John, today is my first Father’s Day without my dad.
He was a helicopter pilot, an FBI agent, a teacher, and above all, a father who never stopped showing up for his family — even after he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s.
In the years before he passed, I watched him fight every day — for his health, for his dignity, and for the VA benefits he had earned. I also watched my mom fight alongside him, and I saw how hard this country makes it for veterans to get the care they need.
I think about that a lot now. About the America my dad believed in — the one he served, and the one he raised me to believe was possible. One where he even inspired new Americans to believe what was possible. My dad’s office at LAX was next to a currency exchange where many new Americans would wait with their family. Once my sister and I were old enough, my dad took our stuffed animals (with our permission) and would give them to child immigrants who just arrived in America often with little more than a backpack and their parents and say welcome to America. As my dad did this, word spread and fellow agents started giving him hundreds of their older kids' stuffed animals to give away.
To me, my father was the embodiment of a patriot. A man that at every turn no matter how late the call, no matter how tired he was, no matter who it was, was there to help. No matter if it was search and rescue for the Navy as a helicopter pilot, teaching kids how to read, saving lives of many who never knew how close they were to danger, or simply welcoming new Americans with a gesture of kindness.
What is remarkable about my family is just how unremarkable we are in our country. There are millions of other families, dads and moms in this country with stories similar to my father's. Most of whom we will never know but will feel the effects of for years to come. We owe them much more than a thank you. We owe them a government that serves them anywhere close to as much as they have served us.
That’s what Leaders We Deserve is all about. We’re fighting to elect a new generation of young, unapologetically progressive leaders who know what’s at stake — because they’ve lived it. Leaders who will fight like hell for families, for veterans, for a future where care and compassion aren’t partisan.
Thank you for being a part of this fight. For people like my dad, and for all of us.
Thank you — and Happy Father’s Day, John.
David
