I served in the United States Navy from 1963 to 1991. Twenty-eight years. I retired as a Chief Petty Officer. Aviation Boatswain’s Mate. I spent most of my career on the flight decks and hangar decks of aircraft carriers, moving planes, fighting fires, and yelling at nineteen-year-olds to keep their heads down.
After the Navy, I worked fifteen years as a fire safety inspector for the City of Norfolk. My wife, Peg, and I raised three kids in a little brick house a mile from the naval station.
Danny was our youngest.
Peg died in 2015. Cancer.
Danny died four years later.
I won’t pretend I handled either one well.
After Danny’s funeral, his wife, Jess, moved back to Norfolk from Camp Lejeune with Caleb. She didn’t have family of her own. Her parents died when she was in college.
She moved into the little apartment over my garage. Then, when that got too small, she and Caleb moved into the house. Into the back bedroom where Danny grew up.
