This site is being used to collect and confirm the stories for a book to be published next year.

AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

When my father died, my sister pulled me aside and admitted something that stayed with me—she had never understood the full weight of his service. She said she wished she’d asked more, listened more, and taken the time to understand the life he lived before we were even born. That moment made something painfully clear: if we don’t tell these stories now, they vanish. I refuse to let that happen. No one in this family should grow up unaware of the legacy of service that shaped us, protected us, and carried our name through generations.

I am the only one in my family who did not serve in the military.
And that is precisely why I felt compelled to write this book.

To be fully transparent his book was created with assisted AI tools that helped me organize family stories, structure timelines, research historical context, and analyze service documents to ensure accuracy where possible. The goal was clarity, preservation, and honesty—not literary prestige. This is not a commercial project or an attempt at a bestseller. It is a record of their service to our family and country.

I wrote this to preserve my family’s legacy so future generations understand where they come from and why service—military and civilian—has defined our identity. I am proud of the people whose lives fill these pages. Their stories deserved to be put in one place, told plainly, and passed forward without being lost to time.

My father fought in Vietnam.
My grandfathers fought in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
My step brothers served in the Air Force and Navy
My sister served in the Navy
My extended family includes soldiers, aviators, intelligence officers, FBI, department of defense and a Green Beret.

Across generations—on both sides of the family—uniforms were worn, battles were fought, and service was carried forward without hesitation.

I grew up surrounded by this legacy.
My childhood was shaped by the ripple effects of wars fought long before I understood them.
My perspective on service comes not from combat boots but from watching the men and women I loved return from deployments, carry their scars quietly, show pride in their country and continue building families with the discipline and resilience learned in service.

This book exists so my children and grandchildren will know the people they come from.
It exists so the stories, sacrifices, and lessons of this family are preserved, remembered, and honored.
It exists because these men and women gave more than most will ever understand—and someone had to tell their story.

I didn’t serve.

But I carry their legacy.
And I am proud—deeply proud—of every one of them.

This book is my tribute to the past and my gift to the future.

The story of this family cannot be told without beginning with its defining trait: service. Not as a slogan, not as a sentimental phrase, but as a lived reality passed down through generations. Service is the thread that binds this lineage—from battlefields on the far side of the world to quiet acts of duty at home. For more than a century, through wars, deployments, relocations, separations, and sacrifices, the men and women of this family have stood where they were needed.

The earliest branches of our service tree reach back to the days before World War II, when young men from this family enlisted without knowing the scale of the conflict ahead. They would go on to land gliders behind German lines, conduct amphibious assaults under kamikaze fire, patrol deserts, and later fight through Korea’s frozen hills. Their children would serve in the jungles of Vietnam—some in Special Forces, others advising foreign airborne units, or flying Air Cavalry missions only feet above the treetops. Still others would serve during the Cold War in NATO commands, Pershing missile operations, and strategic air wings.

That legacy continued into the next generation. B-52 pilots. Navy intelligence officers. Corpsmen caring for sailors and Marines. Crane operators aboard nuclear sub tenders. Federal employees committed to national security. A retired minister who fought in Korea and later served his community in an election decided by a coin toss. And still today, one member of this family serves in classified work, their story known only in part—a chapter reserved for the future.

This book does not assign rank to sacrifice. The men and women of this family served in different ways, in different eras, in different corners of the world. Some wore rows of medals. Others never spoke of what they saw. Some returned home to build careers and families. Others returned carrying wounds that shaped the rest of their lives. Spouses raised children alone while their partners deployed across oceans. Children grew up learning that home was temporary and sacrifice was part of life.

Yet through all of this—through hardship, silence, distance, struggle, pride, and pain—the legacy remained. A legacy of stepping forward. Of answering the call. Of enduring what needed to be endured.

This is not a story about war. It is a story about people. People defined by service, shaped by it, and remembered because of it.

Everything that follows—every chapter, every story—is part of this larger truth:

Service is not something our family did.
It is part of who we are.

Working Table of Contents

Title Page
Dedication
Author’s Acknowledgment
Synopsis
Introduction: The One Who Didn’t Serve

Part I: War-Born Legacy

Chapter 1 – Legacy in the Blood: The WWII Generation
Chapter 2 – Chuck Beckwith: From Amphibious Landings to the Pentagon
Chapter 3 – Raymond G. McLaughlin Sr.: The Pilot’s Life
Chapter 4 – A Father's War: Airborne, Artillery, and MACV Advisor
Chapter 5 – First Tour: Big Red One in Vietnam
Chapter 6 – MACV-SOG: The Shadow War
Chapter 7 – The Pink Scarf: Fighting with ARVN Airborne and Air Cav
Chapter 8 – War Stories Never Told: The Tet Offensive and the Purple Heart
Chapter 9 – Returning Home: The Silence of Combat Veterans

Part II: Cold War and Beyond

Chapter 10 – Europe and the Pershing Missile Era
Chapter 11 – Maj. McLaughlin: Cold War Duty in Korea’s DMZ
Chapter 12 – Military Childhood: Growing Up Between Wars

Part III: Family in Service

Chapter 13 – Barbara and Bob: Cold War Service in the Department of Defense and Vietnam
Chapter 14 – Richard Franklin Sr.: 1968 European Service
Chapter 15 – G.P. Sloan: Pastor, Veteran, and Civic Servant
Chapter 16 – Grady and Ruby Robbins: A Small Town’s Burden
Chapter 17 – Sgt. Herrell Robbins: A Green Beret in Vietnam
Chapter 18 – Marguerite McLaughlin: The Mother of Men at War
Chapter 19 – Rexene Beckwith: Holding the Home Front

Part IV: The New Generation

Chapter 20 – Maj. Chris Franklin, USAF: Global Reach and Modern War
Chapter 21 – Rick Franklin, US Navy: Intelligence, Oceans, and Quiet Service
Chapter 22 – My Sister in the United States Navy
Chapter 23 – The One Still Serving

Part V: Reflections

Chapter 24 – The SOG Silence: Declassification and Rediscovery
Chapter 25 – Why I Wrote This
Chapter 26 – Final Words: On Legacy and Understanding

Appendices and Notes

Appendix – Family Service Timeline
Appendix – Awards, Units, and Service Medals
Acknowledgment of Active-Duty Family (Redacted for Security)
Closing Note on Accuracy and Intent