Patriotism ~ by Tracy Bowen

A friend posted this on FB tonight and I feel extremely compelled to share it:

Patriotism

by Tracy Hobelman Bowen on Monday, January 16, 2012 at 12:34pm

I have seen some swipes taken at our military and their families recently. I can’t get involved in every political discussion that pops up on FB or I would be posting constantly…and for some reason my boys feel that they have to eat and wear clean clothes every day. They are even audacious enough to think that I am the person who should provide these services.
Besides, people have the right to express their opinions. In that spirit I am going to do a little talking of my own.
Isn’t free speech grand?
Red, white, and blue runs through my veins. I am a born and bred small town girl from the mountains of South Carolina, and I don’t mean to suggest that Southerners are the only citizens who are truly patriotic, but we do have our own unique version of love of the motherland.
We are in your face about it. From the way we talk about our country in everyday conversation to the way that we have no problem, quickly and no-holes-barred, confronting anyone who would dare demean it. From the large American flags that fly proudly in the back of our pick-up trucks to the full scale celebrations of our national holidays. In the South the Fourth of July is as big as Christmas. Shoot, it might be bigger. The carnival doesn’t come to town at Christmas.
All the men in my family have been in the military. My Grandpa Hobelman fought in World War II and my brother, Greg, has had the pleasure of an all expense paid trip to Afghanistan…twice. I have seen an up-close and personal view of a hut on Bagram Air Base courtesy of Skype. I have anxiously followed news reports from the Middle East. I have felt the nerves kick in when word came of a casualty, and I have had relieved conversations with my mom when we found out that my brother was okay.
The Stars and Stripes fly boldly in front of my house. I have a yellow ribbon on my mailbox.
With my proud Southern roots, my family’s service record, and my outward show of loyalty I thought I knew what patriotism really was.
Until this past summer.
In August, 2011 I sat in the memorial service for Navy Seal Aaron Carson Vaughn, the very first military funeral I have ever attended, and I thought, “So this is what sacrifice really looks like.”
Somehow, in spite of my brothers involvement, I had been able to keep some form of emotional distance from the war. In many ways it felt so far removed from my everyday reality. Afghanistan is a long way from the football games, school work, doctor’s appointments, grocery stores, and endless piles of laundry that consume my world as a wife and a mother to four boys.
That distance began to be bridged as I sat in Aaron’s service and listened to his family and friends tell the story of a truly extraordinary man. The war had come home.
In a casket.
My heart bled in the beautifully awful moment when his mother was presented with a Gold Star. So much pain. So much pride.
Something began to shift inside of me that day.
It is still shifting.
Suddenly, I had to know everything I could about the American soldier. Not the surface stuff…the nitty-gritty. What makes a person willing to lay their life on the line? What kind of training do they go through? What is it really like to go to war? To stare death in the face? To lose your best friend on the battlefield?
If they had to endure these experiences it seemed that the very least that I could do was learn everything that I could about them. My book list became about all things military. Want to know anything about the training of a Special Ops warrior? Read pretty much anything by Dick Couch. I was completely mesmerized by everything that these men do to prepare themselves to fight the enemy.
And then I read “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell. The book gutted me. Completely gutted me. Through the words of Mr. Luttrell, and the death of Aaron, the war was given a face and emotions. It no longer felt far away. It felt personal.
Because there is nothing more personal than someone’s life blood being shed. For a fellow soldier. For the God-given right to live free. For the just cause of eradicating terrorism. For me.
I have come to realize that I did not have a clue about the true meaning of patriotism. But I am catching on.
It looks like Billy and Karen Vaughn. Salt-of-the-earth, genuine people who raised an incredible young man and shared him with their country in his life, and continue to share him with us in his death. Their faith is deep and calls us all to the realization that God is trustworthy even when life deals you the most difficult of blows.
It looks like Kimberly Vaughn, who is channeling her grief to urge us all to a deeper love of God and country. And to ensure that the memory of Aaron as a “warrior for Christ” is kept alive for their children.
I can’t take away all of the rhetoric that is being thrown around. I can’t take away the hurt that our men and women in the Armed Forces, and their families, feel when they hear the verbal assaults against them.

To anyone who has ever laced up a pair of combat boots. To anyone who has ever left family and friends behind for a higher calling. To anyone who has tucked children in at night and then went to bed to cry alone because the pain of missing a spouse was so deep that it ripped at their very soul. To anyone who has cried out to God for the safety of a child on the battlefield. To anyone who has ever received "that call"...and heard the words that spun their world out of control. To anyone who has ever pounded a Trident into the unforgiving wood of a coffin.To anyone who has ever given one last salute to a fallen comrade.
Thank you.
Words are inadequate in the face of such noble actions, but sometimes they still need to be said.

