BEAR WITH ME: this is going to be very long and very personal.
My grandfather is my inspiration to join the Naval Academy. He was a South Vietnamese armor officer (an O-3, I believe) who fought alongside American forces against the NVA and the Viet Cong on numerous battles. Before that, he was an engineering teacher at a local high school in Quang Ngai, a city not too far from Hue. When the battlefield kept closing in on his very home and community, he decided to join the Army in order to defend his country against the communists. He utilized his engineering skills as an armor officer, and commanded a tank company comprised of m41 bulldogs and m113 ACAV vehicles.
My grandfather saw some very bloody and destructive fighting during the war, and it is clear that some things haunt him to this day. When the war was coming to an end, and he saw his country and home being overrun by the enemy, he had no choice but surrender so that his family (my mother, grandmother, aunts and uncles) could be spared a worse fate. He was thrown in "reeducation camps" where the conquerors deemed all South Vietnamese soldiers and government officials traitors. For 15 years, he was tortured, poorly fed by his captors, and frequently mistreated simply because he was on the wrong side of the war.
When he finally left the camps, he applied for asylum in the United States, fearing that his home country would continue to persecute his family. In 1991, my grandfather and my mother's side of the family came and settled in Northern California. Life was tough for my grandparents. Coming here with only the clothes on their backs and a belief in the American Dream, they essentially worked their butts off to make it here in the States. My grandfather who had professional degrees in Vietnam, could not continue his occupation here, so he worked as a janitor for a Tech firm that is still around today (ever heard of IBM?) in order to support the education of my mother and uncles/aunts.
The United States gave my family hope that they could start a new life, and that they could be assured that hard work and perseverance was all that was needed to live prosperously.
Even in his old age, 79 to be exact, he still does his best to keep in shape. He wakes up at 0530 every morning, and goes for a run as if he was conducting PT. A man who has seen many horrors still manages to smile and move on with his life, because in the end, that is all he can do, My grandpa left the past behind him in Vietnam, and came to the United States a new man.
The things he has said and taught me still stick. When I have terrible day, I remember all the hardship my grandfather had to endure, and how he kept on pushing even when the pain, the misery, and the humiliation would wear him down. His spirit not only kept him alive, it allowed him to thrive. It makes all my problems seem minuscule in comparison, and this knowledge gives me the motivation and the drive to pursue my goals to fruition.
Deep inside, I want to attend the Naval Academy, because I believe that this institution will best prepare me as a Naval Officer, and will instill the same kind of values and the mindset that my grandfather possessed. Serving my country will also pay a debt that my family has owed for so long; The United States gave my family everything and all the means to succeed, and asked nothing in return. It is important that I answer the call to arms one day, when our nation is under threat.
Che527, best of luck on your application to the class of 2021! I hope this post gave you some inspiration and allowed you to understand my motivation for applying to USNA.