Lifting Others Up and Running Toward a Challenge
Jordan Jakob never saw himself trudging through flooded rice paddy fields at the crack of dawn. But he never ran from a challenge either.
As a young man entering high school, he was considered undersized as a basketball player, standing only 5’3”.
But he excelled, nonetheless, with quickness, intelligence and a dogged determination.
Today in Quảng Ngãi Province, he was sizing up the challenge of his life: doing the job he signed up for and trying to stay alive.
Life in Vietnam for service members like Jordan was a major adjustment from “back home”. The conditions were harsh. The geography was challenging. And each day was a whole new ball game.
But like every good athlete, he adapted. Each day was a new game plan, focused on whatever task “coach” assigned. Jordan applied his hustle and instincts from the basketball court to evade severe injury and best serve out his time.
He returned home to eventually shoot hoops in the playground near his ranch home with his growing son. He had to lift up his toddler to get close to the hoop.
But lifting up others was nothing new to those like Jordan serving in Vietnam.
“It was tough to take any praise for the job we signed up for,” says Jordan. “But it was tough to return home to so many mixed emotions, too.”
Today, and every day, #wearbluetoremember lifts up all who served.
And while the numbers who served and perished are substantial, we remember each number and count them as a person, with their own compelling story and sacrifice.