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I'll never forget the night I first met him.
It
was late and raining outside. We pulled up to his house in
Tennessee and my dad and I walked up to the front door. When
the door opened I saw a tall shadowy figure standing in
front of me. He didn't say a single word. He just held out
his hand and at that moment I wasn't scared anymore.
I was part of a new family.
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November 9, 2017 - Senior Airman Holly Mansfield, 81st Training
Wing Public Affairs photojournalist, holds a photo of her father,
Air Force veteran
James Cook Jr., and grandfather, U.S. Army Master Sgt. retired James
Cook Sr., on Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. As a third
generation military member, Mansfield carries on the legacy of
service started by her grandfather who joined the Army in 1956 and
her father who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. (U.S.
Air Force photo by Senior Airman Holly Mansfield)
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Everyone joins the
military for different reasons. Some join for education and
others to travel the world. Every now and then you meet a
military member who joined to carry on a family legacy
sometimes spanning over several decades.
Whenever
people ask me why I joined the military I always give them
the basic answer of getting my education or getting out of
my small town in Texas like most people give because I never
really knew how to explain the real reason why I joined.
When I was three years old my mom met and married my
stepfather who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam
War. That same year my mom, brother and I traveled with my
stepfather up to Tennessee to meet his side of the family
for the first time.
I don’t remember everything
about the trip because I was so young, but what I do
remember is the first time I met my grandfather. I was tired
because of the long trip from our home in Red Oak, Texas,
and scared because I had no idea what to expect.
Walking up to their front porch and seeing this tall man
greet me like I’ve known him for years made me feel like I
was home.
We walked inside and sitting on the
counter was a bowl of ice cream he was eating. I looked at
it and without hesitation he asked me if I wanted some for
myself. I said yes and then he picked me up to put me in a
chair and made me a bowl of ice cream.
I remember
him and my dad talking about being in the military but I
didn’t really understand what they were talking about until
a few years later when we went up to Tennessee again to
visit my grandparents.
Walking upstairs in their
house you can smell the sweet smell of Hershey chocolate
bars and see dirty work boots on the ground and Army awards,
medals and patches lining the walls. Looking through all of
his military items on the walls there were three things that
stuck out to me the most: a big yellow patch with a black
line and a horse head on it, a black hat with a yellow rope
around it and a shiny medal in the shape of a star with two
bronze leaves and a letter “V” on the ribbon.
Being
the completely clueless kid that I was, I asked my
grandfather “What are these things and why are they on the
wall?”
My grandfather looked at me, gave me the smirk
he gave all the kids when they asked goofy questions and
then went on to tell me how he received each of the items I
asked about.
Finding out that my grandfather served
in the 1st Calvary Airmobile, the 1st Infantry Division and
then hearing his stories about how he was awarded three
Bronze Stars, including one with Valor, and how he fought in
the Battle of la Drang Valley blew my mind ... mostly
because I had no idea what any of it meant, but it sure did
sound really important.
He went on to tell me that
serving in the military was really important to him and how
proud he was when my dad joined the Air Force, my uncle
joined the Army and my other uncle joined the Navy.
Hearing these things about a side of my family who really
took my mom, brother and myself in and treated us as though
we were their own made me feel special. I don’t know just
how much time I spent upstairs in that room but it was like
walking through a museum. Each item on the wall had its own
story. Each story just so happened to be about my
grandfather.
Just a few years later in 2001, my
stepfather talked to my brother and I about legally adopting
us. I was honestly confused because he told us that he would
become our dad. In my mind, he was always my dad because I
never knew my biological father.
There was never
anyone and never will be anyone who can fill that spot in
mine or my brother’s lives.
In the summer of 2002,
the adoption process was complete and my last name changed
from Evans to Cook. I was so happy that my brother and I now
had the last name of someone who truly loved us.
As
the years passed, I realized I was the child who was
creative and liked to play music, but didn’t excel
academically. I was the odd ball.
After graduating
from high school, I finished two and a half years of college
and realized going to school just wasn’t for me.
After thinking about it, I remembered how my grandfather
talked about being proud of my dad and uncles for joining
the military. Since I was never really that good at
academics and my parents had to constantly stay on me for
doing well in classes, I never really thought they were as
proud of me as they were of my brother.
I wanted to
do something that would make them proud--especially my dad.
One day on my way into work I typed out a text
message to my dad saying “I want to join the Air Force.”
I knew he would probably freak out so I waited to send
the text until right after I clocked into work. Within
seconds I felt my phone in my pocket buzzing like crazy. I
wasn’t going to answer the call but my store director looked
at me and said, “Are you just going to ignore it? Answer the
phone.”
After a short conversation with my dad I
worked my shift and braced myself for the conversation with
my mom. When I got home that night she had five million
questions and just as many tears. I told her I was joining
the military to be in the Air Force band to make her feel
better... which was a complete lie but oh well ... sorry
mom!
Since joining the military in 2011 I’ve spent
most of my time in Germany or other parts of the U.S. so I
haven’t been able to spend as much time with my family as I
used to. Unfortunately, one of things that really brings a
family together is tragedy.
On Oct. 12, 2017, I was
sitting at work and started receiving phone calls from my
mom. I didn’t answer at first because I was busy, but the
phone calls became so rapid that I realized something must
be wrong.
I called my mom and all I could hear was
crying. She began to tell me that my grandfather was
admitted into a hospital in Tennessee and was close to
passing away.
I told my supervisor and within three
hours I had my leave form signed and was on my way home to
start packing to go to Nashville.
Walking into the
hospital I had no idea what to expect. Seeing my grandfather
laying in a hospital bed, not being able to speak and using
a ventilator to breathe is one of the hardest things I’ve
ever seen.
I was back in Tennessee but I wasn’t the
three year old kid anymore. I was a grown adult surrounded
by crying family members and I had no idea what to do with
myself.
Oct. 16 at 10:16 a.m. the man who first
introduced me to the military and that was one of my driving
forces for joining the Air Force passed away.
Sitting at my grandparent’s house and going through their
old photos, I saw several of my grandparents, aunts, uncles,
my dad and cousins but some of the best were photos of my
grandfather from when he was in the Army.
Although I
may not be blood related to my dad’s side of the family,
they always have been and always will be mine and the line
of military members we have is part of my heritage.
Over my last six and a half years in the Air Force I’ve
gotten to do so many awesome things and meet so many amazing
people, but none of that can compare to the feeling of
knowing I’m part of something great in my family. I’ve never
felt like I really lived up to my family’s expectations or
given anything back to my dad for all the things he’s done
for me, but I believe joining the military puts me one step
closer to feeling like I’ve made them proud that I’m helping
carry on the military legacy my grandfather created for our
family.
By U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Holly Mansfield
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2018
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