The evening before Dad passed away, I shared with him that I had recently been advanced to Master Chief in the United States Coast Guard.
When I was a Junior in high school, Dad encouraged me to pursue military service as he had. Having been rescued at least once by the Coast Guard and frequently worked along side them in his business — he thought highly of the U.S. Coast Guard and their service academy in New London. Unfortunately, the Coast Guard Academy had (and still does have) high entrance standards which put it and every other service academy out of reach for me given my 'modest' academic, athletic and community achievements.
Nearly 30 years later, and after taking a much different course than he had envisioned, I got the chance to share the news with him that with my advancement to E9, I had added a second and final star to my anchor collar device.
He hadn't been able to muster many words in his final days; but in one of his last lucid moments, he offered 'Congratulations Graeme'.
Thanks Dad.
You've got me crying over here. We are all so proud of you, brother, and thank you for your service. Very cool for dad to get to live long enough to witness your achievements. Congratulations Graeme.