Father's Day 2010

Sunday, June 20, 2010 was Father's Day. My wife and I planned to have a barbecue in the back yard with the kids, just hanging out enjoying each others company. My fathers day was celebrated on the Saturday, the day before the "official" day of celebrating, for I had to work on Sunday. Ah, the life of a fire fighter. I started the day with the usual routine, made my coffee, checked my email, online PDN, and of course Facebook. When the family got up I received cards and was smothered with love, hugs and kisses. Though none of the cards had money in it, I could tell which one of my kids  gave me which card, for the boys seem to pick a card that allows their personality to shine through. Wonderful. As the day went on I wasn't allowed to lift a finger, or do any chores around the house, so I went out back to do a project that was on my "to do" list and made two kulu's, or shell horns using the Cassis cortuna, or Horned Helmet shell. It turned out to be pretty darn good sounding. Each horn produced a smooth, mellow sound that would put the South African Vuvuzela to shame. Heck, I was able to produce 3 octaves with my kulu's. As the sun made it's way towards the west and the shadows became longer, I fired up my Weber grill, popped open a cold one and filled up my little girls kiddie pool with water so she could play in it. I also moved her little play castle so the slide end landed in the pool. She and my middle son had so much fun that it was a pleasure to watch. After the steaks were cooked and the kids were water logged, it was time to head inside and enjoy our dinner. What a wonderful pre-Father's day, Father's day it was.

 I woke up the next morning made my coffee, checked my email, online PDN, and Facebook. After killing some time on the computer and enjoying my coffee, one by one my family woke up and greeted me with morning greetings and a happy Father's day again. I started to get ready for work, packed up my stuff I bring to work and headed out. When I got there, Happy Father's day was said over and over again, for all but one guy at the firehouse is a father. During the muster, the chief said the Guam soldier, Lukeala, killed in Afghanistan was coming in at 11:00 in the morning and that we were going to provide a water salute as his plane taxi's to the designated area. Everyone was paused by the irony presented. Here it was Father's Day, one we could enjoy, and yet this soldier, also a father, will be coming home to his family in a military casket. As the time for the KC-139 touchdown neared I grabbed my camera as I always do, got in my firetruck and headed out for the last minute debriefing at the spot the plane was going to stop. 

We got in position for the water salute, I set my camera up on a tripod in my truck and started to shoot this event in HD video. This was the first time that I was using my Canon 7D to shoot an event using the video function of my camera. I figured it would be good practice; shooting video with a DSLR is not an easy task. As the plane approached and we shot water out of the truck, we followed the KC-139 to it's designated parking. I got down and started to shoot the event. Now I have seen many of these events, more than I've wanted to, but this one was different. Army Sergeant Joshua Lukeala, who was killed in Afghanistan when his Humvee hit an improvised explosive device, was coming in on a charted Air Force KC-139, deplaned by an Army Honor Guard, then joined by an Army Color Guard, and escorted by both to a cargo building that was over a block away. This was the first time I know of that a fallen soldier was escorted by Army top brass, Honor and Color Guards, through the airport tarmac. The sight of Sgt. Lukeala's escorted casket leading a caravan of vehicles on the tarmac was very emotional for me. I held on to my composure and tried to take photographs that would do justice to this soldier and convey what I was feeling through my lens. That is one Father's Day that I will never forget. It was a Father's Day that I was able to share with my family, while being reminded that this family will not celebrate a Father's Day with joy, but with sorrow. Because of Sgt. Lukeala's sacrifice, we all are free to celebrate every day we have with our families. Thank you Army Sergeant Joshua Akoni Sablan Lukeala. And thank you to all of the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we are able to celebrate Father's Day. God bless you all.