Why Am I So Lucky?
March 29th, 2010
Why am I so lucky? by Stan Weddle
When I went into the military in 1968, the Vietnam War was in full action. I was told throughout training that I would be in combat. The school where I was sent for advanced training for several months had a tradition of allowing the top graduates a choice of duty stations if there were openings. There usually was at least one job opening somewhere other than Vietnam. I was finishing first in my class. I was so lucky.
My fiancé’s mother died just before graduation. To go to her funeral, I would have to miss my graduation and return to a class that was a month behind mine. I would lose my ranking and have to compete for ranking with the students in the new class. I chose to go. My original graduating class had two slots available in Germany. Since I held the top position, the person in third place moved up and was allowed a posting in Berlin. He was so lucky. After those two desirable positions, everyone else was sent to Vietnam. Their job there was to carry an 80 pound communications pack into a forward position and call in for bombers and artillery. This was one of the most dangerous jobs in the war. It created a very high percentage of casualties.
After the funeral, I returned to school and finished first in my new class. My friends who held the top places before wondered whether there would be more than one slot for a desirable post. They were angry at me for causing them to move down in ranking. When the notices of available job positions were announced, there were three available outside of Vietnam. I chose Berlin and my friends got Okinawa and Thailand. Those were our first choices. We all got what we wanted. We were so lucky.
I got married just before going to Berlin and my new wife was able to join me and spend the first year and a half years of our marriage together in a foreign country. We got to become best friends before returning home and starting a family together. We have been together for over 40 years. We have two happy, healthy, intelligent, and beautiful children and three happy, healthy, beautiful and smart grandchildren. I am so lucky.
I’m sure almost everyone has wondered at some time, why am I so lucky, (or blessed)? Or, why am I so unlucky? Why did I live and a friend die in a similar situation? Why was I born healthy and someone else came into this life with deformed limbs or mentally disabled? Some either blame or praise God for their fortune. Some are either angry or unappreciative of their circumstance. Some take personal credit for all that happens to themselves and some blame God or others for their situation.
As always, I have more questions than answers. We all must find answers in our faith, philosophy, and current state of being. Our questions change as we contemplate and seek answers. It is a lifetime search for satisfactory answers. The path to a fulfilled life is covered with the unknowable. We can find satisfaction in our questions. I am so lucky.
This article first appeared in the Harper County Herald and is reprinted by permission.
Filed under: Philosophy