The Annoyed Army

I have a friend at my pool exercise class named Eunice. She is in her mid-80s.

Her husband died of cancer in mid-January, and yesterday Eunice returned to the pool for the first time. 

After class, I expressed my sympathy in her loss. She must have needed to talk to someone, because she opened up and began telling me stories about her husband.

What a life he led. He grew up on a farm in central Kansas, and became so strong from farm work, that he excelled in track and field in high school, and was given an athletic scholarship to college, and became the first college graduate in his family. After college he entered the Navy, and served in the Pacific Theater in World War II, including battles at Iwo Jima and in the Philippines.

After the war he taught high school, and then returned to college to become a dentist. He practiced for many years, and three of his sons became dentists.

The neatest thing Eunice told me was that Dr. Martin had some well-known students when he was teaching and coaching at various schools in Kansas.

In western Kansas, future U.S. Senator Pat Roberts was one of his students. Dr. Martin saw Senator Roberts at a political meeting several years back; when they were reunited, the senator dropped his notebook and gave Dr. Martin a big bear hug, and told him he never expected he would have a chance to see his former teacher and coach again to tell him how much he meant to his life.

Dr. Martin also coached General Richard Myers in high school. He never got to see him again after high school, but recently a family member ran into General Myers somewhere, and asked him if he remembered his old high school coach. “Coach Martin!” General Myers said. “I’ll never forget him and the influence he had on my life. Much of what I became after high school I owe to Coach Martin and the values he instilled in me. I have lived for years with the principles of fairness and integrity that I learned from him and others in those early days.”

Eunice said she is sorry that her husband never got to hear those precious words from a man who went on to accomplish so much for this country, but to her they are very comforting.

The lesson I took away from our conversation is that you never know what kind of impact you have on the other people you meet on your journey through life, and how much influence you might have on them….even young people who might later go on to achieve great things.

Rest in peace, Dr. Martin.