(Chosen specifically because he used to listen to this all the time)
G'day.
I received something for my Birthday I didn't expect at all. It was enough to send my Auntie, Mother and Grandma into tears and quite frankly I was on the verge of it myself; amidst being utterly gobsmacked I was even holding it.
I never met my Grandfather, but with all the stories I've heard of him; I know he was an amazing man.
He served in the Coast Guard for over a decade; a respected member of it, at that. He received various awards to my knowledge and the amount of pride he placed in his work was insurmountable.
Before I go on, I'd like to show you what I received;
These are all the things he wore on his dress uniform, which was separate from his work uniform. I also have his hat he wore with the dress uniform, which I'll post later on.
The largest of them he wore on his arm, just under the radio patch in the top left. The former was given to all of them to wear, whilst the latter was reserved for radio operators; he was one of them. On the left were two insignia's he wore on either side of his collar, whilst the right side were two buttons he wore on his
epaulettes.
What I find most worthy of attention however is the red one.
During his service he was standing between a Coast Guard twin-engined shark cat and a ferry which had a considerable amount of people on it. According to what my Mum can recall, he had a hold of the rope that was attached to the ferry, which was coiled next to him. As he was trying to steady the rope, he adjusted his foot next to the coiled rope and it snapped back toward him, encasing itself around his ankle and locking it in with an absurd amount of pressure; an unbearable amount. Seeing as he no longer had a hold of it, he begun getting dragged toward the engines of the vessel, and was less than a meter from it before one of his fellow Coast Guard members pulled him back.
Due to the sheer amount of damage the rope caused; his leg was subsequently amputated ten days later and replaced with a prosthetic.
Despite this, he returned to his service some time later. Despite losing a leg in that line of work; he returned to it, confident and smiling. After hearing this story so many times, it makes me feel the urge get my own life moving along - as I know he'd want me to.
Regardless; the red patch at the top was awarded to him for putting his own life at risk to save others.
Sadly; I never knew my Grandfather. Everyone on that side of the family is adamant that I have plenty of his features, and seeing as I recently got a pair of Raybans that was identical to the ones he wore; the resemblance is uncanny. Unfortunately this great man left us at only 56 years old, due to throat cancer.
If there's anything I could have right now; it'd be to meet this man. This amazing titan of a man.
Just felt like sharing that with you all. I'm beyond words just at the fact I'd be trusted enough to keep the most important items he ever had in my own possession; items he wore on him proudly at his funeral.
I'd be doing a disservice to him to let myself ponder about doing nothing with my life. He'll be my inspiration from now on.
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