family
In supporting their uniformed relative, army families embody the utmost contribution and commitment to their fellow countrymen.
- Top Story - March 2021
The Surly Bonds that Bind Us
Present Day Southampton College, South Meeting Room To the untrained eye, the man walking across the small stage carried an air of quiescent unworthiness rather than one of significance. As he walked people turned to stare, wondering and whispering quietly as they tried to remember where they had seen him before. Yet not only were the attendees ignorant as to his identity they were equally unaware of why exactly they had been invited (bribed really given the free booze) to the event in the first place.
Prometheus WojtisniewskiePublished 3 years ago in Serve CHANUTE FIELD
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker has flown. Lord to God I wish it was not true, but now I have to tell his story. After all, he left me $20,000. And a stamp collection, a Boy Scout Handbook from the 1930s, a metal-encased pocket bible from WWII, and a little black book that looks its age -- eighty years, if it was eighteen years younger than he.
Lise ErdrichPublished 3 years ago in ServeNowak Bakery
Tarnow, Poland, May 1939 Toothbrushes were set to the cobblestone streets as lawyers, bankers, reporters, and the communities elite scrubbed each inch of their towns busiest street. Soldiers prevented the street cleaners from leaving their assigned task. A crowd gathers to watch men in suits scrubbing the street. Initially, there was silence. A German soldier, not more than nineteen years old, walks slowly to a store filled with many fruits and vegetables. He grabs an apple and throws it at an older man who has just stood and asked to use the restroom. The soldiers all start laughing and rushing to grab a fruit. The townspeople start cheering as the community's upper class are pelted with food and then furniture, and finally, the scene grows very dark. Wives try and protect their husbands, and then the soldiers take the wives.
Robert NicholsonPublished 3 years ago in ServeThe Gift of Hope
Mary buried her head in her hands, fighting to push back the despair clawing at her chest and sinking into her stomach. How could everything have changed so rapidly?
K. L. DimagoPublished 3 years ago in ServePapaw, the Devil Dog
My paternal grandfather, Linton Carl Fendley, was a giant of a man in my eyes - a lovable, affable, fun-loving giant. Papaw was usually the life of the party at family gatherings with his self-deprecating humor: “I have ears like open cab doors,” and his full gauge electric train, which occupied much of the basement. Going to visit Mamaw and Papaw was always an adventure. We counted on Papaw to provide fun and laughter, and even a mold for lead toy soldiers, which he and I used to crank out miniature fighting menk during visits. (This was the 50s. We didn’t know about lead poisoning back then.) Mamaw, on the other hand, was a gray horse of a different color. OCD to the max, melancholy, she was given to sitting in front of the radio listening to Billy Graham hour after hour. We kids learned very quickly to sit carefully on Mamaw’s plastic covered furniture, and to walk deftly on the plastic runner protecting the carpet. Serious consequences awaited if we happened to step off the plastic runners.
Ken FendleyPublished 3 years ago in ServeA Soldier's Soft Spot
“Wake up! Get up! It’s time to put your feet on the ground.” yelled Alana’s father as his heavy feet took turns walking down the hallway. Five am was his regular routine and one he never, would never, deviate from. But in the last room on the right was Alana on the phone with her best friend, totally wanting to deviate from anything her dad tried to make her do.
Tralandice HoganPublished 3 years ago in ServeParade Field
I’m standing at parade rest on the 25th Infantry Division parade field. I’m one of about 5,000 participants in the Operation Enduring Freedom-5 Farewell Ceremony. Somewhere out there in that huge, colorful group of civilians is my family, looking for me in the sea of desert camouflage on the field. The brilliant sunlight bathes us in heat and light. I smell freshly mown grass and my own sweat. Wispy clouds brush the tops of coconut palms as they pass overhead in their own good time. My toes are numb. The Division Commander, Major General Olson, speaks at a wooden podium adorned with the green tarot leaf and lightning bolt—aka the “electric chili pepper”—that represents the “Tropic Lightning” Division. He’s mercifully brief.
Steven Thomas HowellPublished 3 years ago in ServeA Veteran's Story
A Veteran’s Story by Laurel Richards Today is September 11th – 09/11th in the military world evokes so many painful memories. It was the day when so many innocent people died in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. A day like no other in history when Islamic martyrs decided that they would meet 100 virgins by becoming suicide bombers.
Laura IbanezPublished 3 years ago in ServeVA surgery delay leaves caregiver, mother dead
An earlier version of this article appeared on News Break. Some encouraging news published in JAMA Surgery came too late for my former next-door neighbors in Rock Island, Ill.
David HeitzPublished 3 years ago in ServeFortuitous serendipity
Introduction My most important possession is a little black notebook my wife got me for my birthday. Yet in order to explain why it's so important you first have to know a few things about me. My name is Marcus Stones, I am a 30-year-old veteran who just found out he has ADHD. Although I've never been formally diagnosed, with the benefit of hindsight I now realize how it's been a defining part of my life. As a child I thought I was simply prone to procrastination, You see, I grew up poor and black in the American south. My entire life I've struggled with depression and anxiety. My father was never in the picture and I learned early that bringing such issues to my mom would simply result in her attempting to pray my struggles away. I have nothing against prayer but praying never helped my brain learn to function in a world not built for me. I can often be quite forgetful and thus keeping a list of goals, tasks and general thoughts can be so crucial to my everyday life.
Martin StonesPublished 3 years ago in ServeThe Soldier's Final Mission
Cigarette smoke and rum, horses and sweat – the familiar smells of race-day. To Thomas Buchannan, the all-encompassing rumble of the crowd seems louder than it would have been before the war, as if to overcome the absence of lost comrades. An occasional voice rises above – equally unintelligible. The colours of the women’s dresses are vivid in defiance of the Austerity. His own standard issue de-mob suit is easily lost in the chaos. Thin waists, bony legs with pen lines up the back, since black-market stockings are such a luxury. It’s not right. He scratches at the scarred skin around his missing eye. Women need meat on their bones.
Samantha MonacoPublished 3 years ago in ServePeace
Five days. Nicholas had five days to finish his college entry essay. He was normally not a procrastinator, but lately he couldn’t find motivation. “Write about a transformational moment in your life.” The question loomed over him like a dark shadow he couldn’t shake. He mulled over instances in his life, but none seemed to spark enough interest or evoke a feeling of certainty. Anxiety was his new best friend. Nicholas had been staring at the blank computer screen for at least 15 minutes before his mom walked in.
Jacqueline BergerPublished 3 years ago in Serve