{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Ep 17: To Protect and To Serve, Spc Joseph Kennedy","description":"  Thoughts of time on the Mississippi River might bring quotes of Mark Twain to mind or perhaps the sound of boat\u2019s horn. Joseph Kennedy followed in his father Jim\u2019s footsteps working on the river as a deckhand and terminal operator. No doubt, that on those long patrols in Afghanistan that Joe thought of his five years on the river. Those sounds. The smells. The constant motion of water and machine. Servicemen and women fill the void of thoughtless time by thinking of home. Thinking of that safe place. It delivers some solace and peace even in war. Joe penned a letter and poem to his father about six months after joining the army. Both the letter and poem strike a unique tone of humility and "others above self." He writes about his father as an inspiration and his greater teacher. In the poem he titled \u201cMy Hero,\u201d Joe deliberately deemphasized the \u201cI\u201d putting it in lower case while emphasizing the beginnings of other words with the upper case. It\u2019s telling in the message he wanted to send. My Father is My Hero   He has Taught me Everything i Know about Being A Man   How to Control My Anger and How to Control My Love   i Have Failed to Listen to Him From Time to Time and Made Mistakes i Can\u2019t Help but Feel i Have Failed Him   He Does His Very Best in Everything He Is and surely Everything He Will Be   My Word is True when i Say i Love Him with Every Fiber of My Being   He is Everything i Wish i Could be A True, Faithful Lover and Inspiring Father   He is My Father and He is My Hero   Before Joe\u2019s death, his father had been working on a barge that he\u2019d christen \u201cShmolie\u201d after Joe\u2019s nickname. Shmolie was an extension of Joe Shmo. One can imagine the unique bond they forged on the river.   Listen to the rest of the story on the podcast ","author_name":"America's Memory ","author_url":"http:\/\/americasmemory.com","html":"