This site is being used to collect and confirm the stories for a book to be published next year.

INTRODUCTION

a Family Forged by Service

Every family has a story, but some stories run deeper than memory—woven into bloodlines, carried in silence, and shaped by events far larger than any one of us. This book is the story of such a family. Mine.

For more than a century, across multiple generations, the men and women of our family served this country in ways few families ever experience. They fought in the skies over Europe, in the jungles of Vietnam, on the islands of the Pacific, in the frozen mountains of Korea, the tense standoff of the Cold War and the mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. They served in intelligence roles, missile commands, aircraft cockpits, amphibious tractor battalions, and Air Cavalry helicopter operations. They served as ministers, corpsmen, engineers, logistic specialists, and federal officers. Some served in battles known to history; others served in missions that will never be spoken of.

And through all of it—through war, duty, deployments, relocations, and sacrifice—the women of our family carried the weight at home. They held families together, raised children alone, and bore the emotional load of service without medals or recognition. Their strength is part of this story as much as the battles themselves.

This book is not a collection of exaggerated heroics. It is a record of real people—our people—who stepped forward when called. Some volunteered. Some were drafted. Some rushed toward the sound of war; others endured the quiet, unrelenting demands of service from behind the scenes. Each played a part.

Their stories were rarely told.

Their sacrifices were rarely spoken aloud.

Many came home and simply got on with life, not seeking thanks or recognition, carrying their memories privately.

But for the generations that come after—for my children, for my grandchildren—these stories matter. They explain where we came from. They explain the hard edges, the silences, the traditions, the discipline, the resilience, and the love that sometimes struggled to find its voice. They explain why service runs so deep in our lineage, and why so many of us carry the imprint of wars we never fought.

I wrote this book because the people who shaped our family earned the right to be remembered.

I wrote it because every generation must understand the one that came before.

I wrote it because their stories deserve permanence.

This book is not about war.
It is about legacy.
It is about duty.
It is about the people whose lives built the one you live today.

This is their service.

And now, it will never be forgotten.

A Legacy of Service

The story of this family cannot be told without beginning with its defining trait: service. Not as a slogan, not as a sentimental phrase, but as a lived reality passed down through generations. Service is the thread that binds this lineage—from battlefields on the far side of the world to quiet acts of duty at home. For more than a century, through wars, deployments, relocations, separations, and sacrifices, the men and women of this family have stood where they were needed.

The earliest branches of our service tree reach back to the days before World War II, when young men from this family enlisted without knowing the scale of the conflict ahead. They would go on to land gliders behind German lines, conduct amphibious assaults under kamikaze fire, patrol deserts, and later fight through Korea’s frozen hills. Their children would serve in the jungles of Vietnam—some in Special Forces, others advising foreign airborne units, or flying Air Cavalry missions only feet above the treetops. Still others would serve during the Cold War in NATO commands, Pershing missile operations, and strategic air wings.

That legacy continued into the next generation. B-52 pilots. Navy intelligence officers. Corpsmen caring for sailors and Marines. Crane operators aboard nuclear sub tenders. Federal employees committed to national security. A retired minister who fought in Korea and later served his community in an election decided by a coin toss. And still today, one member of this family serves in classified work, their story known only in part—a chapter reserved for the future.

This book does not assign rank to sacrifice. The men and women of this family served in different ways, in different eras, in different corners of the world. Some wore rows of medals. Others never spoke of what they saw. Some returned home to build careers and families. Others returned carrying wounds that shaped the rest of their lives. Spouses raised children alone while their partners deployed across oceans. Children grew up learning that home was temporary and sacrifice was part of life.

Yet through all of this—through hardship, silence, distance, struggle, pride, and pain—the legacy remained. A legacy of stepping forward. Of answering the call. Of enduring what needed to be endured.

This is not a story about war. It is a story about people. People defined by service, shaped by it, and remembered because of it.

Everything that follows—every chapter, every story—is part of this larger truth:

Service is not something our family did.
It is part of who we are.

Working Table of Contents

Title Page
Dedication
Author’s Acknowledgment
Synopsis
Introduction: The One Who Didn’t Serve

Part I: War-Born Legacy

Chapter 1 – Legacy in the Blood: The WWII Generation
Chapter 2 – Chuck Beckwith: From Amphibious Landings to the Pentagon
Chapter 3 – Raymond G. McLaughlin Sr.: The Pilot’s Life
Chapter 4 – A Father's War: Airborne, Artillery, and MACV Advisor
Chapter 5 – First Tour: Big Red One in Vietnam
Chapter 6 – MACV-SOG: The Shadow War
Chapter 7 – The Pink Scarf: Fighting with ARVN Airborne and Air Cav
Chapter 8 – War Stories Never Told: The Tet Offensive and the Purple Heart
Chapter 9 – Returning Home: The Silence of Combat Veterans

Part II: Cold War and Beyond

Chapter 10 – Europe and the Pershing Missile Era
Chapter 11 – Maj. McLaughlin: Cold War Duty in Korea’s DMZ
Chapter 12 – Military Childhood: Growing Up Between Wars

Part III: Family in Service

Chapter 13 – Barbara and Bob: Cold War Service in the Department of Defense and Vietnam
Chapter 14 – Richard Franklin Sr.: 1968 European Service
Chapter 15 – G.P. Sloan: Pastor, Veteran, and Civic Servant
Chapter 16 – Grady and Ruby Robbins: A Small Town’s Burden
Chapter 17 – Sgt. Herrell Robbins: A Green Beret in Vietnam
Chapter 18 – Marguerite McLaughlin: The Mother of Men at War
Chapter 19 – Rexene Beckwith: Holding the Home Front

Part IV: The New Generation

Chapter 20 – Maj. Chris Franklin, USAF: Global Reach and Modern War
Chapter 21 – Rick Franklin, US Navy: Intelligence, Oceans, and Quiet Service
Chapter 22 – My Sister in the United States Navy
Chapter 23 – The One Still Serving

Part V: Reflections

Chapter 24 – The SOG Silence: Declassification and Rediscovery
Chapter 25 – Why I Wrote This
Chapter 26 – Final Words: On Legacy and Understanding

Appendices and Notes

Appendix – Family Service Timeline
Appendix – Awards, Units, and Service Medals
Acknowledgment of Active-Duty Family (Redacted for Security)
Closing Note on Accuracy and Intent