My father was the 8th of 9 boys with 4 sisters. His dad my grandfather was a sharecropper. For those of you not from the south what that means is they were allowed to live on a farmers land in a shack basically. They worked the land for the farmer for exchange they got a place to live and food. My grandfather sent the boys out to work the land when they reached the fourth grade. So my dad only got to go to school up to the third grade.
When he was 18 he walked out of the fields barefoot and down to the recruiters office in Henderson NC and joined the Army. He told me a few years before he died "The first toothbrush I never had to share the Army gave me. My first pair of shoes I ever owned all to myself were my jumpboots the Army gave me. The training was nothing to me. It was a piece of cake compared to working on the farms." My dad sent his paycheck home to his mom. He did not come back home until he had served two terms in Korea.
I am the third oldest of four boys. My dad met my mom while he was sharecropping her dads farm in Wilton NC. He begged her to marry him and when he got back from Korea they dated for a short while and were married. All four of us were born in a different state. My oldest brother in Jackson Miss , the next at Fort Jackson SC , I was born in Seattle Wash and my baby brother in Harrisonburg PA. We traveled all over the world with my dad. We lived in Naples Italy and Baumhaulder Germany and many places in the states.
When I was 8 I remember my dad telling us all that he had to go away for awhile. He said he would be back in a little over a year. He had to go train some guys in a place called Vietnam. I cried so hard because it was the first time he really had to go away for a long time. I remember that Christmas. We didnt get very much. Less than usual. But I didnt care. My Christmas present would be seeing my dad when he got home. I remember every night my mom would huddle us all together and we woud pray for our dad to come back home safe. We were living in Fayetteville at Ft Bragg at the time. We lived on Durant Street just off the base. Most of the dads on the street were in Vietnam as well. I remember hanging out with all the guys on the street and playing ball. We would talk about when our dads were coming home. Some boys dads never did come back. One night I heard a knock at the door. We all ran to the door and there was our dad. He had his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. All four of us grabbed him and we started to cry. Ive never cried so hard in my life. My mom just stood back and watched I remember that. It was the first time I ever saw my daddy cry. I only saw him cry one more time in his life.
My dad stayed in the Army until I was around 13. That is when we moved to Durham NC. My dad told me that I could play ball if I wanted to. He said he never got to play "Games" growing up and as long as I played as hard as I could and did my very best I could play games as long as I wanted to. I played baseball and football. My dad never missed a game. It brought so much joy to him to see his kids play games.
My oldest brother joined the Army and retired from the Army. The next brother joined the Army and so did my baby brother. I went to college to play football. They knew what they wanted to do with their lives. I had no idea what I wanted to be. When I got out of college I still had no idea what I wanted to be. I had 9 different jobs one year. I hated them all. I just couldnt stand doing something just for the sake of money. I ended up taking a job as a Public Safety Officer. It was in Durham we were fireman and policeman a trend that was going around at the time to save money. I liked it , it was exciting. But as the years went by I saw too much. I saw so many kids that didnt have a dad. Didnt have the chance to play games. Didnt have a positive role model in their lives. And I began to realize locking up people was not the answer at least not to me. So I retired eary. I did not use but three sick days in 18 years and I had 1 years worth of vacation so I got a 20 year retirement package.
I had started coaching while I was in the Police Dept. Working with the inner city kids and the Dept let me use comp time to coach. So I started coaching and have been doing it ever since. I hope to think Ive made a difference and still do. My mom is still alive 74 and still looking 50. She is an absolute saint sent from heaven. My dad passed away in Oct of 2000. My hero the guy that I always dreamed one day of being just like.
There is not a day that goes by I dont miss him. We never had much growing up. But we had each other. My brothers were and are still my best friends. My mom is my rock. She is the most beautifull and precious woman in the world. Just a smidgen ahead of my wife but dont tell her that. I have two boys one 21 in the Sheriffs academy he graduates on the 18th of this month. He is so much like me. He just has never known what he wanted to do with his life. He wants to coach football too. My youngest is the exact opposite. He knew what he wanted to do when he was 5. Go to his favorite school and play baseball. He is so driven and focused and both are great young men. Very humble and respectfull. I am a very luck man. Molded by an American hero and a Godly mother. Thanks for letting me share my story. There is so much more I could say. But this post is probaly way too long already.