner with her husband in the American Termite Company. She was raised in the First Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant.

Joann loved to dance. She and Gene could be found dancing the night away at The Bull Pen in Nashville or the Moose in Murfreesboro.

In addition to her husband, survivors include one son: Gene (Sandy) Foster, Jr., of Summertown; grandchildren: Tim Foster, Jr., of Murfreesboro, Jimmie Foster of Lewisburg and Stephen Foster of Mt. Pleasant, Mich.; 9 great-grandchildren; one brother, Richard Love of San Antonio, TX and one sister: Carole Hendrix of San Antonio, TX. She was preceded in death by a son: Richard Timothy Foster and one grandson: Brian Foster Shultz, 10 brothers and sisters and a beloved canine companion, Benji. Pallbearers will be Tim Foster, Jr., Jimmie Foster III, Stephen Foster, Bill Love, Jr., Drew Love, Thomas Jones, Jr., and Jason Smith. Honorary pallbearers will be Walter Marlin, Joe “Sonny” Roddy, and students of the Foster Wado Dojo Karate School.

Although it was sad circumstances, it was good to see the extended family again. Being a military brat, I only got to see them roughly every 3 years when Dad would be stationed at a new Air Force base. We would always come home to Mt. Pleasant / Columbia, TN to visit family before moving on to the next base.  Mom (Joann’s sister) flew in from Texas along with Uncle Richard. It was neat to find out that his daughter, my cousin, Angie was living here in Nashville. We had lived in Greece, her in Athens, me in Crete when were very young and our parents would visit each other. I saw Little Bill, Uncle Bill’s son and his Mom, Aunt Martha. It was a wonderful time watching Timothy, my youngest son, listen to the stories he’s never heard before.

PFC Daniel A. Hendrix

Today was the last day of our visit to see Daniel graduate. He graduated from 3^rd Battalion, 34^th Infantry, Bravo Company. Tomorrow (Sunday), he jumps in a bus and heads for Fort Lee, VA for his Quartermaster school for 10 weeks. We had a great two days here with him. We bowled, shopped, ate, and generally cut-up the whole time. Daniel always brought a “battle-buddy” along who was alone and without family. I’ve included some pictures on my flickr account of the graduation. You can look at them here. We were so busy, I forget to get any pictures of him. This picture to the left is taking at 8pm at night at his barracks and it’s our final moments with him before we leave. He looks very serious in the picture but it’s right before saying goodbye and he’s already had some emotional and tearful time with Mom saying goodbye. It was hard leaving him.

US Army BCT Family Day

We got to finally see PFC (Private First Class) Daniel today. He looked incredible in uniform. Today was Family Day where we watched him form up with his company. They released him at noon and we had him back at 1945 hours (7:45pm for you civilians). We went bowling and shopping but the main thing Daniel wanted to do was eat REAL food. We did Taco Bell, snacks, and finally Outback Steakhouse where he ordered the 20 ounce steak. Tomorrow is the actual graduation and we get to spend the day with him again until 1945 hours again. It’s been a full day and I’m exhausted. You can see some pictures here.

Timothy, Dad, and Mom

Well, we finally arrived in Columbia, SC at about 9pm. It’s 2am (can’t sleep) and thought I’d update the blog. Normally, we’d have made much better time but we took a detour. We wanted to go see Fall Creek Falls where my Mom and Dad had their honeymoon. Timothy has been really wanted some good photos with long exposures of waterfalls. We didn’t realize, however, how far off of I-40 Fall Creek Falls was. We changed our mind but on the way back up to I-40, we saw a sign for Burgess Falls and gave it a try. It was WONDERFUL. It had 3 sets of falls and Timothy had a blast. I think I had more fun watching him have so much fun. He took some awesome pictures. You can see them HERE. Although it was only a 3/4 mile trip to the falls, the last part of extremely steep and very rocky for a fat guy with a bad knee but I did it. Just getting this picture with Timothy and Jo Ann with the falls behind us was worth it. I can feel my knee screaming at me now as I type from the experience but it was still worth it. Thursday (now today) is Family Day at Fort Jackson and we’ll get to spend some of the day with PFC Daniel Hendrix!

It’s time to see the third of our sons graduate from Basic Combat Training. Daniel graduates this Thursday and Friday at Fort Jackson, SC. He’s been there for the last 9 weeks and he’s really glad it’s almost over. Next, he goes to AIT at Fort Lee, VA. We leave tomorrow (Wednesday, October 29, 2008) and have Timothy (our youngest son) with us out of school. We both have our Canon cameras and will be updating flickr.com during the trip. Enjoy the trip with us.