A Lifetime of Privilege

He was white and not a tall man. He was born and raised in a small town in North Carolina in the 1930s and 40s. His father died when he was 19. He joined the navy a year later and entered flight training. He was soon married.

In 1956 at the age of 25 he likely felt it was a privilege to be a naval aviator. He had a son early in the year and his wife died of cancer by the end of the year. He now had the privilege of having an infant son plus the responsibilities of being a naval officer and pilot. His son stayed with his sister and her family for the next five years.

In 1960 the navy offered him the privilege of earning his degree in Monterey, California. There he met his second wife, and they had two children in quick succession. A few days after Christmas before the second child was a year old, his wife, his child from his first marriage, and his youngest child died in a house fire. For the second time he was a single father. His remaining son had the privilege of living with his sister.

A few years later he got the privilege of flying helicopter combat rescue missions in Vietnam. He married again and began preparing for his second tour in Vietnam. He flew helicopter gunships. He had the privilege of being wounded and being haunted by witnessing the incredible bravery of a Vietnamese woman saving children from the Viet Cong.

His heretofore successful navy career was forever damaged by several DUIs over a few weeks in 1969. Within a year or two he was sober and never drank again. He had the privilege of helping others to recover from alcoholism while he managed his own. In 1985 he had the privilege of losing one of his stepdaughters to a car crash.

His privileged grandson spoke at his funeral about how circumstantial luck is real, so always be kind and grateful. He learned that from his grandfather who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.