My Grandfather - Original Writing

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My grandfather had spoken about his time in the service since before I could remember. Until recently, I had never taken an interest in what he was saying. I had become curious to everything that my grandfather, Steve had said. I had heard stories that intrigued me, and had realized that this information he was speaking about was actually important to our family history. He painted a picture in my mind of the time period, a war had just started when he was in high school. He told me that everything was mass chaos, he did not know what to do with his life yet. At first he just ignored it, going to college for a year, and getting married to my grandmother. Steve told me that college just wasn’t something that he wanted to do. After a failed attempt at trying to enjoy college, he decided that he would sign up for the Air Force. His father had been a pilot in World War II, and it was always a dream of his to follow in those footsteps. I was curious about where he was first placed. He went on to tell me that it was at the Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, for his basic training. One of the saddest stories that I remember him telling me was that he couldn’t pursue his dream of becoming a pilot because he lacked perfect vision. Although, one of the funniest stories he told me spurred from this, he had tried to memorize the eye chart to pass his eyesight test. Even though he wanted to become a pilot, he still enjoyed working as an air traffic controller. “What does an air traffic controller do?” I asked. “Well, we dispatched and received at the airfield,” he replied. I had never known what this was, so I was quite amazed, it seemed like a fun job. Although basic training was not all fun for him, he left his wife at home in Kewanee... ... middle of paper ... ... for the reason that they wanted to raise their family, in their hometown. From this, I have learned that family is important, no matter where you are at. Steve told me that leaving the service could have been a disaster, but that it helped him to create a good, steady life for his children. His wife and he now agree that they made the right decision in deciding not to continue to serve in the Air Force. He continues to believe that service is important to keep this nation intact. He drew a vivid picture for me of what it is like to have a family, and to have served for our country. Through the stories he has told me, I have learned it is okay not to always know who you are. Steve has taught me that life is an experience to grow from and to even gain a better perspective of who you are. For Steve, he realized that his family was the thing most important to him.

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