Reprinted with permission of Pat from her Face Book page April 17, 2016
Today is my dad’s 95th birthday, his 6th birthday in heaven. This is my tribute to him.
The 4 of us Nelson kids were born into a United States Air Force family as our Dad, CMSgt. Arthur Harold Nelson served his country while our Mom, Beatrice Belle Nelson, kept the home fires burning in service to her family and nation.
I attended 9 different schools (2 high schools) in 4 states. Just during my school years, Dad was stationed at 9 Air Force Bases (including tours of duty in Japan & Korea (Korean War) & South Viet Nam (Viet Nam War). In May 1964, Dad received orders for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, East Africa, which would have required my brother, Art, and I to attend a boarding school in Switzerland while Dad and Mom and the 3yr old twins, Bev & Freddy, would go to Africa. My research of 1964-66 USAF history in Africa and studying Dad’s military records shows he was to supervise the building of a flight line and hangars and set up a top notch aircraft maintenance crew on a new Air Force Base in the interest of strategic placement of military forces in the Cold War... particularly to serve as a base of operations for what was becoming the Viet Nam War. This was no small assignment and would have been a real feather in his cap, lifting him even higher in his military career.
Daddy made this announcement at supper one spring evening in 1964. I was devastated at the thought of leaving San Antonio, Texas, because I had just been elected as Vice President of Student Council for my Junior year. I was to play volleyball and basketball, was on the extemporaneous speaking/oratory/debate team and had friends I didn’t want to leave… again. The next day I was sitting on the front porch step having a glass of ice tea, deep in thought when he came home from work. “How about fixing your poor, old, tired dad a glass of cold ice tea?” he asked. Without even looking at him, I replied, “No, daddy, I just want to be alone…”
He could see I was upset. After getting his own iced tea, he came out to the porch and sat down beside me. The smell of his starched, sun-baked fatigues, leather boots, Old Spice after shave… the smell of my security, touched my senses. He asked, “Do you want to talk about what’s on your mind?”
I started to cry and told him I didn’t want to go to school in Switzerland. I wanted to graduate from Randolph High School, with THIS group of friends… I wanted to be on student council, in the school plays, on the speaking team and debate team. I wanted to play volleyball and basketball. I wanted to bowl in the Texas State Championship next year. I wanted to go to college in Texas and if we moved overseas none of that would happen and I would go back to being "the new kid"… again. I didn’t want to give up everything in order to help mom even more with the babies than we already were… He put his arm around me and we sat in silence for a long time, just sipping tea, listening to the distant roar of aircraft overhead. A few days later, Dad come home to tell us his orders were cancelled. I was so ecstatic! Now my life could go on as planned. That’s all I knew… until 46 years later…
I found out after he died in 2010, while going through his military records, that my dad turned down his assignment to Ethiopia knowing that in declining that tour of duty, he would be obligated to the next overseas assignment. His commanding officer wrote, “Sgt. Nelson understands full well, in declining his assignment to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he will not, under any circumstances, be able to decline his next foreign assignment…” My dad’s next orders for an overseas assignment came 2 years later… to Viet Nam.
Now it all was clear… My dad made that decision for ME, so that I could graduate from Randolph AFB High School, the only school I ever attended for more than 2 years… He put me above his own wishes, above his career. As I read the form I literally could not speak… Tears began to flow. The dates, the records did not lie. A father’s sacrifice for his daughter became a family’s sacrifice for that daughter’s selfishness… In April of 1966, my senior year of high school, once again, I said goodbye to my dad as he left for the Viet Nam War. He would be in eminent danger. We could lose him. And in a very real way we did. He came back alive, but he was an altered personality. His dynamic, bigger-than-life personality was replaced by a mellow, silent man who didn’t laugh so much anymore and was often lost in thought.
Before I was born and after I graduated and left home, Dad was stationed at an additional 10 bases including 3 overseas tours of duty serving in WWII, Korean War and Viet Nam War. Over a career spanning 31 years, 8 months, 21 days, my father was stationed at 19 different bases, including 6 overseas tours of duty in Italy, North Africa, Germany, Japan, Korea, Viet Nam.
Yes, life can be hard on military kids. But it is always harder on the service members… That’s why military children are proud of their parents, learning patriotism, service to God, Country & Others to the "nth" degree. We go to sleep at night with the distant sound of fighter jets flying overhead. WE GROW UP TO SERVE OTHERS... IT'S JUST WHO WE ARE.
Thank you for all your sacrifices, Dad. Thank you for the privilege of growing up as a military kid. Happy Birthday, Daddy!
Arthur Harold Nelson, USAF CMSgt. Ret. April 17, 1921 - November 25, 2010. Your legacy lives on... our love and respect continue. Happy 94th Birthday, Daddy!
