Posted on Jun 26, 2021
CPT Company Commander
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My service in the military has spanned more than two decades. I have seen so much in my time and I am still learning more each day. I have had the honor of serving with the best our nation has to offer. We all have our story but too often we view our story as the reader and not the author. I can't help to wonder why this is. We all have our challenges. Regardless of your disposition you will face adversity.

I have faced a plethora of challenges. During my service I have deployed to war, dealt with PTSD, lost friends to war and suicide, got married and divorced, and survived leukemia. I can't help to think I could have took a knee and blamed the world before quitting. What kind of story would that be? I wouldn't want to read it. My story goes on to getting back healthy again and continuing to serve the greatest nation the world has known. In my story I am the champion. I will go on to make the world around me a better place no matter where I find myself.

What is your story? Are you reading about a Champion or a victim? Would you want to read your story.
Posted in these groups: Resiliency logo Resiliency
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Responses: 6
CSM Charles Hayden
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CPT (Join to see) “Story of your life”? What a great topic to write of four descendants to read in a generation or two. My life story is 18 pages long and each grandchild has read it, in my presence!
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Sgt Field Radio Operator
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Edited >1 y ago
CPT (Join to see) My Father was an Air Force Captain who served in WWII and Korea. I was seven when he was killed when his plane crashed. I was 15 when my Mother passed away. I enlisted in the Marine Corps because I believed aiding South Vietnam was a just cause and wanted to serve our country like my Father before me. After leaving Vietnam, I was in Okinawa for four days. It was there that I learned that my best friend had been killed the day after I left country. At LAX and other places, I was confronted by folks that did not like me.

After discharge, I found a great job as an operator at a chemical plant while I worked on my degree. In school, I had folks that disliked me because I had served. Once I had my degree, I quit a very high paying job to work on the Space Shuttle Program. I retired 33 years later after the last Space Shuttle flight.

I am dealing with the effects of Agent Orange exposure and other issues as a result of serving in Vietnam. I regret the friends that have passed but will continue to fight. I have made more good choices than bad, and have never considered myself a victim.
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Cpl Vic Burk
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CPT (Join to see) Everyone has a story but often we would rather not think about it and stir the memories that we have tried to put out of our minds. Try as we might we see or hear things that make these memories resurface. The only way I could deal with is was thinking, "Every day is a new day. I can make it count or not; the choice is mine."
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