This is a guest post from Charlie’s Dad. I thought I’d take the opportunity on Veteran’s Day to share about the two very special men in our family that inspired our little Charlie Austin Rucker’s name.
Charles L. Rucker – “Poppo”
Born March 5, 1926 in Weatherford, Texas
Pop joined the Navy right after graduating from high school in 1943. He served in the Pacific on the U.S. Hughes, a destroyer, as a radioman on the bridge of the ship. While at sea, they were hit by a Japanese Kamikaze plane. The pilot's intended target was the bridge but fortunately missed and struck short of that. He returned home at the end of the war and joined the Reserves of the Air Force. During that time he served as a teacher and trainer in radio and telegraph at several stateside bases.
He would spend the rest of his civilian career with Missouri Pacific Railroad as a telegrapher working in West Texas, Dallas, Fort Worth, and St. Louis.
My favorite memories of Poppo involve time spent with he and Noni at their house in Euless and in Ft. Worth. Many summers, we would stay with Noni and Pop, often venturing to the Ft. Worth Zoo or the Omni Theater at the Museum of Science and History. Noni and Pop drove an old diesel Mercedes, and I remember Pop always standing tall and wearing a large straw hat.
(Yes that's baby Justin)
Pop was a board game and crossword master. He taught us checkers, chess, backgammon, and our favorite, double solitary. We saw Noni and Pop most often at school events, holidays, and occasionally on family trips. We have dozens of cousins on this side of the family, so our gatherings were usually quite a hoot.
From Pop’s example, I learned to give back to others that have cared for you. In Pop’s later years, he spent most of his time volunteering at HEB Harris Methodist Hospital and Hackberry Creek Presbyterian Church.
More than either of these admirable causes, Pop is an absolute hero to me for making the decision to adopt my Dad and raise he and his 3 siblings. It’s not often that a young man would take on the responsibility of an “instant family”. Pop did just that—as he married Noni and adopted her four children, after the death of my Dad’s biological Father.
That was a decision for which our entire family is forever indebted to Pop. It is from there that we took on the Rucker name. So, not only does little Charlie carry on Pop’s first name, but it is because of Pop that our entire family carries forward the Rucker name for generations to come.
Charlie T Jones – “Big Daddy”
Born July 10, 1920 in Wellsville, Missouri
Big Daddy enlisted in the Air Force in May of 1942, serving in England, Germany, and the Pacific in WWII, and later in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. As a bombardier navigator on the B17 bomber, he flew 29 combat missions. He would be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Metal, a variety of Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart, as he was injured by shrapnel during a combat flight over Frankfurt, Germany in 1944. Years later, he and Pop found out that at one point in their career, they were both actually in the very same unit at the same time. Big Daddy spent his entire working career in the Air Force and Retired as Lieutenant Colonel.
My favorite memories of Big Daddy were playing golf with he and Mimi, and getting together for “El Chico Night” later with Norma. Mimi and Big Daddy lived very close to us in Garland and we spent lots of time over at their house. They made the best lemonade and always had fun toys for us to play with. Every few years, they took me on a golf trip to Hill Top Lakes in East Texas or to Sleepy Hollow in Dallas. In high school, I got to see Big Daddy often at Eastern Hills. He was well known amongst my golf team friends as that “cool” grandfather of Justin's that wore a derby cap and had a goatee.
(That's Mimi and Big Daddy with baby Justin)
Years later, after Mimi's passing, Big Daddy introduced Norma to our family, and we are grateful for what she has brought to our lives. Each week, the entire family got together at El Chico (after a few years, we decided to introduce some new restaurants :) ). Many meals, many laughs, many Big Daddy coupons, and most importantly, many lifetime memories were made in those precious times together.
We had the great privilege of getting to introduce little Charlie to Big Daddy before his passing this past summer. We are so thankful that Big Daddy was in good health at his birth and was able to spend some precious moments with Charlie. We'll never forget just how proud he was of his little great grandson.
Little Charlie has two great men to learn about and look up to as he grows up. The bravery, sacrifice, courage, wisdom, faith, and love that these two men shared, have shaped who we as a family are today. They worked a lifetime to lay a strong foundation, and it is an honor to carry forward their causes and dreams into the next generation.
While we remember my two heroic grandfathers today on Veteran’s Day, we also would like to wish Brandi’s brother, Matt, a Happy Vet’s Day, as he is currently serving in the Marines in Afghanistan, on his 4th combat tour since 2001. We can't thank he and all of our Veterans enough for their bravery, their service, and their sacrifice.
(Matt in Afghanistan)
(Matt with his son, Miles, before being deployed)
