Our neighobrs, our Veterans by Tonya Hickman

At our Republican Women of Whatcom County Veterans Day luncheon on Election Day, six local veterans told us what it meant to them to serve our Great Nation. I expected to hear about where they served and what they did. What stayed with me were the people they talked about: a neighbor who looked after a young wife, a principal who said the school had his back, and a friend who cared enough to share the gospel. We laughed with these men, and we heard their voices catch when they talked about the people they loved. I’m grateful they let us get to know them.

Steve Monroe, Col. Herb Porter, Tavv Shaver, Dean Bates, Justin Pike and Ron Jepson

Ron Jepson was a boy in England during World War II. He remembered being taken under the stairs during bombing raids because that was thought to be the strongest part of the house. When American servicemen arrived, cricket pitches became baseball diamonds, and the local children would go up to the men and ask, “Any gum, chum?” To Ron, it felt like asking a big brother. It was special to hear how those men made him and his friends feel seen and protected. Relatives in Bellingham offered to sponsor his family, and Ron remembered riding his bike 30 miles to the U.S. consulate in Liverpool to get the paperwork. He came to the United States at 17 and went on to serve two years on active duty with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and three years in the Army Reserve in Bellingham. He later became Bellingham’s assistant city engineer. Of all the things Ron could have told us about his own service, he wanted us to know what those Americans meant to him as a child. They probably never imagined he’d still be telling the story decades later.

Dean Bates was 34, married with a baby and running a small business, when

he joined the Navy Reserve. He joked that the Navy had a program for “old farts,” but his reason for joining was serious. He felt that this country had given him so much that he wanted to give something back. As a naval aircrewman, he carried people and equipment around the world. After the attack in Benghazi in 2012, his assignments changed overnight, and he didn’t sleep in the same place two nights in a row for more than two weeks. Those years brought opportunities he loved, and they meant time away from Jeri and their family. He made lifelong friends, used what the Navy taught him about leadership in their family business, and trained younger sailors to take his place. I liked how he talked about that last part. He wanted the people coming up behind him to succeed, and when they earned an advancement, he was there to celebrate with them.

Colonel Herb Porter had started the Spanish program at Ferndale High School and was teaching there when the September 11 attacks happened. He remembered turning on the television just as the second plane hit. At school, his military pager kept going off. His principal told him that if he needed to go, the school had his back. Herb was called back to active military duty and recalled missing more than half that school year because of his assignments. Years later, he told his principal how much pressure those few words had lifted. Herb had once wanted to attend the Air Force Academy. His life took a different route, and he credited the Lord with opening doors he couldn’t have seen when he was young, including the opportunity to lead a unit in the Washington Air National Guard. I appreciated how freely he gave God the credit.

Pastor Tavv Shaver remembered how his neighborhood welcomed young servicemen home during the Vietnam era. He grew up watching Victory at Sea and looking up to the men in his own family who had served. At 17, he walked past a Navy recruiter in Renton, and the next thing he knew, his parents were signing the papers. He loved the Navy, but when it came time to take an advancement exam, he hesitated. A lieutenant who saw what Tavv was capable of challenged him to go further. All these years later, Tavv is glad he listened. After five years in the Navy, Tavv went to Bible college and into ministry. He thanked his wife, Julie, who homeschooled their eleven children. Hearing him talk about her reminded me that a strong community starts at home. The values families live out and pass on are what shape the culture around them.

Steve Monroe got us laughing when he said the Army’s olive green didn’t suit a blond, but he figured he could pull off the Navy uniform. Two days into boot camp, he was already wondering why he hadn’t listened to his mother. While Steve was at sea, his wife, Chris, lived in Japan. An older neighbor would sit and talk with her and look out for her, even though neither understood the other’s language. Then Steve told us the part of his story I won’t forget. A friend aboard the USS Midway cared enough to share the gospel with him. Later, when Chris met his ship in Thailand, Steve asked her to lead him to Christ. The Lord used those relationships to bring Steve to faith in Jesus Christ. After a fellow sailor died in a carrier landing accident, other officers came to Steve wanting to talk about God and about the man they had lost. Steve had needed someone to be there for him, and now he could be there for them which led to him serving as a Chaplain and training them.

Justin Pike spoke about more than 24 years in the Army and National Guard, but the person he most wanted us to know about was his wife, Holly. They were teenagers expecting their first child, with little money and no clear idea of what their future would look like. Justin joined the Army to provide for their family. At 19, he didn’t yet understand what raising his right hand would ask of Holly. While he was deployed, she raised their children, handled emergencies, and lived with the fear of a knock at the door. There was no medal for her nights of worry or for the birthdays their children spent without him. Now two of their sons have chosen to serve, and Justin and Holly are the ones waiting for a call and praying they’ll come home safely. When Justin got choked up, it was while talking about the young woman who stood beside him when they had almost nothing and was still standing beside him that day.

These men came from different places and took very different paths. Yet they all knew what it meant to count on the person beside them. Their stories also showed how much that trust extends beyond the people in uniform. This Veterans Day, I hope we’ll thank the men and women who served, thank the families who carried so much at home, and remember those who gave their lives and the families who still feel their absence.

Some of us will never serve in the military. We can still find ways to serve out of gratitude for all we’ve been given. The election is over, and we’ll all live with the results. That gets personal pretty fast. It’s what a parent is told when they ask what’s happening at their child’s school. It’s opening your property tax bill and figuring out what you’ll have to cut from the family budget. It’s whether a small business owner can afford to hire another person, whether someone can get the care they need, and whether families feel safe in their own neighborhood. Decisions made at a school board meeting, at the county courthouse, or in Olympia can show up at our kitchen tables. Our taxes help pay for those decisions. We ought to know what we’re paying for and be willing to say something when it’s hurting the people it’s supposed to serve.

I believe God is sovereign, and I’m responsible for what I do with the freedoms He’s given me. My hope for Salt and Light this year is that more of us will talk with our families about why it matters to stay engaged. Help someone register and encourage them to vote. Call or email your elected officials. Testify against a horrible bill, because there will be plenty of opportunities to do that. As a Christian conservative, when I see a bill that would harm children or families, I want to be willing to tell lawmakers plainly what it would mean for the people who have to live with it. Our club president, Jennifer Sefzik, shared that a website is coming to make it easier for us to speak up and share our views. Pray for the people making these decisions, too. We each have gifts, time, and a voice we can use between elections.

We also elected new officers at the luncheon. Welcome to our new board members, including Holly Pike, and thank you for giving your time to serve our club. After hearing Justin talk about what Holly has given to her family over the years, it was especially meaningful to welcome her to the board.

The next time I’m tempted to think a phone call won’t matter or that someone else will speak up, I hope I remember these men and their families. They gave years of their lives and time together they couldn’t get back. I don’t want to take the freedoms they served to protect for granted. Part of saying thank you is doing my part.