MY DAD WAS A MARINE. He was a fighter pilot who fought with VMF 121 at Guadalcanal in World War II and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his valor as an aviator in that conflict. He also flew in the Korean War and even saw duty in some of the early years of the Vietnam conflict.
He was also a practicing Christian Scientist his whole life. He prayed for God's guidance every day, whether in wartime or peacetime, and taught us to do the same. He was a good dad, too, and he parented me and my younger brother and sister at home in a proud military manner, which we thrived on (with the generous love and balance of our dear mother, I must surely add!). When I grew up, I also became a pilot, so my dad's influence on me was strong.
After my dad's career in the military, he stayed close to "the Corps" by helping young Marines as a Christian Science Minister for the Armed Services, and after that as a Christian Science practitioner. So his whole life, really, was dedicated to God, family, country, and to humanity.
