Father's Day has always elicited that Banty Rooster...

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My father is a Warrior - Eleven Bravo...

 ... Infantryman.

I am the Infantry.

I am my country’s strength in War,
her deterrent in peace.

I am the heart of the fight –
wherever, whenever.

I carry America’s faith and honor
against her enemies.

I am the queen of Battle.

I am what my country expects me to be –
the best trained soldier in the world.

In the race for victory,
I am swift, determined, and courageous,
armed with a fierce will to win.

Never will I fail my country’s trust.
Always I fought on –
through the foe,
to the objective,
to triumph over all.

If necessary, I fight to my death.

By my steadfast courage,
I have won 200 years of freedom.

I yield not:
to hunger,
to cowardice,
to fatigue,
to superior odds,
for I am mentally tough, physically strong,
and morally straight.

I forsake not –
my country,
my mission,
my comrades,
my sacred duty.

I am relentless

I am always there,
now and forever.

I AM THE INFANTRY!
FOLLOW ME!

Thanks to SSG Daw's completion of Jungle Warfare School after years of training on the Big Island, Hawaii, he was extended an invitation to Vietnam...

Gallantry in Action, Tet, January 1968, awarded the Silver Star and ...

... designated KIA after his amazing heroic efforts, providing egress for dozens of his fellow soldiers...

Yes, Martha, my father was declared KIA, due to the Cloud of War, and he stopped getting paid (!)

My father was truly honored - and provided a better reward than that KIA designation - by his selection for the cadre at CMA.  

Jungle Warfare Special Operators, again, were ensured that trip to Southeast Asia...

Another lengthy absence from his family...

Upon his return to the States, a most demanding and unprecedented change in TRADOC awaited this combat veteran.

The Army leadership wanted my father's talents yet again at Fort Knox, preparing the Best of the Best for a paradigm shift in the basic training of United States Army soldiers.

Thanks to Jimmy Carter (!)

Perhaps the genesis of DEI and the illogical and demonic idea of women = men infected our nation at this point.

The idea of men and women serving alongside in combat units, discarding meritocracy, was given the green light by a Naval Academy graduate!

Again, the US Navy is the birthplace of the deleterious dogma so damaging to our national security seen in the last thirty years.

 There was envy among my fellow UTC ROTC cadets...

Many runs during my years at UTC, logging in hundreds of miles, proudly wearing the shirt my father sent from Panama...

Fort Sherman -

The Green  Hell.

I made sure the Black Hats at Fort Benning noticed, perhaps diminishing the hatred they had for cadets... 

*  Above image is not the actual T-shirt; could not find a picture of the yellow version I wore...

 Most often initial question:

"Where did you buy that...", their eyes widening...

That Banty was in full display when my proud response indicated that my father, Sergeant Major 

Ted Daw and Commandant of the NCO Academy at Fort Sherman, had provided it for me.

SGM Daw knew I would be surrounded by Manly Men, training to become Warriors...

His stature within the Army clinched my selection for a four year ROTC scholarship as a seventeen year old.

His knowledge of the top Senior ROTC programs in the country guided me to UTC.

My father knew that this program, responsible for one of the top Airborne Ranger Graduate % in the nation, had cadre who would appreciate the status of our nation's premier jungle operations training center.

Indeed.

All the cadre in my four years of ROTC at UTC were Airborne Rangers.  

Two were Green Berets.

Father's Day 2026 was preceded the previous day by a most important Birthday -

My beautiful Mother and the Sergeant Major's bride...

... now providing Overwatch with my incredible bride, Lisa.

My father was always working with his hands in various projects.

I was more than happy to observe and gain benefits that would be realized as I grew into a man.

Building my skateboards in Hawaii...

Designing triggers for my rabbit traps, competing with my cousins Eddie and Robbie Gurley...

Moving to Columbia, TN, in 1968, accorded me my first time to live in a completely civilian environment for multiple school years, 9-12.

