In Memory of my Father and Veteran’s Day

This Veteran’s Day marks the eleven year anniversary of my father, Richard Lovelady,  dying of a heart attack in his home in Portland.  Twenty years ago I made our weekly phone calls a priority when it finally hit me that my father was getting older and had limitations. This was hard for me to accept because my dad was always a John Wayne figure. He was bigger than life at 6' 5". He was also a loner with a strong sense of responsibility and rather poor interpersonal communication skills.  His death was a surprise and it was not a surprise. Fortunately, I had obeyed an impulse from the Lord to spend  a few days with him the month before he died. My inability to get a hold of him over a 24 hr. period motivated me to call the Portland Police to do a welfare check.  The shock of his passing was compounded by the fact that his home was robbed after his death. The quick trip to Portland and working with my sister to organize the funeral are a fuzzy haze in my memory.                      

I made several trips over the next few months to settle his affairs. What I learned about my dad in sorting through his stuff confirmed what I knew through my experiences with him. My dad was a very dependable person. He always lived within his modest means and paid his bills on time.  He was also very creative with his hands. He made beautiful pieces of furniture: roll top desks, dresser with a book case, magazine rack, etc... He expressed his love for his grandchildren by making them many beautiful items:  bunk beds, toy box, jewelry box, book shelf, doll house, etc..

My dad was a retired Air Force mechanic who belonged to several veterans’ organizations. In sorting through some of his Air Force papers, I discovered that he had been awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses for his service in Vietnam. In reading through a letter of commendation I learned that he had flown 175 combat missions as a flight engineer on an AC-47 aircraft. The AC-47 “Puff the Magic Dragon” was designed for ground support with three Vulcan mini-guns out its side.  In this same letter the officer wrote that his greatest strengths were dependability and creativity. This I fully understood.

When I had asked about my dad about his experiences in Vietnam, he would mumble a few profanities about Washington politicians and then quickly change the subject. What became clear to me in going through his papers was that he had served honorably and with distinction in a difficult time because his country called on him to do it. Over the last decade our country has now called on hundreds of Utah service people and many thousands throughout the country to serve during a difficult time. The vast majority of them are serving honorably and with distinction. This Veterans Day we should honor and support them for their service and sacrifice. As with my father we may never know the depth of their service to us, our community, and our country.