thedrifter
08-02-05, 01:01 PM
August 08, 2005
Time to let go
A Marine dad sends his son — and friend — into the Navy
Standing in a line crowded with parents and plebes at the Naval Academy on Induction Day on June 29, retired Marine Lt. Col. Bob Wiedower of San Antonio had to laugh. His 18-year-old son, Brandon, was experiencing firsthand the military’s “hurry up and wait” tradition.
But for both father and son, it would be worth the wait. Wiedower would administer the oath of office at his son’s swearing-in ceremony.
As they reached the flag-hallowed spot for the ceremony, laughter died away as Wiedower, a naval flight officer with 22 years of service, started reading the oath.
Staring into his son’s eyes, with his wife, Diana, nearby, Wiedower felt a mix of emotions — pride, sadness and anxiety.
In his own words:
I remember thinking that this was kind of a send-off — it was a rite of passage. I’m passing the responsibility for him from me, to him.
Up until that point, I always saw myself as being responsible for his upbringing, his values and development, and taking care of him physically and things like that. And now, it’s all him.
Several things were flowing through me at that moment. I think the biggest one was just pride — pride in him and his ability that got him to the Naval Academy, which is not an easy thing to do.
There was obviously some sadness — that a person I’m quite fond of in many ways, and as a friend, is essentially not gone from my life, but certainly, I’ll not have nearly as much access to. You know, when I come home in the evening, he’s not going to be there.
It’s sadness that a friend is moving away, though I’m excited about what he’s going to accomplish in the future.
The anxiety is that I know what he’s going to go through. I went through Officer Candidates School and NROTC. I know, or I mostly know, what he’s going to experience, especially in the next six weeks of plebe summer. ... I know how difficult that was for me, and I know how challenging that was, just sometimes how you’re really tired and they push you to do more.
There are no words I can use to pass that on to him; he’s just going to have to experience it. So I’m anxious, because I know he is.
At the end, he said, “I do. ... We gave him a few words of encouragement, and he said, “OK, cool, no problem,” and off he went.
— Interview by Christopher Munsey
Ellie
Time to let go
A Marine dad sends his son — and friend — into the Navy
Standing in a line crowded with parents and plebes at the Naval Academy on Induction Day on June 29, retired Marine Lt. Col. Bob Wiedower of San Antonio had to laugh. His 18-year-old son, Brandon, was experiencing firsthand the military’s “hurry up and wait” tradition.
But for both father and son, it would be worth the wait. Wiedower would administer the oath of office at his son’s swearing-in ceremony.
As they reached the flag-hallowed spot for the ceremony, laughter died away as Wiedower, a naval flight officer with 22 years of service, started reading the oath.
Staring into his son’s eyes, with his wife, Diana, nearby, Wiedower felt a mix of emotions — pride, sadness and anxiety.
In his own words:
I remember thinking that this was kind of a send-off — it was a rite of passage. I’m passing the responsibility for him from me, to him.
Up until that point, I always saw myself as being responsible for his upbringing, his values and development, and taking care of him physically and things like that. And now, it’s all him.
Several things were flowing through me at that moment. I think the biggest one was just pride — pride in him and his ability that got him to the Naval Academy, which is not an easy thing to do.
There was obviously some sadness — that a person I’m quite fond of in many ways, and as a friend, is essentially not gone from my life, but certainly, I’ll not have nearly as much access to. You know, when I come home in the evening, he’s not going to be there.
It’s sadness that a friend is moving away, though I’m excited about what he’s going to accomplish in the future.
The anxiety is that I know what he’s going to go through. I went through Officer Candidates School and NROTC. I know, or I mostly know, what he’s going to experience, especially in the next six weeks of plebe summer. ... I know how difficult that was for me, and I know how challenging that was, just sometimes how you’re really tired and they push you to do more.
There are no words I can use to pass that on to him; he’s just going to have to experience it. So I’m anxious, because I know he is.
At the end, he said, “I do. ... We gave him a few words of encouragement, and he said, “OK, cool, no problem,” and off he went.
— Interview by Christopher Munsey
Ellie