Elton Horace Hatcher; April 12, 1915-August 8, 2009

This week marks one of the hardest times in my life. More are sure to come in my lifetime, but hopefully not for a while. On August 8, 2009, my grandfather Elton Hatcher passed away. He was 94 years old. It gives me and many deep sadness, and we will greatly miss him.

My grandfather was one of the greatest men ever. He first and foremost was a loving husband to my grandmother Ruth for over 67 years! Their love taught me over the 27 years that I enjoyed with him, that pure, loyal, and unwavering true love can exist in this hell of a world we live in. I have doubted it many times over, but they showed me that little light of hope. He was also a father to 4 children. My mother, 2 sisters, and a brother. He loved them all the same. He was also an amazing grandfather to many grandchildren including me, great-grandchildren, and loads of nieces and nephews.

I have said before that I could literally do ANYTHING....however bad...and my grandparents would forgive me and love me even more. My grandparents kind of raised me for several years. All this while my parents were having to work, we would stay with my grandparents every day. Haha...I remember my grandfather used to cook the best breakfast! Everyday...we had homemade breakfast when we got there at 7 in the morning. Everyday at 10, we watched Bob Barker on the Price Is Right. My favorite game was Plinko. We would play outside, he built us these HUGE swings in a large tree out back. We had little motorized 3wheelers that we would ride. At some point there was a nap, and then came the 3 stooges. There was a huge basement that my grandfather built himself! Half inside,carpeted, heated-a/c, etc....the other half outside with tons of tools and saws and stuff. We would build things while my grandfather made tables, pedestals, chairs...all kinds of stuff.

I write this mainly to get it off my chest. I've had a lot of people tell me they are sorry, and I thank them for that. But people get tired of hearing it after a while. But it's something I will never forget.

My grandfather was such an influential person in my life. Other than my own parents, he is the reason I never got into drugs. He is the reason I try not to lie. He is the reason I strive to be a good person and try to find the good in this world. He taught me so many things in my life. He taught me how to mow grass. Haha...If my mom or whoever didn't like the clothes I was wearing, then he would ask me if I liked it. If I liked it, then he said he liked it. That was his attitude about life. Too short to be spent on these trivial instances.

He was a military veteran. He was in the Marines for 4 years..1938-1942 I think. Then joined the Navy in a construction/fight battalion called the SeaBees. It was a brand new thing the Navy had started, and he had construction experience. So he became one of the original Seabees. The military took him to the corners of the world...stationed in Guam in the Pacific War of WWII, in Panama to help build the Panama Canal, Pearl Harbor less than a month after the attack, and also the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, where he began his breathing sickness/problems.

A few stories....

In Alaska, he drove a bulldozer. It was the early 1940's, so none of this enclosed cab or heated cabs or any of that. My Grandfather used to wrap cardboard around the exhaust of the dozer, and then point it at himself in the cab to help keep him warm. Can you imagine? Exhaust blowing in your face just for warmth? No wonder he had breathing problems.

He told me a story about joining the Navy after getting out of the Marines. He was living in Biloxi ( one of the reasons Biloxi and I think the coast/water in general feels so at home for me). he had decided to join the military again. So he went over to New Orleans to sign up. There was this little building with one long hallway. There were 4 tables set up down the hallway: Army, Marines, Air Force, and Navy. He passed up the Army table and talked to the Marines. They would LOVE to have him back! He was excited, but they were going to immediately ship him off to the Pacific faction of the war, for what he and everyone else knew would most likely be a grim outcome. So, luckily for all of us family, he decided to decline. He found out about a construction battalion that was brand new. Mostly construction of airfields, barracks, etc. And only fighting if need be. So off he went to the original 4th NCB Battalion SeaBees.

When he finally got discharged from the Navy, he was in Pearl Harbor and Guam. His breathing problems had advanced. Every morning, my grandfather would walk across the small dirt road to the medics office, and take a shot of straight adrenaline to help him breathe. Everyday! The Doctor jokingly asked him, "What are we gonna do with you, Hatcher!" My grandfather said, "Send me home!" Haha. 2 or 3 days later, he was on a plane with Honorable Discharge to Oakland, California to live out the rest of his life with my grandmother.

He was very very proud of his Military life and his patriotism. There are so many stories that come to the surface of my memory.

He was an amazing person, and I have become heartbroken. I can only be there for my grandmother, who for the first time in 70+ years has to be without him. He lived through the roaring 20's, the Great Depression, World War II, Hitler, Stalin, FDR, Winston Churchill, etc. He lived through the 50's, Elvis, segregation, MLK Jr., the Racial revolution in America, 60's rock, JFK, landing on the moon, Jimi Hendrix and the hippie evolution. Vietnam, the 70's, disco 80's, the birth of his grandchildren starting in '77?, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 90's, the change of a new millineum, attacks on 9/11, more wars, Saddam Hussein, and even saw the first halfway black President of the United States, and over 9 years into that millineum. He was doing a lot better. He waited until I was back from out of town. And in one single day, actually a half day, after lunch, things turned. Right before he went to sleep, my grandmother asked him if he knew who I was, and he coughed Christopher.

He will continue to live on forever through many, many people. Forever in my looks, on my skin, through my veins, and beating in my heart.