Today is my dad’s 95th birthday, his 6th birthday in heaven. This is my tribute to him.
The 4 of us Nelson kids were born into a United States Air Force family as our Dad, CMSgt. Arthur Harold Nelson served his country while our Mom, Beatrice Belle Nelson, kept the home fires burning in service to her family and nation.
I attended 9 different schools (2 high schools) in 4 states. Just during my school years, Dad was stationed at 9 Air Force Bases (including tours of duty in Japan & Korea (Korean War) & South Viet Nam (Viet Nam War). In May 1964, Dad received orders for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, East Africa, which would have required my brother, Art, and I to attend a boarding school in Switzerland while Dad and Mom and the 3yr old twins, Bev & Freddy, would go to Africa. My research of 1964-66 USAF history in Africa and studying Dad’s military records shows he was to supervise the building of a flight line and hangars and set up a top notch aircraft maintenance crew on a new Air Force Base in the interest of strategic placement of military forces in the Cold War... particularly to serve as a base of operations for what was becoming the Viet Nam War. This was no small assignment and would have been a real feather in his cap, lifting him even higher in his military career.
Daddy made this announcement at supper one spring evening in 1964. I was devastated at the thought of leaving San Antonio, Texas, because I had just been elected as Vice President of Student Council for my Junior year. I was to play volleyball and basketball, was on the extemporaneous speaking/oratory/debate team and had friends I didn’t want to leave… again. The next day I was sitting on the front porch step having a glass of ice tea, deep in thought when he came home from work. “How about fixing your poor, old, tired dad a glass of cold ice tea?” he asked. Without even looking at him, I replied, “No, daddy, I just want to be alone…”
He could see I was upset. After getting his own iced tea, he came out to the porch and sat down beside me. The smell of his starched, sun-baked fatigues, leather boots, Old Spice after shave… the smell of my security, touched my senses. He asked, “Do you want to talk about what’s on your mind?”
I started to cry and told him I didn’t want to go to school in Switzerland. I wanted to graduate from Randolph High School, with THIS group of friends… I wanted to be on student council, in the school plays, on the speaking team and debate team. I wanted to play volleyball and basketball. I wanted to bowl in the Texas State Championship next year. I wanted to go to college in Texas and if we moved overseas none of that would happen and I would go back to being "the new kid"… again. I didn’t want to give up everything in order to help mom even more with the babies than we already were… He put his arm around me and we sat in silence for a long time, just sipping tea, listening to the distant roar of aircraft overhead. A few days later, Dad come home to tell us his orders were cancelled. I was so ecstatic! Now my life could go on as planned. That’s all I knew… until 46 years later…
I found out after he died in 2010, while going through his military records, that my dad turned down his assignment to Ethiopia knowing that in declining that tour of duty, he would be obligated to the next overseas assignment. His commanding officer wrote, “Sgt. Nelson understands full well, in declining his assignment to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he will not, under any circumstances, be able to decline his next foreign assignment…” My dad’s next orders for an overseas assignment came 2 years later… to Viet Nam.
Now it all was clear… My dad made that decision for ME, so that I could graduate from Randolph AFB High School, the only school I ever attended for more than 2 years… He put me above his own wishes, above his career. As I read the form I literally could not speak… Tears began to flow. The dates, the records did not lie. A father’s sacrifice for his daughter became a family’s sacrifice for that daughter’s selfishness… In April of 1966, my senior year of high school, once again, I said goodbye to my dad as he left for the Viet Nam War. He would be in eminent danger. We could lose him. And in a very real way we did. He came back alive, but he was an altered personality. His dynamic, bigger-than-life personality was replaced by a mellow, silent man who didn’t laugh so much anymore and was often lost in thought.
Before I was born and after I graduated and left home, Dad was stationed at an additional 10 bases including 3 overseas tours of duty serving in WWII, Korean War and Viet Nam War. Over a career spanning 31 years, 8 months, 21 days, my father was stationed at 19 different bases, including 6 overseas tours of duty in Italy, North Africa, Germany, Japan, Korea, Viet Nam.
Yes, life can be hard on military kids. But it is always harder on the service members… That’s why military children are proud of their parents, learning patriotism, service to God, Country & Others to the "nth" degree. We go to sleep at night with the distant sound of fighter jets flying overhead. WE GROW UP TO SERVE OTHERS... IT'S JUST WHO WE ARE.
Thank you for all your sacrifices, Dad. Thank you for the privilege of growing up as a military kid. Happy Birthday, Daddy!
Arthur Harold Nelson, USAF CMSgt. Ret. April 17, 1921 - November 25, 2010. Your legacy lives on... our love and respect continue. Happy 94th Birthday, Daddy!
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