By Faith

Beth Moore says that an unchallenged faith is a stifled faith. Believing that to be true, I'd have to say that this family's faith has been anything BUT stifled in this past year.

Five months ago today, Aaron left this earth. 5:09 pm marked the moment he drew his last breath. I believe, by faith, that before that chopper crashed to the ground, Aaron's eyes saw the Lord, high and lifted up, His train filling the temple! I believe, by faith, as God reached down, scooped him up & cradled him in His arms, He whispered those words Aaron had waited 30 years to hear; "Well done my good and faithful servant; you have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith!" If we could have been privileged enough to have just a tiny glimpse of that glorious event, surely we would never have shed a tear for our loss..... only rejoiced in heaven's gain - in Aaron's gain. Aaron had arrived... by faith! I know the angels celebrated. But I also know that as we, his "left behind," have begun the process of accepting the unbearable truth that Aaron will never have a presence in our life here on earth again; we have been called to the challenge of "faith" like never before.

Heb. 11:1 - "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

By faith... Noah built the ark even though rain had never fallen from the sky before.

By faith... Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, heading to a "promised land" they had never seen.

By faith... Abraham offered Isaac, his only son, as a sacrifice, even though God had promised to make his offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky. How could this make any sense, except...by faith?

By faith... the mouths of lions were shut, the flames were quenched, the dead were raised, the sick were healed, and the lost are saved......

______________________

Faith says that even though I've been stricken with a loss greater than I can bear, You, Lord God, are working all things together for my good!

Faith says that in my weakness, You, The Almighty One, take Your glorious role as My Strength!

Faith believes, even in the throws of sorrow and fear, that God's perfect plan IS being orchestrated!

Faith refuses to be offended by God should He cut a path for us that we prayed we'd never have to walk!

Faith creates hope, and without it, we are "hopeless"...... God forbid.

And last.... Faith testifies that one day we WILL be reunited with all those that have gone before us and only then will our faith become sight. God haste the day!

Until then? We will live and we will walk... by faith.

Sometimes you've just gotta laugh!

Laughter..... it made me fall in love with Billy Vaughn, who I endearingly refer to as "The Great One" . I've always thought he was such a funny man. And since I LOVE to laugh and he loves making me laugh . . . . we make a perfect pair. When our family sits down for a birthday dinner or a Thanksgiving meal or any other get-together the ONE ingredient that has ALWAYS been on our table is laughter. Even as my father was lying on his death bed in August of 2001, Billy was playing a prank on one of my mom's friends that has gone down in Vaughn/Rodenberger history as one of the most hilarious moments of our life. Aaron was there. And he laughed.....hard!

So it just stood to reason that when our lives were completely turned upside down three months ago, we all searched in vain for that "binding glue" that's pulled us through so many tough moments. Thanks to Billy, we found it! I feel like the video I'm sharing today needs just a little bit of a set-up so you'll get the whole picture. Now don't get me wrong! What I'm about to tell you ISN'T funny!

On Saturday, August 6th, 2011 we received the worst news parents could EVER receive; that phone call you spend years on your knees begging God to protect you from..... "Aaron was on the helicopter and there were no survivors". We spun into "out of body experiences" for days on end, not having the capacity, as humans, to grasp the truth and finality of what had been spoken. Aaron is gone. Aaron is gone? Yes, Aaron is gone. I still can't fully wrap my mind around those three little words. We began moving from one memorial to another to another and another. We literally didn't spend more than 5 nights in our own beds in the first three weeks after his departure. Those weeks culminated in the following:

Friday, Aug. 26th, 2011 was the day we laid Aaron's "earthly tent" to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. As we were entering the cemetery we received word that Billy's beloved cousin, Carson, had passed away at the very young age of 46. Before we even reached our son's casket, we were trying to figure out how we would get to Tennessee for Carson's funeral. As if that weren't enough...... a hurricane was bearing down on Virginia Beach and believe it or not, we were being rushed onto a bus immediately following our time at Aaron's grave, so our plane could get us BACK TO Virginia Beach before the outer bands of the storm hit!

Being brave Floridians who laugh in the face of Category 2 Hurricanes, we hopped on the bus, climbed into the plane, landed safely and were shuttled to our OCEAN FRONT hotel where our rooms were located on the SIXTH floor! Oh.... our previously scheduled flights home to Florida the next morning had, of course, been cancelled and we would have the privilege of riding the storm out in front-row seats! The next morning as the outer bands began to wreak a little havoc on the area, we ventured out for some breakfast and supplies (we knew just what to buy)! As the day progressed, the storm did indeed make landfall ON Virginia Beach but somehow we never lost power OR television. And because of that, Billy became inspired to film the attached video.

