In honor of Veterans Day earlier this week, the Triangle wanted to interview Mrs. Batdorf and Mrs. Smith to learn about their experiences growing up in military families and around the world.
Mrs. Smith’s father served in the United States Air Force, leading her family to move every two to three years, which meant changing schools A LOT. Some years, she would attend 3 different schools in one grade. Her family was stationed twice in Okinawa, and she graduated from Kadena High School there.
She had the opportunity to participate in an exchange program and live in a traditional Japanese style house lined with rice paper walls and tatami mat floors, but lacking indoor plumbing, which meant relying on buckets of water to wash up. Oddly enough her family moved to Okinawa the same month that the island was returned to Japan after WWII, leaving Mrs. Smith to learn how to drive on the opposite side of the road. She fondly recalls eating fresh pineapple from the island and playing basketball; her team even went to play in a Far East tournament in Tokyo and won! When she returned to the states for college, she remembers using military language, even calling the dorms “barracks.”
She is thankful that no matter where her family was stationed, she was able to find a church to attend and grow closer to God even though her parents were unsaved. On Veterans Day, Mrs. Smith thanks her father for his service, and she takes her creative writing class to visit a military cemetery to learn about forgotten veterans. She now encourages her children to travel and minister with one of her sons living in Israel and another going to Turkey.
Mrs. Batdorf’s father also served in the United States Air Force for the majority of his career and moved to many locations around the world. Mrs. Batdorf was only a few weeks old when her father was stationed in Okinawa and lived there until she was three, but she spent the longest time living in Crete, a large island off the coast of Greece.
Her family lived there for four years and stayed with a family in the capital city whose culture was different from the states. The family owned a vineyard where they would stomp the grapes with their feet, and whenever she visited, the local family would offer gifts such as flokati, a rug made from lamb’s wool. Mrs. Batdorf said she often lived on smaller bases that had less food and necessities available. There was only one station American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) that only offered episodes that were weeks old. Her education was also not the best experience since many of her teachers at the bases were more concerned with seeing the world than teaching. Friendships were also often short lived since her family moved so often, and it was difficult adjusting to new schools and being the new kid wherever she went.
The bases provided chapel services for either Catholics or Protestants with rotating crosses depending on the service. For Veterans Day Mrs. Batdorf thanks her father who is proud of his time in the military and plans to be buried in a military cemetery. Mrs. Batdorf says that from her experience growing up in a military family she has learned the importance of living out the Gospel.
Veterans Day reminds us to honor those who have served our country, and every day these teachers honor the sacrifices made by their own families by serving our school with the same resilience and dedication. Mrs. Batdorf and Mrs. Smith have shown that faith can remain strong no matter a person’s place or circumstances.
