Military Mothers are very, very special. (What I wrote IMO is typical of what most military Mothers go through.)
I am writing this from my perspective after fifty five plus years of marriage, 25 of those years were on active duty. Over those years Claire has been at my side supporting me. She is the love of my life, my mistress, my best friend and my confident. Most of all she is the Mother of our three beautiful children.
It was February
1968 when our eyes first met I was on a weekend pass from the Engineer Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Va. We danced, exchanged phone numbers and saw each other a few times over the next 7 months until I was deployed to Germany. Although we did not know at the time it was there that we began our journey as a Military family. Claire in January of 1969 said goodby to her family and travel to Germany, a foreign country with a language she did not speak to be with me. On 18 January we were married and lived on the economy for nine months. Claire became a Military mother when our Daughter, Hieka, was born on 21 Dec 1969. A year later I received orders for Vietnam. Claire with baby in hand went home to Baltimore. This was the first of many times she had to raise our children on her own. When I came back from Nam our Daughter did not really remember me. It was Claire, who had to explain who I was and why I had been gone from her life a year at such a young age.
A few years later our first son, Chris, was born in Michigan and our youngest son, Mathew was born in Korea. We were station in Taegu Korea however Claire had challenges with the pregnancy and often had to travel to the US military hospital in Seoul. Sometimes my train and once by helicopter. One time coming back from Seoul a typhoon hit and all contact with the train was lost. She was on her own and did not arrive back in Taegu 20 hours after the schedule arrival time. Yes Military Mothers are very, very special.
Throughout my career I was often away from home on temporary duty and or deployed as in Desert Storm for a year. It was during these times that Claire had to be both Mother and Dad. She had to the disciplinarian, the counselor, nurse, the chauffeur and most importantly their advocate in time of crisis.
Fortunately for us, as a Military Mother, she has not had to explain to her children why their Daddy is not coming home. For those Military Mothers who have had to our hearts and prayers go out to them.
Our hearts and prayers goes out to all Military Mothers throughout the world. You all are Very Very Special.
) that pass is not transferable....Fast forward: we found out last year, Vet's get the Lifetime park pass now for free! We both have our Vet ID's so we picked up new passes while visiting Volcanos NP in HI in December; we both have them now. 
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