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The Man, The Myth, The Veteran

He was my father

By The Vibe Podcast Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 4 min read
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All my life I never knew anything about my father. We were very limited in what we were told about him. I knew he was married but not to my mother. I am the product of an affair. My father actually paid for my presence with currency as he paid for my mother to have a tubal ligation reversal and eventually he paid with his life. So I must live honorably as a result. It is my absolute honor to introduce to you the Korean War Veteran who was my father, Alfred Costas Lopez. Borinqueneer, drafted from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico and dumped in cold Korea way back when. He is the reason why I have a speacial place in my heart for the drafted soldier. Something happens to you mentally when you are plucked out of one environment and placed in another. Something even worse happens when you’re instructed to kill or be killed. I will be researching and sharing knowledge on our Veterans. It is my belief that we do not do enough for our Soldiers as a society and due to lack of knowledge we have failed our Veterans, as Americans we must do better. My hopes in sharing our story is that true US History be taught in our schools not just on holidays but as a standard curriculum. How can we respect our Veterans if we know nothing of them? I am currently reading Navajo Code Talkers, they were instrumental in helping win WW2. I am 40 years old and this is the first I hear of Native Americans helping win this war. I know I am not alone on this. Although I am happy to share what I have learned on Social Media, I question why this is not taught in school. Lack of knowledge eventually leads to lack of respect and my heroes can’t have that. My freedom of Speech and freedom of Religion have been a blessing for me in my journey so I must return the favor. Saying thank you goes a long way but I do hope that my writings will encourage schools to change their curriculum to add more knowledge on our military. Although my father was taken from me too soon as I was only one year old when he was murdered, I’ve carried myself militantly my whole life. Even in my failures I’ve carried myself with honesty. I walk tall, shoulders back. I feared no man until I fell into a deep depression and was silent for many years but upon the knowledge of my father’s murder, now I speak. What my father needed most was not a mistress but a true friend because something does happen to our Soldiers when battling, you add racism to mix and this combination could be deadly. I plan on researching the treatment of our Veterans on a deeper level, because it is my belief that our Soldiers come back from War unwell and are not cared for properly. The lack of knowledge provided by our schools is a major clue in this belief. One morning I was walking my beloved dog Brownie and bumped into a Vet who was also walking his dog. I asked him how does the discharge process go, he said they just hand you a paper letting you know you are done. We must do better for our Soldiers and education is step one in this matter. The earlier we teach our children about the importance of the Military the more caring and compassionate we will be towards our Veterans and the blessing in this is that we will conduct ourselves with respect. I am a firm believer that the lack of knowledge causes great trouble in our society. Have you seen how the world is doing as of late? We must do better, it is my belief that I lost out on a father because of lack of knowledge. It is my belief that perhaps my father was not well upon his return from war. This was back in the 50’s when racism was the norm. I suspect my father suffered a lot in serving this country and due to the lack of knowledge therefore also lack of respect he ultimately lost his life. When someone loses their life, we must immediately forgive their sins. Unfortunately this did not happen as when I presented the truth regarding my father it was as if he was still here. He was hated, the treatment I received confirms this fact. I am proud in how I carried myself despite the treatment I received and I get this from my father, who was a Veteran and is my hero. God bless my father and God bless our US Military! Whether by land, sea or in the office our basic human rights are covered and we must acknowledge this. Saying thank you to a Soldier goes along way. Stick around with me and I will share more information on our Military, I will not stop writing until it is taught in our schools!

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About the Creator

The Vibe Podcast

My name is Diana Costas and in solving my father’s 38 year old murder mystery in 2021, I was inspired to create The Vibe Podcast and write my very first book! How Spirituality Saved My Life is now available! First of many books 🙏🏽

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