This newly built 3 BR, full basement, brick house was constructed  in a pear tree orchard.  My momma made some truly delicious pear preserves, stored in those Mason jars.

I remember the day I was climbing up one of the larger trees in the front yard, shaking the branches along the way while Denise gathered the fallen jewels in a basket.

This bright sunny afternoon day was yielding quite a number of the fruity rewards.  Dozens of ripening fruit delights just waiting to be harvested...  

SFC Daw was overseeing the operation and his knuckleheaded son, pleased with our bounty .

He and I were both surprised when the branch on which I was standing, while venturing further and further out in order to shake the remaining two pears loose, broke  under my weight.

In the ninth grade, I weighed 165 # at football weigh in.

Enough weight to be snared by the Laws of Physics, and an approximate thirty foot drop ensued...

I reflexively reached for another branch, slowing my descent and allowing for further slowing via remaining branches.

I thought, "That was fun!" and saw SFC Daw with that approving look he displayed on special occasions.

The best part of that house in Columbia was its prominence as being at the top of a quite steep road, requiring mud grip tires for our cars when snow occurred.

But, oh my, what a great sledding hill!

No traffic and a long slow down strip after substantial speeds acquired....

I only damaged a knee in the three years of intense sledding...

My ex-girlfriend, Sherry, had a brother, Steve, who broke his left arm while he and I, on one sled, battled two others as we raced downhill in the back yard(s).

In order to construct these houses, railroad ties were used as landscaping tools, providing a terraced sledding experience.

Literally going airborne as we entered each yard was a blast.

It was unfortunate that Steve, whose turn it was to pilot our sled, slammed into a tree...

My 165 # body slid on top of his, fracturing his arm.  Ouch!

Maybe it was his right arm...

Steve was a good sport, clearly a Southern Manly Man.

With a beautiful sister.

Hearing Bryan Adams' 'Summer of 69' brings back memories...

I also built wooden go carts, utilizing destroyed roller skates for the front and wagon wheels and axle for the rear.

Steering was provided by a combination of rope and the rider's feet.

Again, that 165 # was probably closer to 180 # when I was giving Denise a ride and the front suspension system failed, resulting in my beautiful little sister injured yet once again...

Another of the many examples of 

God looking out for young Denise and this knucklehead was in Wahiawa, Hawaii.

Denise remembers her heel in Hawaii...

... with me riding her on my bike, she perched on my handlebars and her heels resting on the front axle.

Which gave Denise one or two inches to rest her heels.

Helmet?  We don't need no stinkin' helmet!

It wasn't the first, nor the last, time I was guilty of poor judgement.

In Hawaii, we rarely wore more than flip flops...

I believe I hit a bump, resulting in my little sister's heel slipping into the spokes of the rotating wheel.

Yikes!

Substantial bleeding was occurring; I was in front of a neighbor's house and rushed her to their door.

The nice lady (can't remember her name) bandaged Denise's heel and called my Mother.  My parents took her to the hospital for treatment.

Sorry, sis.

Anecdotally, I fell in love with Cocoa Crisps that evening, as the nice lady treated me such to take my mind off what I did.

She gave me two bowls...

My father was an expert fisherman.

I will always cherish those moments when the Sergeant Major would reel in some beauties. 

Chickamauga Lake, TN

Harrison Bay, TN

Woods Reservoir, TN

Santee-Cooper, SC

Rough River, KY

and many more fresh water locales...

Can't forget those salt water forays...

Pensacola and the Gulf of America provided some nice red snapper, redfish, Spanish mackerel, shark and more.

My stud friend, Dr. John Bastian, the 'Man in Black', Johnny Cash's dentist, was with us on one trip...

Again, I will always value my talks with my father.

But how many sons and fathers can discuss military subjects together?

Especially the father and son who were both in the United States Army...

... and infantry trained?

.

 How do you shoot a back azimuth in the jungle?

