A special Veterans Day message from Rebecca Tennille, wife of Chair Grant Tennille >>>

My father always tried to normalize his deployments.

“Somalia really just looks like West Texas…except there are giraffes.”

“Are those Cocoa Krispies? We ate a lot of them in Iraq.”

As a physician, he was often among the first to be dispatched. He helped set up the hospitals and the systems needed to take care of the sick or injured. He, never one time, complained about an assignment. To the contrary. Every overseas tour was an opportunity to live deliberately and make a direct impact.

There were times when I intentionally didn’t watch the news. And there were times he intentionally only told us a fraction of the story.

He never wanted us to worry. (We did, anyway.)

Now that he’s retired, I ask a few more questions. He still normalizes his service. “I was doing what I was trained to do just like any other parent who goes to work every day. Just that sometimes, my office was a tent.”

Happy Veterans Day, Dad, and to all those who have answered the call of duty.