So, an odd thing happened at the office yesterday... and a sad thing today
I had just gotten into work when an older gentleman came in. Being used to the mall walkers stopping by for a hat or to thank us for our service, I thought little of him until he started talking to another recruiter. He demanded to speak to our commander stating that he had an issue that needed to be resolved. So, I started running through possible reasons for him sounding so urgent/borderline pissed. Everything from a National Guard neighbor playing his music too loud to a recruiter calling the wrong number too many times. I wish it were one of those.
Come to find out, he was a Marine veteran with a grandson on active duty in the Army. His grandson's wife had come home to visit family but had not been seen since last Tuesday. With a missing spouse on their hands, the grandson's leadership was caught in a dilemma: let him go on leave now and burn up days or wait until she was found. Of course, the old man did not understand this, he demanded to know why his grandson was not on leave immediately, and why the systems that are in place seemed to hinder him. Chaplains need appointments, the other grandfather was working on a Red Cross message, he wanted answers then.
Anyway, my supervisor called the grandson's leadership to find out what the deal was. The old man calmed down quite a bit when he found out the true reason his grandson wasn't on a plane this past weekend. He also saw that we genuinely wanted to help, but that we had to let the police do their job. While they were talking I searched for a news story, still thinking the guy might be a little out there. Sure enough, a girl fitting the description went missing last week. Sadly, this morning I checked the news as per my daily routine. The girl was found floating in the Mississippi less than half a mile from where her vehicle was found. According to the most recent story she drowned and no foul play is suspected. My thoughts go out to that family.
