My grandfather had talked about his time in the service long before I could remember. Until recently, I had never cared about what he said. I became curious about everything my grandfather, Steve, had said. I had heard stories that intrigued me and realized that this information he was talking about was actually important to our family history. It painted a picture in my mind of that time, a war had just started while he was in high school. He told me that everything was mass chaos, that he didn't yet know what to do with his life. At first he just ignored it, went to college for a year, and married my grandmother. Steve told me that college just wasn't something he wanted to do. After a failed attempt to take advantage of college, he decided to enroll in the Air Force. His father had been a pilot during World War II and he had always dreamed of following in his footsteps. I was curious as to where it was first placed. He went on to tell me it was at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, for his basic training. One of the saddest stories I remember him telling me was that he couldn't pursue his dream of becoming a pilot because he lacked perfect vision. Although one of the funniest stories he told me stemmed from it, he had been trying to memorize the eye chart to pass his eyesight test. Although he wanted to become a pilot, he still enjoyed working as an air traffic controller. “What does an air traffic controller do? I asked. “Well, we shipped and received at the airfield,” he replied. I never knew what it was, so I was quite amazed, it seemed like a fun job. Although basic training wasn't fun for him, he left his wife at home in Kewanee...... middle of paper ... because they wanted to raise their family, in their town native. , I learned that family is important, no matter where you are. Steve told me that leaving the service could have been a disaster, but it helped him create a good, stable life for his children. He and his wife now agree that they made the right decision in deciding not to continue serving in the Air Force. He continues to believe that service is important to keeping this nation intact. He painted for me a vivid picture of what it means to have a family and to have served for our country. Through the stories he told me, I learned that it's okay to not always know who you are. Steve taught me that life is an experience from which to grow and even gain a better perspective of who you are. For Steve, he realized that his family was the most important thing to him..