While over 16 million Americans served in WWII, there are only a little over a million of them still living. Last month a very special WWII veteran passed away, my Dad. He was a devoted family man who with my mother created within our home a place of unconditional love and support, a place to retreat from the realities of life, a place to tend to scars from the challenges of life, and a place to nurture self-confidence. While deeply saddened by the loss of this remarkable man, I am truly blessed for the many years of this wonderful life he shared with me and the remarkable life he gave to me. He quietly and effectively set a standard of integrity, love and devotion to family, warmth and respect to friends and acquaintances, which I will honor as I make my meager attempt to emulate him. He was a man of few words; he quietly set an example of how to live. His only words of advice to me came as I was departing on my honeymoon. He simply said, "Take good care of her."
Our Academy has also experienced a passing of a generation as none of the present board members have any direct knowledge of our early Academy leaders. It is only our mentors, many of whom we have lost over these past few years, who had the benefit of knowing some of the legendarily early Academy leaders such as Carel Koch. We must build on the legacy of these past leaders and chart the course for the future of the Academy and our profession. This past generation has provided us with this wonderful profession of modern optometry. Perhaps we could benefit from the example of this passing generation by being a bit more self-less in our actions and working toward the common good of the profession as we heed my father's words of advice, "Take good care of her."
