Preface
He was always a skinny kid, and short for his age and growing up. But farm work made him stronger than most of his classmates. When his friends were playing football, he was hauling hay or irrigating.
He was always dressed in blue jeans and a tee-shirt. His dark brown hair was always worn in a buzz cut. His fair skin caused him to freckle or sunburn. His hands were always calloused and ruff. At school, he was seldom serious, both with friends and with school work.
Most of his time was spent working on the farm. During the winter when work was slow he took vocational welding classes. After he graduated High School his father told him that he was thinking about retiring in a few years. He wanted his son to see a little bit of the world before he committed to farming. He knew his son had plans to take over the farm.
On a Wednesday afternoon, he walked into the recruiting station. The man at the desk seemed eager to sign him up. He sat him in a room with five other people and they took their test. When he received his test scores the man at the desk was excited and said, “You scored high enough to be anything you want. I think you would make a Tanker.”
He only had a week to say goodbye to his family and friends. His church held a potluck for him. His youth Pastor was a little choked up, and he was afraid the man was going to cry. His dad and mom drove him to the airport and stayed until his plane departed.
Basic Training seemed long but went by fast. He kept quiet and the Drill Sergeant never learned his name. He was already a good shot so he fired "expert". He was good at first aid because he had treated live stalk and pets. The rest of the basic training was just plain fun.
After Basic Training he went to Fort Sam Huston to become a Medic. This school was much more challenging. He had to learn a lot to make it through. It seemed every week more people washed out of training, people who he assumed were smarter than he was. He graduated AIT near the top of his class.
After his training, he was stationed at Fort Carson. On long weekends he could travel to his home and spend a day with his family. He was heading back after his Memorial Day celebration. He climbed onto the aircraft and took his seat. He looked out the window over the aircraft wing. He watched as they taxied down the runway. Before long they were flying over the Rocky Mountains.