 Comparing exiting techniques for the Huey and Black Hawk...

 Yes, Martha, you are right....

Engagement of the enemy.

It was time for that Banty Rooster's appearance again - 

June, 1984 was upon me and I was about to celebrate being a father to my firstborn, Kris.  

His mother had her first Mother's Day; now it was my turn!

Patty and I were so glad God provided this gift to us.  We viewed our son's birth as the reward for years of 'keeping our nose to the grindstone' during my undergraduate years at UTC and four more in Memphis.

We were finally at a place where a single income would be sufficient to raise a family.  

Patty's domain was now exclusively our home; her hard work at Sears in Chattanooga and two different freight lines in Memphis (Rebel Motor Freight and Overnite Transportation) was never forgotten.

In preparation for the move to Memphis, I trained Patty as a billing clerk, knowing she would then be able to get a well paying job at Overnite Transportation there.  My terminal manager, Bill Waters, arranged this with the Memphis terminal manager; Patty became the sole bread winner, as dental school students did not have time for anything beyond the requirements of dental school.  

 Great!

I have the opportunity to earn extra money for 3 months - the only opportunity I will have for the duration of dental school (another three years...) 

I knew Memphis sucked (except for Elvis and Graceland), but I never dreamed I would live in a city where the police and fire department go on strike (!).

A curfew was established.

You guessed it, Martha, my job at Rebel Motor Freight was second shift; my return home would be in violation of that curfew.

  If stopped, I wasn't concerned, as I was simply returning home from work.  But I didn't relish the idea of being stopped anywhere in Memphis after dark.

God's grace shielded Patty and me from the scum who lived there, especially in and around the dental school on Union Avenue.

I was never stopped for curfew violation - thanks, God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGEtNAVJk7M

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_Memphis_fire_and_police_strikes

Second Lieutenant Daw was the only soldier in a class of more than 160 students.

With a DDS degree, I was assigned to the dental corps; a short stint at Fort Sam Houston ensued before my permanent assignment to the Aviation Center.

Fast forward three years, and I was about to enjoy my inaugural Father's Day, a responsibility I placed even above my military requirements.

At that time, that included the designation  as Forensic Officer.  Patty and I always dreaded that phone call after hours;  we knew, in all likelihood, I was going to Lyster Army Hospital for a dental emergency...

... or worse, an aviation crash.

As the month of June, 1984, was proceeding, I was pumped.  Kris was healthy and his body gained strength daily; this was going to be a Manly Man.

I envisioned riding him on my 1100F when he was older.  Baseball would soon follow...

I was strutting about that Father's Day; my good friend, test pilot for USAARL and next door neighbor, CPT Scott wells, just grinned at me and enjoyed frolicking  with Kris and me in our pool.  Scott and his wife, also named Patty, were always loving on Kris. 

Kris loved kicking around with those powerful legs, sitting in his styrofoam float. Those legs would serve him well in his baseball and football exploits...

But all good things must come to an end...

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Lines_Flight_007

This is where those four years of infantry training as a graduate of the UTC ROTC program dictated what happened next...

September 5, 1983 

My boss, President Reagan, addressed the nation, holding the Soviet Union -filthy Russians - responsible...

 https://www.nbcnews.com/video/mtp-archive-president-reagans-address-to-the-nation-after-the-downing-of-korean-air-lines-flight-308916291542

 North Korea followed suit...

As a combat-deployed medical battalion,

this protection from neurotoxins must always be at hand, twenty-four seven.

Camp Casey was headquarters for the combat arm of Eighth Army - 38 thousand troops protecting the Republic of Korea. 

The only way dental officers could evaluate Special Forces and ATC personnel deployed in the mountainous regions along the DMZ...

Time to get back to the States...

I have only seen my Little Man twice in those three years - Christmas 1984 and in 1985 after providing military escort for five infants during their flight from Seoul to their waiting adoptive parents in Boston.