William Lee Fyfe: 1928-2005
My father died on January 2, 2005.
Ultimately, he died of injuries that he had sustained in service to this country. Liver damage from injuries he sustained while in the military had poisoned his body, and scar tissue had become brittle and broken, causing internal bleeding. As I write this (July, 2005), if not for those injuries, he would still be alive, enjoying his hobbies.
My father was career military -- he had chosen the military as his profession. After 12 years of service, through the end of World War II, through Korea, and into the cold war, he sustained serious injuries in an airplane crash in Japan.
Before he died, I asked him about his time in the service -- as one of those "atheists in foxholes" that some assert do not exist.
The attached A Letter from My Dad was his response.
Shortly before I had asked him that question, he had attended an air show held in honor of America's veterans.
At the show, somebody saw fit to read a message over the loudspeaker -- a message that explicitly condemned all atheists and invited them to leave the country.
The country that he had given so much to protect.
And the crowd cheered.