Compass Points – Thanks Dad!

A Father’s Day remembrance

Compass Points – Thanks Dad!

A Father’s Day remembrance

June 16, 2024

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Happy Father’s Day!

Fathers want the best for their children. Fathers may make mistakes or fall short, but with their best-efforts fathers grow their children better, their families better, and the Nation better.  Is it hard to be a father? Former President Bush once said with a smile, “I’ve been to war. I’ve raised twins. If I had a choice, I’d rather go to war.”

Compass Points has received one Marine son’s personal remembrance of his Marine dad.

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"Living with the Brute”

My father was a very special man.  I confess that as a young lad, he was simply “Dad.”  During my very early years, he was in the Pacific fighting the Japanese.  A few years later he departed for Korea and was, again, gone for an extended length of time.  But when he was home, he was a father who cared for his family and took pains to demonstrate that to my Mom and his three boys.  While stationed at Quantico, he would take us on a “trail ride” on Sundays…joining with many of the family friends in a picnic like atmosphere.  We had a small boat and would find ourselves on the Potomac River on a weekend…often joining up with other families and spending a day swimming, eating, fishing, and having fun.  We were, in many ways, like any military family.  Yet, maybe not!

It was later that I realized he was more than “Dad”.  During certain periods of my early life, I would be surprised to find him in deep discussions with some of his “Marine friends”…sitting around our breakfast table or meeting in the dining room... or talking on the phone at all hours…or just going to the office at unusual hours.  Some of those in his “orbit” were legends of our Corps.  General Holland M. (Howlin’ Mad”) Smith who was my Godfather, Lieutenant General Robert Hogaboom, General “Red Mike” Edson, General Lemuel Shepherd (our 20th Commandant), General Merrill Twining, General Gerald Thomas, and others.  It was not until later that I learned these were members of the “Chowder Society” and they, along with others, engaged in a successful effort to solidify the Marine Corps into law.

During these formative years of my life, my father was, by word and deed, driving home the concepts of authority, responsibility, and accountability. He spoke of the importance of Character in all that we did.  He was a strict disciplinarian but was also fair. Whenever he meted out discipline, it was always tied to a life lesson.  He and my Mom were a great team and supported each other while supporting our growth.

At the age of 16 I left our home to go to boarding school (as did my brothers) and never really returned home to live.  When I joined the Marine Corps, he presented me with my Mameluke Sword and the admonition to honor what it stood for.  During a significant part of my service, my father was a General Officer.  We both tried very hard to keep our professional lives well clear of our personal lives.

Upon my father’s retirement, he became very much a mentor and a friend.  He was a sounding board for ideas…especially when I was Commandant. I would normally speak to him every day at noon and kept that up after my own retirement from the Corps.  Upon his death, I realized how much he had given to me. He gave me a value system that embodied his Marine Corps service.  He continually stressed the importance of selfless service, of moral courage, and of integrity.  This was the gift he gave to me…and to my brothers.

--C.C. Krulak

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On this Father’s Day, Compass Points thanks General Charles C. Krulak for the remembrance of his father, LtGen Victor H. “Brute” Krulak. Compass Points joins with the entire Marine community in saluting fathers past and present. The US is beset with challenges today. Virtually all the challenges would be much improved if we only had more and better fathers. To all our fathers, thanks dad!