{"id":7764,"date":"2025-07-03T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/?p=7764"},"modified":"2025-07-02T17:51:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T21:51:25","slug":"195-a-child-of-the-sixties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/195-a-child-of-the-sixties\/","title":{"rendered":"#195\u2014A Child of the Sixties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo credit: Astronaut Neil Armstrong took this photo of fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin after they planted the US flag on the moon’s surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Blog #195 (audio)<\/div><\/div>
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Published: <\/span>July 2, 2025<\/span><\/div>
<\/div>Audio by Andy Adkins<\/a><\/div><\/form><\/span>3<\/span> Downloads<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>
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Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Who said, \u201cThe longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.\u201d<\/em>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Who said, \u201cTaking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse. If you\u2019re comfortable while you\u2019re doing it, you\u2019re probably doing it wrong.\u201d<\/em>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. What song (and who sang it) did we hear the following?
    When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me<\/em>
    Speaking words of wisdom, let it be<\/em>
    And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me<\/em>
    Speaking words of wisdom, let it be<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m a \u201cBaby Boomer,\u201d born in the mid-1950s (geez, that seems SO long ago).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For those youngsters who don\u2019t know what a Baby Boomer is, we\u2019re the ones who created the various \u201cgenerational brands,\u201d so to speak. That is, unless you want to talk about the \u201cGreatest Generation.\u201d That would be my parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now that I think about it, Baby Boomers created that term, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My dad fought in World War II<\/a><\/strong>, came home, married my mom (they met on a blind date), and had two children. My sister, Anne, is 1\u00bd years older than me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because the men came home from WWII and started families\u2014a \u201cboom\u201d of youngun\u2019s\u2014hence the term, \u201cBaby Boomers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I grew up in the 60s (the hippie years), served with the United States Navy<\/a><\/strong> in the 70s, and during the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, I was in my career years, all the while being a father to two great kids (they\u2019re still great, BTW), and a husband to the love of my life (that\u2019s still awesome, too!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now I\u2019m retired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I guess I\u2019m at that point in life where certain moments cause me to reflect on my <\/em>life\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Space Age<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    My wife, son, and his two sons recently spent a day at Kennedy Space Center<\/strong>. I\u2019d been there a couple of dozen years ago when I worked with Harris Corp in Melbourne. But it\u2019s definitely expanded, what with the new commercial ventures (i.e., Space X, Blue Origin, Boeing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Kennedy Space Center – Rocket Garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    When I was \u201cknee high to a grasshopper,\u201d I was always <\/em>excited about space. I even wrote a short story about space when I was in elementary school. The adventures, the courage, and the men and women who made it happen. Back then, it was NASA. And while I was at Harris Corp, I actually applied to become an astronaut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That<\/em> journey wasn\u2019t meant to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    July 20, 1969<\/strong>. The day Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThat\u2019s one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wow, those powerful words meant so much to a 14-year-old junior high school kid \u2026 to an entire nation. It was Sunday, a school night, almost 11pm; my parents let us stay up to watch history being made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Visiting KSC a few weeks ago brought back a flood of memories; not just the moon landing, but also some of the tragic events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Kennedy Space Center – Saturn V Rocket (Apollo)
    Photo credit: Jared Adkins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    On January 28, 1986<\/strong>, I was working at Harris Corp in Melbourne. The Space Shuttle<\/strong> had been in service for several years and this was just another routine<\/em> mission \u2026 or so we thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Since we were only about 30 miles south of Cape Canaveral, a group of us gathered outside to watch the launch. It was a bitter cold January morning. Someone had a transistor radio and tuned it to the flight control channel. All routine \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then, 73 seconds into the launch, I saw the split tail streams, yet none of us knew what had happened \u2026 only that something <\/em>bad happened. I remember a few moments earlier the announcer had just stated something <\/em>about the designated abort point: \u201c\u2026 the shuttle could glide to Rota, Spain<\/em>\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t know why, but I remember that because the Navy had a Naval Air Station base in Rota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It was tragic. Even at my recent visit to KSC, just seeing the memorial and tributes took me back to that fateful day. It still brought tears to my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019ve come a long way and, like we all experienced in the service, we (hopefully) learned from our mistakes so that we would not repeat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Vietnam War Years\u2013A New Project<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m a Vietnam \u201cera\u201d veteran. I make that distinction because I was NOT in the Vietnam War. I just happened to have served during that era. Those who fought in Vietnam faced death almost daily; and then when they came home, they faced more anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some are still struggling today\u2014I see it way too often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I served four years, 1973-1977, with two duty stations: NAS Agana, Guam<\/a><\/strong> and USS Kitty Hawk<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. I made one Westpac<\/strong><\/a> cruise in 1975. All in all, I came away with a greater appreciation for life and for our country. Like many of my veteran friends, my service was a cornerstone for my life\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m currently working on a project for the local Vietnam Veterans of America<\/strong> chapter. It\u2019s a booklet listing 48 Vietnam Veterans from Alachua County<\/strong> who were killed in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019ve been researching World War II (and World War I<\/strong>) soldiers for more than 20 years. It\u2019s a passion and somewhat of a hobby; I started this after I published my dad\u2019s WWII journal, \u201cYou Can\u2019t Get Much Closer Than This<\/strong>\u2026<\/a>\u201d. These projects are mostly men from my dad\u2019s division, the 80th Infantry Division<\/strong>. In 2005, I built an extensive website (and continue to update it) with almost 200,000 pages, documents, images, reports, and additional WWII resources (www.80thdivision.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I receive a request from an 80th Division family member, I can usually find a good bit of information from various sources. It helps answer questions, fill in a few gaps, and gives them a better understanding of what their father, grandfather, or uncle went through those tumultuous times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The tough ones (for me) are when I learn a replacement soldier joined a unit, then is KIA within a week (or less). That hurts. But I trudge through it. I\u2019ve learned to pocket those emotions, take a break, take a walk, or something else to get my mind off it. I\u2019ve also learned to present the facts to the family member without the emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Most of the time, that works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The current Vietnam War project I\u2019m working on is somewhat similar. But when I read the reports of how the soldier died in combat and oftentimes, personal stories, this project affects me differently than the WWII research. I\u2019m struggling to understand why this project is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I’m beginning to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These guys\u2014Vietnam War<\/strong> soldiers\u2014are my<\/em> generation \u2026 \u201cBaby Boomers.\u201d While I didn\u2019t go to school with them (they\u2019re a bit older than I was at the time I served), they were still young, many just out of high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cAll gave some \u2026 some gave all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I can only research a few soldiers at a time before I need to take a break, but I\u2019m determined to complete this project. When done, the booklet will be free (as most of my books). I\u2019m working with the local VVA chapter on the best ways to present the information, the soldier, and the losses we all endured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Until we meet again,
    Andy<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"Andy<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran<\/strong> (\u201973-77) and the author of several books (www.azadkinsiii.com<\/a>), many of which are free downloads (PDF, eBook format). He is currently retired and lives in Gainesville, Florida with his wife and life-long soulmate, Becky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Previous Blogs mentioned in this Post:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n