April is MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD. Designated by the former Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinbeger, this celebration underscores the important role children play in the Armed Forces community. The military community refers to dependent children as “military brats”. It is not intended to be a derogatory term, but rather a moniker for the unique subculture they experience.
I was curious who are some famous brats. The best list comes from Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famous_military_brats
Notably, Pat Conroy, a Marine Brat, wrote a book about military brats,
THE GREAT SANTINI.
Robert Duvall, a Navy Brat, starred in the movie.
In 2005, Donna Musil wrote and produced a documentary,
BRATS: OUR JOURNEY HOME.
Army brat Kris Kristofferson narrates the film.
From the website, http://www.bratsourjourneyhome.com/
“the film documents a hidden American subculture - a lost tribe of at least fifteen million people from widely diverse backgrounds, raised on military bases around the world, whose shared experiences have shaped their lives so powerfully, they are forever different from their fellow Americans.”
Indeed, military children have:
- lived on the edge of history in the making,
- attended integrated schools 20 years before the civil rights movement took hold in America;
- been exposed to art, history, and culture most Americans only read about.
I invite anyone who grew up as a military child to leave comments about their favorite place or a life-changing experience.
I'm an Air Force Brat, born in an Army hospital. For me I saw the world in a different light than civilian kids or adults. I've traveled more than most people. I have too many great experiences that can be shared in this little box. But one place I loved was Panama [Albrook] and picking mangoes of the trees or when the earth would split from the heat. I lived there when Carter was returning the Canal zone back to Panama government.
ReplyDeleteI'm an Air Force and Navy Brat. Of all of the places we traveled, living in Adak, Alaska in the mid 70's was the most memorable. I went to high school there, and in my off time, I worked at the riding stables. There's something amazing about riding through the tundra, watching the eagles fly past, and the salmon swimming up the river.
ReplyDeleteDiana Cosby, AGC(AW), USN Ret.
I'm an Air Force brat. When I was young, we lived in the Phillipines on Clark AFB, near the end of the Viet Nam war. We moved into the house that one of my dad's friends had lived in, a pilot whose plane had gone down 'in country'. Twice in the two years we lived there, earthquakes hit. The first time, I yelled at my little brother, certain he was causing all the shaking. When we ran outside, the ground was rolling like waves, the car bouncing as if someone was jumping on the hood.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a wonderful post. While I'm not a military brat, my husband was an Air Force brat and my daughter was a Navy Junior--how the Navy refers to our children. How right you are about life for children who grew up with parents in the military. Family photos document what a rich and varied environment it was for them. They live the social, political and physical geography of the world--and learn lessons they could never learn elsewhere. I'll be following your posts in the future!
ReplyDeleteKim, as you know I was an Army brat. It's hard to pin down any one special remembrance. My father was stationed in post-WWII Japan and we lived for part of that year in a huge Japanese house near a little village with open air markets and my sister and I ran outside each day the man with the "honey-buckets" went by, because he had a horse. (Honey bucket contained sewage!).
ReplyDeleteI also lived at Fort McClellan, Ala, during the Civil Right era. When Governor Wallace stood in the doors of the University of Alabama, the National Guard was called out and were stationed at Ft. McClellan.
But what I remember most is waking up to the sound of Reveille and hearing Taps as I fell asleep. I remember parades for special occassions in the parade grounds outside our door. I remember stopping to face the flag when the colors were retired for the day. My dad used to stop the car and get out and salute when the flag was being taken down. I remember that my dad went where he was sent by the Army and did as he was ordered, because it was his duty. I was so very proud of him!
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