In May 2007 we went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for a memorial service where Shane was remembered. A large man stood up and related a story about one night in Iraq. According to the story, it was around 3 a.m., and tension had filled the team during an operation. Suddenly this same large non-commissioned officer cut through the tension when he said that he had heard Shane’s voice and he then knew everything was going to be okay. As this mountain of a man related his story at Shane’s memorial service, it warmed my heart. The fact that my son and the sound of his voice calmed this man meant a lot to me. Shane had a command presence wherever he was.
Shane was called up from the inactive ready reserve. He had not seen a uniform for five years. He and I had talked a few years back. He said that his practice was going so well and that he just didn’t have time to be in the reserves. We talked about it and I told him he had served his time and that he had completed his obligation honorably. When Iraq heated up, the military was stretched so thin that many reservists were called back into active service.
When Shane was in the eighth grade I sat him down, and we laid out a five-year plan. I asked him what he wanted to do with his life. He said he wanted to be an attorney. So we talked to the counselors at school, and I told him he might want to think about being an attorney in the military. I told him if he did twenty years in the military as a JAG officer he could get out and hang his shingle anywhere and still enjoy a nice retirement check every month. I’m a former Marine. But I told him I thought the Army was the way to go especially concerning the legal aspirations. And that’s how his time with the Army came to be.
When he went to college, he was in ROTC. He really liked the military environment; it suited him well. He was good at it. He liked the discipline and the structure. He became an instructor to other cadets. When it was time for him to be commissioned he had to put down his three top choices and one of them was the infantry. In 1997, I told him, “You’re not in the JAG core? What happened to our five-year plan?” He laughed and said, “Dad, when I practice law five days a week and then I go to the reserve, the last thing I want to do is lawyering.” His heart lay in the infantry. He loved the infantry. He never changed lanes. When he was called back up he went into a civil affairs unit.
Dear Lord, renew me in my inner man. May I act justly, love mercy, and walk humble with you throughout this life. And may I enjoy a wonderful welcome into heaven.
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)