The other day I received a phone call from a very nice lady from the Eden Valley Care Center facility. Her name is Pam Hernandez, she is the social services officer at Eden Valley. She mentioned that she was putting on an affair at the facility for the family of Francis Rubbo, a former citizen of Gonzales. He had passed while at Eden Valley, and Pam had discovered that he was also a member of the American Legion Post 81 of Gonzales.
She wanted to express her condolences to his family for all the things Francis had done while growing up and serving his country as a sailor in the U.S. Navy. He had impressed Pam so much that she decided to not only make it a day of appreciation, but also to invite others to share with his family how much he had added to our lives. She put the word out and followed up to invite members of the American Legion to share the day. I know that there will be a few of us attending.
As I was writing these words, I had to stop for a long time. This is not news to you readers, as I’m sure you were struck as hard as I was to hear the news that our former President, Donald Trump, had been shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. What a calamity! I have lived through enough of these news announcements to make me ill upon hearing the word, “assassination.”
I will never forget the first time I heard the word. I was sitting on the hood of a field ambulance in the motor pool of the 82nd Airborne Division. It was confusing to me because almost every soldier in the motor pool stopped what they were doing and just stared around. I looked over at my Platoon Sergeant; he was an old Army guy that didn’t put up with any guff by anyone. His face was very pale and he was just doing what we learned later was what happened when he didn’t know what to say to his young charges. It was the 1,000-yard stare.
For some reason, no one said anything for a couple of minutes while additional news was being announced. The song on the radio we were listening to was, “I’m Leaving It Up to You” by Dale & Grace. Don’t ask me why I remember that. I have trouble remembering my Bride’s Birthday, but I will never forget that day.
I didn’t know exactly what I should be doing. I was just a private that had left everything I knew and joined the Army. The only choice you had about military life was that you could choose which Military Occupational School to go to when you enlisted or you could choose to be a paratrooper. My two older brothers said to go for the money, so my choice was easy. I had enough of school and being a paratrooper paid $35 more a month if you made it through jump school. I was just a kid of 17 and figured I had been in school enough, so I chose jump school. My monthly stipend was $72 per month, so the choice was pretty easy.
I was sitting on the hood of a jeep in the motor pool of the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C., when the tragic news was announced on a portable radio, with which we had been listening to music. I looked at my platoon sergeant because he had all the answers to almost any question. The disc jockey interrupted the song with what we had thought was a joke or some morbid attempt at a joke. All the music seemed to stop and no jeeps were being driven. It was pretty eerie for a young guy like me.
Finally, I got up enough nerve to ask the sergeant what was going on. He said, “The Commander in Chief of our country has been assassinated.” I thought for a minute what was to happen. “Does this mean we will being going to war?” I asked. Not because I really wanted to go to war or even thought we would, but I needed to say something because I couldn’t stand the quiet.
My sergeant slid off the hood and asked if any of us knew what happened. I wasn’t about to incur his ire, so I didn’t say anything. I knew that our President was John F. Kennedy because that is one question that you were asked when you were in a classroom, and I had been in a couple of Army classrooms already. Did I know what it meant to be our Commander in Chief? No I didn’t. But over the next several weeks, I studied everything I could find on him. It became clear that we had lost a great man. He had been the father of Special Forces, which was a dream of mine to be.
Another hero of mine was Ronald Reagan. He too was shot by some idiot. There are others that have and others that have been close calls. In almost every attempt the target of these morons were great men who led the nation to greater heights and targeted by mental mini men.
Donald Trump is a hero as far as I am concerned. He represents strength with his love of the military and love of country. This is a trait that is always high on my list of heroes. In this very tenuous time, we need a leader who will fight for America. Whether you agree with me or not, please find it in your heart to show respect to those that may disagree with you. I believe that Donald Trump will point us in the right direction and lead our country with strength and conviction. I have always been proud to be an American, and pray the best is yet to come.
God Bless.
