A hero passed away this past April. I wish you knew him. Ronald B. Flynn was a retired Army Colonel who served in Vietnam. Upon retirement, Colonel Flynn served as Commander of the California State Military Reserve, where his rank was Brigadier General (CA). He made nine combat jumps as a Pathfinder and was decorated for Valor when the Pathfinder detachment he commanded came under fire in the air, hanging from parachutes, at night. Then-First Lieutenant Flynn hit the ground, organized his men, and counterattacked, defeating the enemy and saving his soldiers. He was in his twenties. "The General" was eighty when we lost him, dementia and Agent Orange overtaking the toughest man I knew. He held an MBA and was a Green Beret, Ranger, Master Parachutist, Pathfinder, Combat Infantryman, Cavalryman, and Purple Heart recipient. I watched him complete 110 Army pushups as a fifty-three-year-old Brigade Commander. When I was fifty-three, I got winded driving uphill.
I met then-Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Flynn in August 1990 at Camp San Luis Obispo, California, at the California Officer Candidate School. The academy's Commandant hand-picked a new staff to train cadets during their final training phase before being commissioned Second Lieutenants. LTC Flynn was the commanding officer, I was the executive officer, and six stellar first lieutenants and captains served as TAC officers. LTC Flynn was an imposing figure, built like a golf tee, with movie star good looks. He maintained his physical fitness and had a delightful sense of humor.
Just before the cadets reported, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The largest mobilization of the National Guard since Korea began. LTC Flynn instructed us not to squelch the rumors running rampant among cadets.
Upon arrival, cadets learned their chain of command had been replaced. Watching LTC Flynn address the cadets was a master class in leadership. He explained that their country was counting on them, and they had to work three times harder because they were going to war. He gestured towards the noncommissioned officers assigned to the company and told the cadets they would have better luck being disrespectful to him than if they gave the Sergeants difficulty.
Cadets must complete a precise list of events, or they cannot become lieutenants. A captain tried to pull six cadets from training to practice Saber drill for the graduation ceremony. Repeatedly, LTC Flynn turned him down. The cadets were training 50 miles away at Camp Roberts, California.
During a meeting, a TAC officer explained that the captain arrived in a helicopter and demanded that six cadets be released. We went to the field to watch LTC Flynn. LTC Flynn was 5'8." The captain was 6'4." LTC Flynn had a habit of kicking the toes of your boots, causing you to look down, and he would lean in with the bill of his hat under yours so no one could hear. We watched him kick the captain's boots. The captain looked down, the colonel leaned in, the captain came to the position of attention, the colonel finished speaking, the captain saluted, got in the helicopter, and we did not see him until graduation.
We were waiting for the ceremony to start. Every General in the California Army National Guard was present. It was running late, and suddenly, in the distance, we could see the captain yelling and his arms flailing. No one could find the flags. We learned that a Private thought someone had left the flags unattended that morning and put them away. LTC Flynn kicked the toes of my boots; I looked down, and he leaned in and said, "Do you believe in an all-knowing and almighty God with a sense of humor?"
From 1994 to 1996, I served as the Commander of Company C, 3-160th Infantry, and Colonel Flynn was my brigade commander. In twenty-six years of service, those were the best years of my career. He continued to serve as a friend and mentor, emailing me during my Iraq tour and checking on me at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while I was treated for wounds I received in a rocket attack.
Colonel Flynn demanded excellence. He expected us to exceed the Army standards in every aspect of our duties, including physical fitness, marksmanship, training, and even paperwork. We should all thank God that such men lived and served. Whoever said you should never meet your heroes was wrong. I thank God frequently that Ronald B. Flynn was part of my life for the last thirty-four years.
Until Valhalla, old friend.
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