I forgave you, Dad, and asked you to forgive me.

Your heart attack occurred early in the morning on November 30, 1994. I was aboard the USS Tripoli, returning to the states after a long six months at sea when I received notice. The Chaplain came to my stateroom to inform me and leave me a copy of the Red Cross message. The message said you were in a coma, and the doctors did not expect you to live. The letter also stated Mom needed me and requested my presence at home. Three days later I walked off the ship in Pearl Harbor, spent the night at Mom Ono’s house, and flew home to Tampa.

The somber reunion with Mom didn’t contain the same happiness and joy of our previous reunions, of course, but she put on her brave face, welcomed me home, and squeezed my hands and kissed me…