My thanks to Jonathan Myer for his occasional updates on Jim to this group, all of whom Jim regarded as his brothers--Finest Kind!
As Jonathan's latest posting said, Jim is not doing well. His Alzheimer's Disease (AD) progressed at a fairly slow and steady rate for several years, but its speed and severity kicked into high gear last year. He entered an astonishingly rapid downward spiral last summer and, in a matter of a few short weeks, went from a rather ordinary (if regimented) lifestyle with occasional driving to complete disorientation and hospitalization on a locked unit. He is now a resident of a VA hospital's dementia unit, one of the finest and best managed units I have seen (and I have visited quite a few!). I pray that none of you have to deal with AD; it is a terrible disease, a thief that comes in the night and steals everything--memories, reasoning, dignity--and leaves a husk that you love but cannot hold on to. If you or a loved one faces AD, I wish you the kind of love and support I have found from the VA (for Jim) and from another fine private nursing home (for my mother). ! Take advantage of all the support and respite you can get! You will need all that and more.
My request to Jim's fellow FACs is on behalf of his children and grandchildren. I am preparing a book for them full of news, documents, details, and pictures of people, planes, bases, missions, etc., to help them understand Jim and his military career, which was "his life". Though our daughter will always have memories of Jim and his "war stories," I'm afraid our grandchildren will not remember the real Jim, and at any rate they are far too young to understand what a role he--and you all--played in our nation's history. I also have recently made contact with his missing daughters from a previous marriage, from whom he was estranged for about 38 years. Until our conversations, they knew literally nothing about their father; I have filled in many gaps for them, but many more remain--besides, they and my own offspring would like to know details that don't come from my slant! Our grandchildren, a 10-year old boy and a 6-year old princess, absolutley adored their Opa, but some day they will want to know more about the man they remember for his welcoming lap, his teasing, his candy-sharing, his tours of the Aviation Museum, and his love for cats--and for them.
It is my wish that those of you who knew Jim personally--either during Vietnam, more recently via the FAC Association, or from any other contact--or who knew someone else who knew him, would contact me with a blurb about him or about the FAC mission I could include in my memorial for his family. Don't worry--I will provide appropriate editing/censoring for the children's version! Just a few lines responding to one of the following would be appropriate:
When I hear Jimmy Carter's name, I always remember . . .
Watching Carter fly a plane, I used to think . . .
Once Jim Carter and I . . .
I once saw Carter . . .
I once heard Carter say . . .
When Carter and I went to Bangkok on R&R . . .
More than anyone else, Jimmy Carter was responsible for . . .
I was one of "Carter's Pills" . . .
Jim and I were Bronco FACs . . .
Jim and I were Covey FACs . . .
Jim and I were Delta Covey FACs . . .
The first time I ever saw Jimmy Carter . . .
The last time I ever saw Jimmy Carter . . .
Jimmy Carter was a sonofabitch but . . .
When I flew in Vietnam as a FAC . . .
I didn't know Jimmy Carter, but I can share this information about his Vietnam mission . . .
When I read this posting to my daughter just now, she got teary and said she hoped some of you would respond, not just with favorable stories but with anything you can share that would shed some light on Jim, the man. Whatever you can share, even if you didn't know Jim personally, will add dimension to our project. I can speak from the viewpoint of a daughter who lost her father too young; I was 10 when my father dropped dead from a sudden, massive heart attack while out of town on business. My mother was 37 with two daughters, 14 and 10, when she lost her mother, which was expected, just before Christmas and then, three weeks later, in early January, lost her husband--who had just had a favorable physical. For many years she was too busy working, paying bills, managing a household, and raising daughters to spend much time talking about my father, and I grew up hungry to hear details about him from any source. No detail was too small! To this day, I still relish hearing even brief references to him from relatives at family reunions. When some old geezer (smile) comes over to me and starts off, "I remember when your daddy . . . ", I am all ears! I can assure you that any stories you share about Jim will be received by my family in the same spirit!
Please feel free to contact me in any of the following ways with a brief line, a longer ramble, photos, tapes, or any other data you would like to share. And if you are ever going to be in or around Warner Robins, please let me know. I hope to meet more of you when I am able to attend a FAC reunion in the future--and to visit again with those I've met at previous reunions. I can't attend another one just yet, but I hope many of you will make the reunion at Wright-Pat and will raise a glass and make a toast to Jimmy Carter, your brother in the cockpit, who would be there with you, party suit and all, if only he could.
Dianne Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter (Jimmy Who)
116 Falcon Crest
Warner Robins, GA 31088
478-922-0073, home
478-951-7725, cell
diannetcarter@aol.com