We all knew he served.

United States Air Force.

Never knew his rank, never knew job assignment, only knew he loved his crew. We knew that because we could feel the love when his brothers came up in those rare conversations.

We all knew he came back alone.

Germany was his placement, Vietnam, the rest.

He loved this country, but he loved the rest of the world, too. He loved all people, especially children. He taught us we are all the same. Never once did we learn a drop of hate.

He was honored. I was humbled.

Yellow roses symbolize friendship.

I like to think, as adults, my Dad and I became close friends.

So how did those days of planning, blur into minutes that disappeared in the moonlight?

The chaos was over…
I learned the chaos made me feel normal.

Now there is silence.

And the silence hurts most in the moonlight…and now there’s a new normal.