Entering BCT at 18

A LDS Mother's Reaction

Some decisions in life are simply momentous. We do not always know it at the time. It was almost exactly 10 years ago that my Son#1 (first of three sons) entered into Basic Combat Training (BCT) in the Army. He was 18 years old. Son#1 was about to engage on a long adventure that would change his life.

The year was 1999 and the world seemed to be at relative peace. As parents to a soldier we were more impressed with what the Army could do for Son#1 than what Son#1 could do for the Army.

Little did we know how the world would dramatically change over the coming few years.

Below is a portion of a letter from my wife to Son#1 just a few days after he left for BCT. It is the kind of letter than ONLY a mother could write.

July 18, 1999

Dear [Son#1],

I don’t feel like I got to say a proper goodbye the morning that you left. That hour was so rushed. I didn’t get to tell you how proud I am of you and how much I love you. How can you put into words what it feels like to have part of your heart taken away. My first child is a man—and a noble one at that. Just like Daddy mentioned in his letter, you have made a very mature and selfless decision in joining the National Guard. You want to help people—you have always wanted to help others and have shown many times in your life that you care about other people.

Daddy told me that during your first phone call together (I wasn’t home from church yet) that you asked him, “Do you think of me?” I had to chuckle at that because it’s more like when do we not think about you. I have five pictures of you sitting on my desk at work. …

It’s actually easier for me to deal with you being gone while I’m at work because I’m so distracted. It hits me much harder that you’re gone when I get home, especially when I walk in your room. There’s a void there. I remember the special times that you and I talked together. … And I don’t think you realized this, but I always felt honored that you would take the time to talk to me, too. I knew you could be doing other things, but those talks meant so much to me. I look forward to many more when you get home.

As hard as it is for me to deal with you being gone, it’s even harder for your Father. I have to admit I was surprised at how hard he is taking it. I told you this before, but he said, “Sending a son off to the Army is the closest a man will ever come to having a baby”. That week between phone calls when we didn’t know for sure whether you had started Basic and whether you were at Ft. Jackson or Ft. Sill was very hard on him. He said he was getting “ulcers”.

…

[Son#3, age 4] still continues to amaze us with how smart he is. I was reading a story to him the other night when he pointed to a word and said what it was. I can’t remember which word, but I pointed to another word and said, “Do you know what this word is?” He said, “toys”. That was right. On the way home from Church today, he was pointing at all of the banks on the corner of 22nd and Westown and said, “that says bank, and that says bank, and that says bank”. There were three banks on each of the corners. He can already read some words and he isn’t even in school yet. …

News update: Have you heard that John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s plane went down in the Atlantic Ocean late Friday night? He was flying by vision (not instrument panels), at night, in the fog. … He had just barely gotten his private pilot’s license. They think he is dead along with his wife and her sister. It is so sad what that family has been through. …

Well, I’ll let you go. Daddy says you don’t have enough time to sit around and read these long letters. …

Remember how much we love you and are proud of you. Always do what’s right, and set the example for others. You’re a leader!

All my love,

…

At the time of BCT, Son#1 was inactive in the Church. Involvement in the Army provided a sound structure for him to build upon. Although there is necessary roughness in the military environment, Son#1 was exposed to many religious soldiers, some of whom were exemplary Latter-day Saints.

This story has a very long ending, but to make things short in 2008 my Son#1 married a Returned Missionary in the Nauvoo temple. They now live in Colorado and are very active in the Church.

When I helped sign Son#1 into the Army at age 17, I was hoping for the best. Little did I know the signatures on those enlistment papers were momentous -- at least for the Faux family.

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Copyright 2009 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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