Making A Difference
“Some people wonder all their lives if they’ve made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem”. - President Ronald Reagan
I remember the first time I felt I had made a difference in other people’s lives wearing the uniform…
It was July 24th. My EC-130 aircrew and I flew tail number 62-1836 to Cold Lake (Alberta) Canada, for an airshow the previous day. These airshows are always a blast to do. You get to meet the public, explain to them about how you’ve got one of the greatest jobs in the world, take pictures with kids, sign autographs, and drink some beer with fellow aviators from all over the world.
On this day our EC-130 was a “static display”, meaning we would not actually be flying, but instead welcoming and giving tours of our aircraft to the airshow participants. We opened the left, rear paratroop door and soon a very large line people had formed, all anxious to visit our Four Fans of Freedom aircraft. It was your standard populous of airshow fans, from young to old.
Our scanner and navigator were stationed outside the back of the aircraft and just inside the paratroop door, assisting people into the aircraft. Our flight engineer was near the crew entrance door helping people depart the aircraft safely and answering questions people had before moving on to the other aircraft on static display. My copilot (then-Captain Steve) and I were in the cockpit telling the people about the aircraft and answering the many questions they had for us. We had our procedures down perfectly–one would do the talking with a group of 5 people and the other pilot would do the talking for the next group of 5.
After about 4 hours of Q & A with the airshow public we thought that we’d heard every possible question, discussed every system on the aircraft, and autographed every piece of airshow literature and clothing. But as my copilot, Captain Steve, was answering an 8-year old boy’s question about the EC-130 Hercules, this young man’s father piped up “Were you guys over in the war?” Yes, sir. As a matter of fact, we both returned last month. He asked us about our mission over there. And we told him. We told him it felt good to stop a war criminal from ethnic cleansing. To end the executions and mass graves. To allow the people to go back home and live safely. The young 8-year old boy then says “Daddy, why are you crying?” Everyone immediately shot a glance at the man. The boy’s father then puts his hand on my copilot’s shoulder and says “Son, these boys helped save Grandma”.
The year was 1999 and the grandma lived in Kosovo and survived the war. Since then I’ve been fortunate to have played a small role in humanitarian relief operations (earthquakes, mudslides, and tsunami), airdrops, flight tests, and Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, witnessing our sailors, soldiers, airmen, and Marines make a difference in people’s lives.
Patrick
August 21st, 2007 at 12:01 pm
This really touched me… thank you for sharing it…