2nd LT John Lance Geoghegan
Division: 1st Cavalry; Battalion: 1st; Regiment: 7th; Company: C
Army

The Wall
Panel 003E Line 056

Tribute

I was five months old when my dad died. Luckily, he was able to spend a month with me before heading to Vietnam. After his tour in Vietnam, he and my mom planned to travel back to East Africa (where they spent the first year of their married life and were I was conceived) working for Catholic Relief Services in the villages of Tanzania. He truly wanted to dedicate his life to helping those in need. He died going to the aid of one of his comrades (Willie Godboldt); their names are listed next to each other on The Wall.

I am at a bit of a loss as to what to say next…I was fortunate in that my mom put together all kinds of items to help me learn about my dad when I was ready and she remarried a man who honored the memory of my father. So growing-up seemed “pretty normal” and because of that, I pushed that empty place in me further down. After many years of counseling, I am only just beginning to reach that part of me deep inside that LONGS for the comfort of my daddy. To be held by him, to hear his voice.

He was an only child and I was his only child. His parents have long since passed and my mom (my only remaining close connection to his memory) is struggling with her own memory. I feel lonely and miss my dad, but the emotion is so strange because I miss someone I never knew.

Thank God for my “brothers and sisters” in SDIT. They know and understand. My love and support goes out to all of them.