GrandpaAuthor: Rorie Classification: V Summary: Harm's children meet his father. Author's Notes: I had this idea before my trip to Washington DC this June. However, it solidified on my own trip to the Wall. My visit left me in tears and grateful to all of the men and women who gave their lives for the freedom of our country. It saddens me to hear of the anti-military sentiment nowadays. This story is dedicated to our military members, past and present. May God bless you and your families as you do this hard job for us. Liza, Trouble, John, Harm, Brad, Tom, and others I am forgetting, this is for you. Thank you. VIETNAM VETERAN'S MEMORIAL WALL It was a beautiful sunny day in Washington, DC--a distinct change from the cold rain that had been falling for the last week. There were puddles here and there, but, overall, the ground was dry due to the heat of the day. The sunlight sparkled on the water of the Reflecting Pool off to the right, and straight ahead, the polished black granite reflected back the bright sunlight. Cmdr. Harmon Rabb, Jr. walked towards the panel where he knew his father's name could be found, still with the cross, indicating that he was missing in action. This was despite the fact that Harm knew his father's fate. He had discovered it 7 years earlier when he, along with his partner, then Maj. Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie, had traveled to Russia. They had found that Harm, Sr. was buried in the mountains with no marker and no hope of finding the grave. Now, 36 years after his father's disappearance over Viet Nam, Harm walked to where he felt the closest to him. Next to him, holding his hand, walked a dark-haired girl of about 4-years-old. Harm carried a dark-haired boy of 18 months. The girl carried a rose and and American flag in her free hand. Finally coming to the panel he wanted, Harm scanned the lines of names until he saw his father's, "Harmon D. Rabb, Sr." He let go of his daughter's hand and reached up to touch the familiar name. Tears formed in his eyes and began to fall down his face. His son reached a baby hand up and wiped a tear away, "No cry, Dada." Harm smiled a watery smile, nothing like his patented "flyboy" grin and set the boy down. "Davie, Catie, I want to introduce you to your grandpa Rabb." Immediately, Catie started looking around, "Where, Daddy? Where's Grandpa Rabb?" Harm chuckled, "He's not there, Angel-girl. He's here." He pointed to the name on the wall. Catie looked confused. "I don't unnerstan, Daddy." "Let me tell you a story... maybe that will help. Okay?" "'Kay, Daddy." "A long time ago, when I was only a little bit older than you, Catie. My daddy was a fighter pilot in the Navy..." "Did he fly Tomcats like you?" Catie interrupted. "No, Angel-girl, he didn't but flew a different kind of jet." Harm pulled out the photo of him and his father in his father's plane that he always kept in his wallet and showed it to his children. "My daddy was a good pilot so the Navy asked him to go fly in a country called Viet Nam where the United States was fighting a war. So your Grandpa went." He looked at his daughter who had a frown on her face, obviously thinking very hard about something. "What is it, Catie?" "Daddy, are you a good pilot?" "I think so." Harm smiled. "Will the Navy ask you to go fly in a war, too?" "I hope not, Angel-girl, I hope not." He hugged the little girl. "Anyway, one year, at Christmas time, some men came to see Gramma Trish. They told her that my daddy's plane got shot down, and they didn't know where he was. Gramma Trish started crying. I didn't understand everything the men said, but since my mom was crying, I knew it had to be bad. I ran to my room and hid in the closet... the safest place in my room and stayed there until Gramma Trish came and got me. She told me that my daddy wasn't going to come home for Christmas, in fact, he might never come home because the bad men shot him down and now the good guys didn't know where he was. I asked her if the good guys were looking for him, she said yes, but they might not find him, because Viet Nam is jungle and it's hard to find people there. I started crying and my mommy held me and we both cried. "The good guys never found my daddy, that's why there is a cross next to his name here. Your Grandpa Rabb was taken to Russia after he was shot down. He died there a long time before you were born. So when I want to talk to him, I come here to this Wall with his name. I came here after I crashed my Tomcat, I came here when I started at JAG, I came here when I went back to flying and when I came back to JAG. I came here when I decided to marry your mommy, I came here when I found out that you, Catie, were coming, and when I found out that Davie was coming." "Daddy, can I talk to Grandpa here, too?" Catie asked, a serious expression in her blue eyes. "Of course, Angel-girl." He stood up and turned towards the Wall. "Dad, there are some people I'd like you to meet. I told you all about them, but you've never met before. Dad, these are your grandchildren, Catherine Sarah, and David Harmon. I thought it was time for you to meet." Harm lifted Catie up so she could touch Harm, Sr's name. She kissed her fingertips and placed them on her grandfather's name, "I love you, Grandpa. I hope you can see me now that you're an angel." Harm put her down and lifted Davie so he, too, could be close to his grandfather's name. "I know you don't understand what's going on, Davie, but one day, you will." Davie just smiled at his reflection in the Wall, superimposed over Harm, Sr's name. "Gampa" Davie said, suddenly as he touched the Wall. Harm was startled, but agreed with his son, "Yes, Grandpa." Harm put the boy back down and got ready to salute his father, when he was startled by a touch on his shoulder. He turned to see his wife standing there, "Sarah, I thought you were going to wait over by the statue." "I know, but I decided to join you. We should be here as a family." Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie-Rabb leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek. Together, they stood at attention and saluted the Wall, he is his dress whites, she in her greens. Mac leaned down and whispered something in Catie's ear. "Oh, I 'most forgot." she said. "Grandpa, I brought these for you." Catie stepped to the base of the Wall and laid the American flag and the rose down. Mac picked up her son and took one of Catie's hands, Harm took the other. The family started walking away from the Wall. Mac turned for one last look before they left, "Thank you, Lt. Rabb, for giving me my best friend and the best family I could ever ask for." ANOTHER PLACE Lt. Harmon Rabb, Sr. sat watching his family at the Memorial. "Catie, Davie, I'll always be watching out for you. Sarah, you're welcome and thank you for making my little boy so happy. Harm, son, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I've always been proud of you, and always will." He stood up and picked up the American flag and the rose off of the bench next to him and walked to where his mother was waiting for him. "Mom, I wish I could have been there for him all of these years." Harm, Sr. brushed a tear away from his cheek. "You were, Son, trust me, you were always there for him, for all of us." Grandma Sarah hugged her little boy. Together they walked off into the mist. The End... |
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