Allow me to introduce my dad

Dan ArpOpinion

My dad was born in 1919. When he was 3 months old, his father and one brother died in a house fire. There were several children in the family; it was tough on his mom. She died when dad was 16.

Dad grew up having to help support the family. All through high school he worked in a plumbing shop. (He and my mother dated in the plumbing truck.)

In addition, dad was in ROTC all through high school. When World War II broke out in Europe, dad saw what was coming and enlisted in the Army. As it became apparent that the United States was going to be involved in the war, the military started gearing up. One of the many things they were short of was officers.

Dad had only a high school education but since there was such a need and because of his ROTC experience, he was placed in OCS (Officer Candidate School). He made it through, alongside other mostly college educated enrollees.

Howard Arp’s hat that accompanies his rank of Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves

Dad was involved in the Normandy invasion. He never said a lot about that. The only things he shared were anecdotes about some of the funny things that happened, mostly through his own errors.

After the war dad joined the Army Reserve, where he obtained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. All told, he had 23 years of service to our country.

Dad has been gone for over 40 years. He was only 62 years old. I am now 13 years older than he was when he died. I think of him daily. At 62 he was far wiser than I am at 75.

I believe his character was molded by his family, the military, friends and life experiences.

Dad was a life-long Republican, as am I. I refer to myself as a Lincoln-Eisenhower Republican. I think dad would be as well. If you aren’t sure what that means, then you have some research to do.

The main premise is “equality of opportunity.” Not dividing up the wealth, but removing the barriers that keep some people from having access to opportunities they might not otherwise have. This is a whole other topic that I won’t delve into.

Dad was a generous man. I have run into numerous people over the years whose life was made better because of my dad. There were many cases where he helped struggling small business owners obtain much needed credit to grow their business. He did this by personally guaranteeing them without collateral.

When I was working in a grocery store, there was a guy who worked with me. He had terrible teeth. Dad knew this would be a barrier for him so he paid so he could have his teeth fixed.

So much more to say but I’ll conclude by saying this. If Lt. Colonel Arp were alive today, he would be appalled by the people who are involved in many parts of our government today. The Republican candidate for president would turn his stomach.

Dad’s strong belief in honesty, integrity, morality and genuine concern for his fellow citizens he would see as non-existent in this person. He would find it unconscionable that so many people are embracing the very ideology that he and so many others risked and sacrificed their lives to overcome.

These are troubling times, dad.

Dan Arp is retired and lives in Heiskell with wife Cindy.

 

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