See, the Weather Channel had their "guy" stationed just outside our hotel. And even though he was INSISTING that the conditions were horrific and terribly dangerous.... every resident (and Florida vacationer) was scoffing at his attempts to shame people into staying inside. Thus..... the inception of the video. I know Aaron was rolling in laughter if God was kind enough to give him a glimpse of what was happening below. And, if I know my God, I believe He was getting a little chuckle out of it as well.

I thank God for "The Great One" and his evelasting ability to give us all a good giggle or a big belly laugh, even/especially when it seems the darkness would overtake us .............................
Stometimes you've just gotta laugh!

What's in a Date?

June 24th fell on a Monday in 2002. The day began like any other - everyone woke, had their coffee, and went about their way. Life at a glance looked like this; My father had passed away in August of the previous year, Tara (our oldest daughter- two years Aaron's junior) had left for college a few weeks after dad's passing, and was home from school for her first summer break, Ana (our youngest daughter) was enjoying her post-third grade summer like any other nine year old, and Aaron, having recently completed his AS degree in Golf Course Management, was gainfully employed at one of America's most prestigious courses and was headed toward a very lucrative career. Life was good and even through the pain of dad's passing.... we felt blessed.

But another date had fallen like a giant anvil in the midst of our seemingly normal life....September 11th, 2001! I, like you knew instantly that THAT date, that "sucker punch", would change the course of our nation's history. What I had no way of knowing at the time, was that it would change the course of our personal history as well. Unbeknownst to us, this date would give June 24th, 2002 national signifigance some nine years later.

See, June 24th, 2002, was Aaron's 21st birthday, and everyone who's heard our story knows by now that it was on that date the he made a pitstop on his way home from work; the Navy Recruiting Center in Stuart, FL. Did he stop to pick up some pamphlets, or gain understanding on a possible new career path? NO! He JOINED the SEAL Challenge Program! Imagine our shock at the dinner table that night when he unveiled the events of the afternoon. It still makes me smile to "hear" his father say, "Son, you DO realize that if you don't make it as a SEAL, you'll still be in the Navy, right?" Aaron's response, "Oh, I'll make it. I'm not going to live on a boat!" And make it he did!!! Through our obvious worry and concern, we celebrated that night! We celebrated the fact that OUR SON was going to make a difference in this world; that his dreams were as huge as his heart; and that his passion for our great nation, a passion we'd instilled in him since birth, was sincere. Our son was a sheepdog, and we were proud.

If we had known that 6/24/02 would lead to 8/6/11, would we have stopped and screamed and demanded a do-over? I'm thankful we don't have that power.

Dates have taken on a new meaning to this family. August 6th, 2011, now marks the death of our hero, a life cut short, the loss of greatness, but also and most importantly... Aaron's glorious entrance into his eternal home, his face-to-face reunion with our creator God, Jehovah, The Holy One. I bet his mansion is full of really cool gear!

We miss you son, and one day... Our "date" will come. See you then.

What's in a title?

U.S. Navy SEAL, Elite Warrior, Special Warfare Operator, Chief Petty Officer..... just a few of the titles appropriately associated with the name of my first-born and only son, Aaron Carson Vaughn. All of these titles have brought our family incredible pride over the past twelve weeks while his name has been plastered on front pages of newspapers, run across tickers on the bottom of television news networks, spoken from the mouths of thousands of reporters and hand-crafted into tender flyers which advertise another event at which his memory will be honored. But when I think of Aaron, the titles which flood my mind are Father, Husband, Son, Brother, Grandson, Uncle, Cousin, Nephew and Friend.

This blog will be a place of hope; a place to share memories, laughter, and tears while celebrating this amazing man God gave me the privilege of raising and loving for 30 incredible years! I am embarking on finding the proper way to honor Aaron and also create a legacy by sharing the things I know he'd tell you if he were still here. I feel no need to rehearse how he left this world since you can read that story for yourself in literally millions of articles (just google his name).

Aaron left his mark on this world! He lived 90 years in 30! We will never regret one moment of our lives with him. He was a blessing from birth and continued to bring his father and I nothing but honor & joy for the remainder of his time here on earth. Aaron most definitely lived large - he took no moments for granted. I pray I'll carry a portion of his boldness as I move forward with his story / our story.

My title? Mom.