Oct. 25th 1975, Found the Old Man's Hunting knives from the plane crash.

One of the nice things is I have a lot of his huntin' stuff and his hand tools, stuff that's older now then when I knew him, hell I out lived him by 10 years already.

Still I wish he got to see his grand kids and that they got to know him through more than just stories, at least his history lives on.
 
Wow, great story. Things work out in funny ways sometimes, the way you should've been going, but he wouldn't let you. That's a beautiful knife, too. Cherish it.
 
Repost of an old thread, tomorrow's the 37th anniversary of the Old Man's death, (funny how we look at it as an anniversary, like it's somthin' to celebrate every year) and I get nostalgic this time of year since we spent a lot of time in the woods huntin', hikin' and campin' this time of year. Knives were a big part of my relationship with my Old Man.

Anyway I dug up this thread and saw that the pic links were not workin' so after some runnin' this mornin' I'll retake the pics and repost 'em here.

Mods I know this is a long story and it's thinly related but there is knife content and I figured it would get seen by more folks here.

Thanks
 
T. great story and thanks for sharing, look forward to seeing the photos.

I think your old man would be proud of you and you were not suppose be on that plane.
 
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Goosebumps. Prayers for your strength. As they say, you never get over the loss of a parent. Time mitigates the pain, but never heals it.
 
When I saw your avatar, I thought of the your Dad's quote in your signature. Then I read the story. Losing a father is bad. Losing your best friend is bad. Losing them both at the same time, a time where you are still learning who you are and what you will do in life must be the worst thing that can happen. Period. My condolences, however late, go out to you.

I guess I never really knew how lucky I was,
Connor
 
I dont mind saying along with Tolly I also teared up when reading this. However your father sounded like a great man and it sounds like you have grown up to be a great man as well which I am sure he would be proud of! Keep on truckin and thanks for the story.
 
Thank you for bring back your thread! My grandfather was a b-17 pilot in ww2 (who checked out in some cool planes like p-51,shooting star (f-86)), then my father got his pilots licence when he was 16. My father used to fly light aircraft (type-certified) extensively.

I'll never forget reading that book called "hatchet" when I was in 6th or 7th grade in school. It was like a survival kit/woods calling to me, I loved that book! I the story stuck with me until I was about in my mid 20's I found out that it was unreal.

The only knife I inherited was a folding knife (Barlow) that my grandfather on the other side of the family had. He was a military aircraft mechanic to-boot.

Anywise, the point of my story is that there is another "Hatchet" book out there, where it branches off of the first book, maybe it will bring you some peace to know that if you went, you may have been the only survivor.

Sorry for your losses, but glad you made it out alive!
 
Your story knocked me for six T. A very moving account, fascinating, compelling, and beautifully told. Your dad would have been proud of you, and I'm sure you know that. Thanks for sharing that with us friend.

Jack
 
Thanks for bringing it back up. I needed to read this today. It strangely helped my outlook on life.
 
The only reason I’m even tellin’ ya’ll this story is because the 32nd anniversary of his death is loomin’ in the near future and findin’ this knife has brought a lot of old feelins’ and issues to the surface that need attention and telling’ his story was one of those issues, thanks for listenin'.
Click to expand...

I'm a firm believer that the tools we covet and care for become an icon with a life of their own. My kids will inherit my knives and such, and when they do, I hope they remember me everytime they look at them. Heck, the oldest is only 5, and I have knives for the husbands to come.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your Father, but I know and pray He's looking at you proudly.
 
Ted thank you for resurrecting this thread and sharing your story. I guess we have all had the experience of having to face the brutal reality of death for the first time.

I could hear in your words the feelings of abandonment and shock at the loss of your best friend, mentor and hero......Your Dad
What a shocking thing to happen to you at such a young age.

Alas there are no words of comfort........it just remains for you to keep his memory bright.........

All the best to you brother.......

Steven
 
Thanks for sharing. I hope the process of writing this post and the support you get here helps you.

Sincerely, Pierre
 
Thanks for all the comments folks, writin' this has helped a lot, we tend to repress feelin's over time, we forget what's not right in front of us, there's evidence of this everywhere.

Rereadin' what I had written before got me all chocked up and teary eyed somethin' that I haven't done since my daughter asked me why she had only 1 grandfather 20 years ago when she was 2.

So now I wanna make sure that like me she'll be able to tell her kids all about her dad and her grand dad in the event I'm not there to tell 'em myself.

The Old Mans Legacy will live on, I know my daughter feels the same way about me that I did about my dad.

So I do what my dad always told me, "...do the best and be the best that ya can and you'll never have regrets."

Thanks again for the kind words, I'm takin' the knife out into the woods in my yard and takin' a coupla pics to post tomorrow.
 
Thanks for all the comments folks, writin' this has helped a lot, we tend to repress feelin's over time, we forget what's not right in front of us, there's evidence of this everywhere.

Rereadin' what I had written before got me all chocked up and teary eyed somethin' that I haven't done since my daughter asked me why she had only 1 grandfather 20 years ago when she was 2.

So now I wanna make sure that like me she'll be able to tell her kids all about her dad and her grand dad in the event I'm not there to tell 'em myself.

The Old Mans Legacy will live on, I know my daughter feels the same way about me that I did about my dad.

So I do what my dad always told me, "...do the best and be the best that ya can and you'll never have regrets."

Thanks again for the kind words, I'm takin' the knife out into the woods in my yard and takin' a coupla pics to post tomorrow.
 
that's quite a story T. death is a "funny" thing. I remember when i was about 6-7, my grandfather died. my dad's dad. now, my dad was a tough guy. he grew up in a mill town...football player...fought for fun...7 broken noses, etc, etc. so, even as a child...i heard stories. his dad was the same way. but kind. a kind man. a family man.

i remember being at the funeral and looking up at my dad and seeing him just bawling. my mom too. i loved my grampa. but, i didn't cry. i just couldn't fathom my dad crying. he was my super hero. so, i crawled up on his lap and grabbed his hand...and my moms hand...to see if i could squeeze it hard enough to make it all better. it didn't work.

years later. a decade. i was awake one night in bed. i thought back to that time. i thought of my grampa and realized i never even shed any tears. i let it all go. the tears came.

this might have been after an acquaintance died in high school. he was a friend of friends. these friends were stereotypical late 80's "punks." crazy hair. crazy tattoos. even in high school. hard core. bad ass. well...not that day. again...at the funeral, i saw these same guys (that would beat you down) crying like babies. it really struck me. death is a "funny" thing.

i could go on. but, i've said enough. this is your story. but, i'll tell ya...you got me thinking. thanks for the words.

cheers to your dad.
 
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