Service Beyond Soldiers: November is Military Family Appreciation Month
Alyssa Waller, Staff Writer
When looking at the sacrifice of military members, it can be easy to overlook the sacrifices of military families. Going for periods of time without seeing family members, separating from friends that they’ve grown close to, and seeing the mental, physical and emotional toll service takes on their spouses, parents, siblings or children.
Military kids, jokingly referred as ‘military brats,’ grow up differently than an average kid. Some follow into their parents footsteps and pursue military careers. Others look back on how a military career affected their lives and the lives of their parents.
Junior digital media major Delaney Blackburn’s father is a retired Harrier Pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps. Her family has lived in California, Alabama, Arizona and Japan before her father retired in 2012, where they live in North Carolina.
Before Blackburn’s father joined the Marine Corps, he had to get a degree, so he went to engineering school, which related his love for math and science.
“He loves to fly. So, he knew that he wanted to be a pilot ever since he was a small kid,” said Blackburn
While living in Japan, Blackburn went to a school where most of the students were military kids. She had a best friend named Noah, and the pair were like two peas in a pod. She had hoped that they would be able to keep in touch, but kids do not often remember to send emails to friends.
“I still remember a lot of my old friends, I have no clue where they are or what they are up to now,” said Blackburn.
Her dad worked really long hours, which took a toll on him mentally and physically. She saw the things that her dad sacrificed.
“To me, I think the military really comes down to self-sacrificial love, because as we know the Bible says that there is no greater love than someone who is willing to lay down their life for another,” she said.
While they did at one point live internationally, for the most part the Blackburn family was stationed in the United States. While the family lived in Japan, they lived on the military base there.
“That was definitely an interesting experience because I got to experience some of the Japanese culture, which is not something a lot of people can say they had the opportunity to do,” said Blackburn.
When her dad retired from the military and became a flight instructor at Asheville Airport, she saw a different side of her dad and noticed that a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. When her father was in the military, Blackburn had no idea how funny he was.
“He was so serious all of the time when he was in the military,” she said.
Some military kids see their parents careers, and then follow along in their footsteps. Junior history major Caleb Harrison is probably one of the rare college students with a 3:00 a.m. wake up call.
Besides Harrison being a junior history major, he is also part of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps otherwise known as the ROTC. He also serves as a volunteer firefighter. His father, a retired U.S. Army Chaplain and Airborne Ranger, played a part in Harrison becoming a part of the ROTC.
“I’m following in my dad’s footsteps,” he said.
When Harrison was 8 years old, his dad taught him how to ride a motorcycle. Harrison said his dad is adventurous.
“Dad taught me to jump out of a perfectly good airplane,” Harrison said.
For Harrison, the military is central. He said, “It is basically my entire life. It is all that I have ever known.”
The military brought Harrison and his father closer together because they moved around every three years. Harrison lived in Germany and 20 different states in the United States. Harrison had flown across the Atlantic Ocean before he was 2-years-old.
Harrison hopes to one day further his career in the military and become a UH 60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot.
