Real Good Thing!

My first blog was one that focused mainly on politics and my own very conservative opinions about them. After a few years I lost interest in that for the most part and let it rest except for an occasional post. Lisa’s post about her husband’s success as a teacher made me think of one I had made about my father. The post I wrote was prompted by an article which contneded that young Americans are being duped into the military with the promise of educational benefits. Since I do not want this blog to become political I will only post a part of what I wrote.

But first, a little background: My father was born in Brooklyn in 1931. He was the youngest of seven children. When he was 3 months old his father died suddenly. This left his mother to raise all of them through the depression. When he was 17 my father joined the Army. When he was 18 he was sent to Korea. Before he was 19 he was a sergeant, the leader of a machine gun squad and had seen 3 of his 5 closest friends killed, one who’s head was blown off only inches from him. Within months of his 19th birthday he was nearly killed by a mortar shell. He would spend years recuperating and has never fully recovered. He came home and put himself through school, made a career as a teacher and educator, then worked as a postal carrier and retired as a farmer and rancher.

Here is part of that post-

“What should you have to sacrifice to get a college education in the United States? Isn’t it hard enough to get good grades and high SAT scores? Should you have to risk your life as well?” - Beth Shulman

A good question. My father used his GI Bill benefits to help pay for his college education. Benefits earned, in part, during six months of front-line combat in some of the bloodiest days of the Korean War. He also bears the scars and permanent, partial disability of five combat wounds.

My father earned his GED in the Army. Since he was disabled his tuition and books were paid for via his GI Bill. He received a living allowance of $200 per month. My father completed his Bachelor’s Degree in just three years. Because of his high grades, his fourth year was credited to his Master’s Degree in Education Administration, which he completed in only five summers. During that time he was asked to do his Master’s thesis on “A Comparison of the Legal Requirements for Teachers in Texas and the Other States.” It became part of part of the largest study, at that time, of “Teachers and Education in Texas,” commissioned by the Texas Legislature.

My father lived with my mother and their three small children in a house of three small rooms on 5 acres south of Burleson, Texas. They raised much of their own food plus eggs and milk. His commute to Texas Christian University was 70 miles round-trip. He further contributed to his own education by working weekends as a limousine driver between Fort Worth, the Amon Carter Airport, and Dallas. Two twelve-hour shifts every weekend. He was only paid 12 dollars per shift, plus tips. There were hardly any tips. Between runs he studied. My mother did most of the work at the farm but my father did help with milking and other things. That, Ms. Shulman, is what you have to be willing “to sacrifice to get a college education in the United States.”

Of course, my father also didn’t drive a brand new car, have the latest home entertainment or computer equipment, designer fashions or spend his money “clubbing” every night, so he probably sacrificed more for his education than most students are willing to today.

End Post

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I wish that I could put into words how truly proudI am that such a man is my father. He is, without a doubt, the best man I will ever know.