JUNE 15, 2014 ~ FATHERS DAY September 12th of this year will mark 19 years since my Father last blessed this Nation with his presence... as a Husband, a Father, a Teacher, a United States Marine, but most importantly, an inspiration, a hero and someone whose shoes I could never attempt to fill. Bernard Burnett Dean was born October 24, 1921 in rural El Paso, Arkansas, one of 6 children born to a dirt farmer just before the Great Depression. Several years later Dad would lose two of his sisters, Katie Sue and Wanda Mae to bizarre accidents. Dad was baptized when he was 10 years old in Bull Creek, El Paso, AR and never forgot his Southern Baptist roots. After graduating High School in 1939, he did what so many men of his generation did as tensions were rising not only in Europe, but the Pacific Theatre and joined the Marine Corps. After boot camp, he was assigned to Marine Security Guard School and in mid-1941 was assigned to the USS Argonne (AG-31) stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On December 7, he became the member of a group of Americans service members and citizens savagely attacked by the Imperial Navy of the Empire of Japan. (The ships attack report can be seen here: history.navy.mil/docs/wwii/pearl/ph110.htm) Following the attack, Dad was assigned to a forward combat unit, spending the remaining years of WWII battling through the Pacific Theatre. Shortly after its end, he was assigned to the American Embassy, Peking, Occupied China. 1947 found my Father reassigned to the American Embassy, Paris, France, where a year later he met an incredibly talented and beautiful member of Englands The Tiller Girls Dance Troupe, which were in fact the inspiration and predecessors of The Rockettes. In 1951 they married and returned to the States. But once again, his Nation called him into service. In 1953, Dad was deployed to the Korean Peninsula in an effort to stop the North Korean/Chinese insurgency into south Korea. It was during the Chosin campaign that Dad was wounded and refused his Purple Heart... He CLAIMS he tripped over a spent artillery casing and hit his head on a rock. Yeah, whatever. After returning to ConUS in 1955, Dad was assigned Senior DI, Drill Instructors Training Battalion, Parris Island, South Carolina and remained there until 1958 when he was reassigned as Senior Military Instructor, Naval ROTC/Professor, Military Science at Yale University in Hartford, Connecticut. Two years later, I was born. Little did I know (because I wasnt as SMART as I are NOW!) my first few years would be without Dad. In late 1962, Dad left Yale University and was reassigned as part of the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam, where he would remain for nearly two years. Lucky for him, he came home during my Terrible twos, which actually werent that terrible after the first time Dad whipped my ass! (Dear CPS, just kidding!). In 1970, Dad left active-duty after some 31 years of service to the Marine Corps and to the United States of America. But it didnt stop there. Months after retiring from active duty, Dad took a position with the 4th Marine Division, New Orleans, as a founder and Senior Military Instructor, Marine Corps JROTC program, Catholic High school for Boys, Little Rock, Arkansas. He remained there for nearly a decade until health considerations forced his full retirement. After enduring one of the Nations FIRST artificial aorta valve replacements, and the ensuing difficulties, Dad was given a range of five years to live. Once again, he proved them wrong. The man I came to honor, worship, idolize and love beat the odds for 15 years. But on September 9, 1995, returning from a early Saturday morning trip to Wal-Mart, Dad suffered a stroke. Two days later his kidneys, liver and other internal functions shut down and Dad lapsed into a coma. And on September 12, 1995 our family made the final decision to remove Dad from life support. He fought for two hours before leaving to join his family and God. My fathers story, his life, his legacy is not unique in a generation of the most incredible Americans ever. But it is to ME. There is not a day goes by that I dont think of him and the time we had together. My resolve to be a part of what saves this Nation from the grip of tyranny was born from him. It is, I believe, my sole duty, honor and privilege to try and continue to serve this Nation with the same degree of loyalty, devotion and love as my Father had for America. I know you all feel the same. For in order for America to survive, we MUST be the NEXT Greatest Generation. My Father, and yours, did it for US... we MUST do it for our children and theirs. God bless you all. God bless our forefathers. God bless America. Happy Fathers Day First Sgt. Bernard B. Dean, USMC (Ret). Semper Fi. ~ Sgt. Robert P. Dean, USMC
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 03:44:46 +0000
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