Some of us are so blessed and so lucky!

One of the dearest and closest friends I have is a gentleman named Robert McLeod. Bob and I are really as much like brothers as we are good friends. I don't remember when we first met, Bob probably does. His dad was partners with one of my great Uncles in Moses Lake, Washington and I'm guessing my folks met his folks through that relationship. The number of years we visited each other's homes on Saturday nights so the folks could play cards, and visit, is considerable. Bob went off to join the Navy and his stories of that time in service were really the catalyst that encouraged me to join (that and dad booting me out of the house after I flunked out of college and was just lying around 8-( ).

His dad and mine were just days apart in birthdays, and hunted together, and even at the age of 80 the two of them were still cutting wood for three or four widow women in the neighborhood so they would have heat for the winter. I remember the fall they were 79 they cut over 7 cords for those ladies. Pardon the segue. Anyhow, Bob has remained very special to me, and so when I go to the coast I try to stop in and visit for a day or two with him and his wife Linda. Plus, Linda is one heck of a great cook, and they do their own beef, and fruits and veggies from their own garden, so it's always a great meal.

One of the things we've alsways discussed is how fortunate he and I have been in our lives. We've got great families, super wives, and just in general are very lucky and fortunate to be where we are today, and to be still living and enjoying everything around us. I've said it a lot on my facebook page, but I sincerely believe "Life is Great!" So, in spite of a an occasional bump in the road, we really have both been blessed with lots of people who love us and whom we love.

As we sat there last week, drinking coffee while Linda cooked up a great breakfast casserole, we remarked on our good fortune, and I recalled a story that reinforced that. Now, we who have served don't often talk about our experiences, except to others who have served. They've been there, and they understand better than anyone some of these experiences. But, I told Bob a story that I'd like to share with you today. Maybe like the two of us, you will feel very blessed too.

In 1972, on board the Carrier U.S.S. Enterprise, Gulf of Tonkin, waters off Vietnam. It was December 24th, Christmas Eve and we were on a no-fly day standing down. However, we still kept both fighter and attack aircraft fully loaded in an alert status. My good friend "Boing" was one of the alert pilots and asked me to stand in while he went for dinner. I'd been suited only about ten minutes when they called away the alert. Two of us launched late that afternoon for an A-7E that had been shot down in the islands just off the South Coast of North Vietnam. After an extensive search, an airborne refueling, and more search we finally had to stop due to darkness. Our search had not concluded in positive results. Sadly we diverted to Danang Air Force Base where we spent the night since the Big "E" was in standdown. The next day we waited for flight ops to start, then flew back to the carrier.

On our return, I was to learn the pilot of the A-7 lost was from VA-113 out of Lemoore, California, and the pilot was Phillip Spratt Clark, Jr. Phillip "Flip" Clark had been a classmate of mine when we went through A-7E training in the Replacement Air Group (RAG). Here begins the real story of how blessed some of us are, while others face significant challenges in their lives and still go on. During the RAG, Flip and his wife found out she had cancer. Every attempt was made to save her, but she passed away that year -- the day after Christmas. We completed the RAG and though Flip had two small children, he put them in his parents care and went to serve his country as he had been trained and raised. Now, one year less two days later than his wife's death, he was lost over Vietnam.

I never had an address for his folks, but knew Flip had been born in Spokane, Washington, so every year on Veteran's Day wrote a short story about his loss and sent it to the Spokane paper hoping the community would know how much he gave, and hopefully that some family might inquire to my note. It didn't happen. Subsequently, I found a listing on a website (footnote.com) for Flip, and as it had a couple of errors in the information, added a correcting note ( http://www.footnote.com/page/93132670_philip_spratt_jr_clark/ ). On October 12th last year I received an email advisory from footnote.com telling me of an inquiry by an slclark. It was Flip's daughter Shannon who was only two years old when he was lost. Now, nearly 37 years later I've made contact with his family.

Shannon and her brother Terry were raised by Flip's mom and dad. Terry went on to graduate from the Naval Academy and then earned his wings in 1992. In September of 1994 he was killed in an F-14 crash off the coast of Southern California. Shannon lost her grand father in 2004 to cancer, and her grand mother was diagnosed in 2009 with cancer. This young lady has faced more tragedy in her life than several people and yet she has a positive outlook, holds her head up high and continues. As Bob McLeod has told me on more than one occassion, "Some of us are so blessed and so lucky!" In memory of Flip Clark, his family and the sacrifices they have made! Shannon, God Bless You! VR. Mags