It’s particularly touching – being Father’s Day – to remember the sacrifice, honor and love men often bring into our families. At this time of war, (wow, it still hits hard when you say it – “at this time of war”), it’s especially important to remember the people who can’t be with their families, men and women – but on Father’s Day it must hit the men harder.
The thought of remembrance came over me as I attended my brother’s Air Force retirement ceremony in celebration of 20 years of service. Gerald Ambrosine was a citizen airman, serving in the Air Force Reserves for 16 years after leaving full-time active duty.
As a reservist, he was at the base for 38 days of active training each year. Ambrosine also was called to full-time duty twice: For Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield in the early ’90s, and again for the current Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq.
I remember each time he left, how it turned his life topsy-turvy, and how I worried whether I would see my older brother again.
For operation Enduring Freedom, I wondered if it would be difficult to piece his life back together, as it was after his first deployment more than a decade before. I reveled in his sense of duty and his response when all those years earlier, I expressed concern for the life he’d created, his job, his finances, saying “how can they do that, just pluck you out of your life with no regard to your responsibilities?” He chuckled and said, “That’s just the way it is,” never questioning his honor or call to service.
During active duty in the Air Force, Ambrosine often would guard the main gate at Peterson Field in Colorado Springs, ensuring only authorized individuals could enter. He stood for hours upon hours in hot sun and blistering cold.
He told me that during those rough days, when he was tired or uncomfortable, if someone “who came before him,” a veteran of a previous war or with many years of service, approached the gate, he remembered his discomfort was a small sacrifice. It reminded him of their commitment, their service and their sacrifice – “it’s because of them that we are here today,” he would say.
It’s funny, because now I always think of him as an “IT guy,” which is his full-time career working for the city of Denver, overseeing computer systems for the city’s police officers and firefighters. In the reserves, he was a firefighter for many years, and then a police officer, the position he held until retirement.
During the retirement ceremony, among the points made by Commander Robert Haughey, head of the 310 Security Forces Squadron of which Ambrosine was a part, was about the service many people dedicate to their country.
“People tend to forget that military members today are volunteers – they are not drafted, they are not appointees – they choose to be there to protect their family and their country. When an individual gives up so much for their country in time, in effort, energy – they need to be shown at the end of service how much that meant.”
On this Father’s Day, I challenge you to remember – because often we get caught up in the pace of daily life and forget not only those who came before us, but the things they have done and the sacrifices they’ve made on our behalf. Whether the father is a brother, an uncle, a son or a friend … take the time to remember the good times – and thank them for helping make your life what it is today.
Doni Luckett is chief executive of Divine-Basics.com, which produces lifestyle products to reconnect with moments that matter. Your questions may be addressed in the column by e-mailing enrichyourlife@divine-basics.com.
