Welcome home, Stephen
Navy Cmdr. Perry Cockerell congratulates his son, Stephen, who graduated from Navy boot camp in 2005. He served the Navy honorably for four years in Japan. He's back home, as a civilian, with lots of great GI Bill benefits for college. Smart kid.
Memorial Day comes with mixed emotions for me. Of course we need a day set aside to reflect on our fallen warriors. I think it’s also a time to show gratitude for the warriors who made it home. And for those left behind to mow the yard, pay the bills, raise the family. They count too.
Warriors like my stepson, Stephen Cockerell, who just finished a four-year enlistment on the USS Juneau and USS Denver, both LCDs in Sasebo, Japan. So this Memorial Day weekend we’re throwing Stephen, a Petty Officer 3rd Class, a homecoming party with all the family around.
I’m sure the family will be impressed. The Navy delivered a fine, healthy man of 24 years. Someone who thinks through politics, who tries to understand all sides before drawing a conclusion. Stephen’s good manners come easily now and he came home with just one small tattoo.
Yes, Stephen made it home. But my brother, Kyle Seitsinger, did not make it home. He was three weeks into his first tour to Afghanistan when he and several other soldiers came upon a Soviet-era weapons cache. In one big explosion, Kyle and six of his comrades perished. In an almost prophetic move, Kyle happened to be videotaping their cache find in the cave, so their last conversations are captured forever – along with some relief that these guys never knew what hit them.
Kyle was 11 hours away from getting a double bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish. He had a nose for news and his passion to become a journalist made me remember all the reasons I love this business. Kyle would’ve made a darn good reporter too.
Kyle was killed on Jan. 29, 2004, not on Memorial Day, but a fallen warrior nonetheless. He was just shy of 30.
My father, Ted Owens (far right), huddles with his Marine buddies in Korea.
My father was exactly 30 - and I was 2 - when he was killed on Memorial Day. Ted Owens was a likeable guy, I’m told. Like James Dean, my father was cool. He had served as a Marine during the Korean War and, frankly, couldn’t wait to get out of the Marines. Ted was quite handsome and truly a character. My uncle, Leon Elliott, tells me the same stories whenever I ask. He was my dad’s best pal, after all.
Still, 30 is too young to die in a car wreck.
This Memorial Day, as we celebrate Stephen’s safe homecoming, I’ll have a couple other folks on my mind as well. I bet that’s true for a lot of us.
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Thank you for that thoughtful post.