Been There, Done That

By Lee K.

The "been there, done that phrase," no doubt has been used by all Military Brats at one time or the other. Being from a military background there has been a lot of this and a lot of that.

I suppose the one thing that sticks out for me was the PCS to the Philippines (1968-1969). Arriving in the wee hours of the morning, twenty-four hours before the next Typhoon (minus my dad who had been held up at Travis due to a informality in his walking papers, and sick to death from the booster shots administered before boarding), we literally fell out of the plane.

I can still remember the wind and rain and the black of night as if it were a specter of what was next to come.

The bright side was that our old stateside friend, CMSGT William (Bill) Golden was there as our sponsor. After getting the short tour?and I mean really short, we were assigned temporary billets and tried to settle in for what was left of the night . . . right! Due to crossing the dateline, it seemed like up was down and down was up.

Seventy two hours later, my father CmSgt Francis l Kitchens, joined the traveling dog and pony show . . . let the games begin! I must say the Quarters assigned weren't half bad. It was curious that it was built on six ft. pylons and had a small raised landing on the front and back. What is the meaning of this? I quizzed my dad. "It rains a bit here," wass all he would answer.

What happened next is what sets us apart from anybody and anything in the whole wide world. On the next morning our new community turned out in force to welcome and to make sure we had what we needed to survive until that slow boat with the house hold goods finally came in (and that is yet another story).

Not anywhere since then, do I remember feeling like a part of something bigger than myself than I did during those two years. I love my country and have served also, following in mt fathers footsteps that were always to big to fill. He's been gone these last fourten years and I miss him badly, bit the memories of those times and the idea that they raised three children on a sergeants pay never fails to remind me of how blessed I am to come from a family that knew what commitment and honor is about. Here's to you dad and to the rest of us who made through.

(If anyone sees that I posted a story that involves a Boll Weevil and gets this . . . let me say that one is coming soon to a theater near you, but for now it flies in cyber space somewhere over El Secundo California my apologies for mis-spelled words or bad writing habits—I'll try to do better in the future.)

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