President Trump hosts Mother's Day event..

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o64_zbecJlc

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/05/first-lady-melania-trump-honors-military-mothers-the-soul-of-our-nation/

 Infantrymen must be able to fight on multiple battlefields.

SGT Daw's initial active duty assignment, the Rocky Mountains, provided great training for a young buck sergeant from North Carolina.  This Southern Manly Man would exploit the skills and leadership abilities, provided by his experience with the North Carolina National Guard, in such a manner that Army leadership at Fort Carson was alerted.

SGT Daw's platoon leader, company commander and battalion commander quickly recognized this young Eleven Bravo warfighter was special, indeed.

General Manhart, the Post commander, through his chain of command, relayed President Kennedy's instructions to them:

"I want the very best!"

NASA had let the Russians take the lead in space technology, particularly in rocket boosters.

Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite; President Kennedy was adamant that the United States would be the first to put a man on the moon.

Toward that end, he knew where to find the best astronaut candidates -

Fort Carson, Colorado, home of the Fourth Infantry Division.

Wiki:

"President John F. Kennedy's push for a manned Moon landing was part of a broader effort to enhance the United States' position in the Space Race, particularly against the Soviet Union.

 Kennedy's administration expanded NASA and initiated the Apollo program, which included selecting astronauts from military backgrounds, as they were often seen as ideal candidates for space missions due to their training and discipline."

And Brigadier General Manhart (soon to be Major General...) knew how to identify "the best of the best".

This West Point commissioned officer was a stud, indeed.

Ashton Manhart graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Class of 1932. He retired with disability in 1967 as a U.S. Army Lieutenant General.

Awarded as a Lieutentant 

General.

Our Mother enlisted God in our efforts to protect our father.

 Belfast Baptist Church was only blocks away from Uncle Bill, Aunt Sister, Jerry, Janet, Judy and Jimmy.

An alliteration of First Cousins like no other.

  SSG Daw's talented wife was a looper, looping the leaves of tobacco, three or four at a time, onto tobacco sticks, as pictured above.  I cherish those beautiful sun-drenched days handing seemingly endless bundles of tobacco leaves to my mother.

I still marvel at her deftness of hand as she weaved those leaves so gracefully.

I was proud to be part of a team of four loopers, each with their own 'hander' under the tin roof covering, building a considerable stack of looped leaves of gold that awaited the 'hangers'.

The hangers were Manly Men, some in their teens.  These studs would carry the heavy tobacco-laden sticks (particularly the 'lugs', earliest leaves to be cropped and the largest leaves on the plant) into the barn and hang them on horizontal rafters.

These tiered rafters were eight to ten feet off the ground, requiring the hanger standing on the upper level have substantial upper and lower body strength in order to reach down, grab the tobacco stick with one hand initially and position it so it could be hung on the rafter above him.  

I can still clearly see my beautiful Mother's smile as Mr. Howell handed my day's wages to me at the end of the day.

Cash money.

Fifty cents an hour added up.

Thank you, Mr. Howell, a legend in those days in rural Goldsboro, for your kindness and gentle spirit.

Spring planting provides those beautiful rows of the number one cash crop of North Carolina for many, many years.

Well, since 1789...

Late summer and the xanthophylls being revealed, with chlorophyll diminishing, presents leaves just beckoning for a 'cropper' to strip them from the stalk as they yellow...

 Finishing her second and part of third grade, Denise's outgoing personality enabled her to make friends easily.

She adapted to every transition in her life with confidence and excellence.

Our incredible Mother ensured that excellence continued with her schoolwork...

Departing Fort Knox led to the conclusion of my seventh grade and completion of the eighth grade in rural North Carolina.

Eighth grade's strongest memory was the fracture of my clavicle during football practice.  So much for that football season.

  I did, however, learn to tuck my shoulder during grass drills in the ninth grade... 

I recall our Mother and her flash card drills with Denise, an often-repeated endeavor.  Denise grasped mathematics easily; that skill would enable her to become an incredible RN in the years to come.

One afternoon, my ever-inquisitive Mother asked if I remembered how to calculate the square root of any number, which she had taught me in Hawaii.

1967 - there were no calculators.

As soon as I had conquered division, Mother knew I was ready for square root calculations.

My most outstanding memory of my fifth grade at Schofield Barracks was the look on Mr. Hirata's face when I demonstrated my newly acquired skill.

The Banty Rooster was cranked up, I must admit.

That outstanding memory of Mr. Hirata was soon displaced by another.

It was a typically beautiful warm and sunny day in Hawaii when he unexpectedly marched over and called us in from the playground for some bad news.

And there was Walter Cronkite, on a TV rolled into the classroom,  advising the nation on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy .