“Hey Lightfighter come over here, let me show you this.” I came running over. SGT Knight was a tall slender black guy. His face always formed a smile. It just did. He had a Combat Infantryman's Badge on his chest and master parachutist wings just below them. He had been to war. He had been to war! He might as well have been a Norse god to me. You see, we were in an Air Defense Unit. Not an infantry unit. There weren’t CIBs just rolling around me. I was mesmerized. Isn’t it amazing the power of a badge?
I was a young guy and just looking for someone to show me what right looks like. I watched, I listened, I asked, I explored. Teddy I was always there. He was such a calm, cool force in the face of every storm. He had been there, he had done that
During manifest call, I would love it when they would say, SGT Knight! and he would be so close to me yelling out. Teddy I.
Of course, now I realize that it wasn’t the badge. It wasn’t the combat. It was the man. Teddy I. I love you Lightfighter, thanks for the times!