Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Thank you.
Kimberly, even as I express my condolences to you, and Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn, I was reading last night that you think we should start by making sure that our condolences are expressed to all the families who are grieving this morning because aaron truly felt he was a member of the team.
Exactly. although I'm able to be here this morning and I'm thankful to share Aaron's story, the other people have also lost their loved ones and they're feeling.
Mr. Vaughn, I was reading about your son. and, boy, he was an impressive young man as a child, as a young adult, as a son, as a father, as a husband. he was a young man who stood out. why did he want to be a S.E.A.L.?
Matt, I can just tell you that after 9/11 aaron told me and his mother that he wanted to be a S.E.A.L. and he said that he had wanted to ever since he was a little boy. and Aaron, if I can just say it, God bless him, he loved his country, he loved God, he loved Kimberly, and he loved Reagan and Chamberlain, and he honestly believed and saw black and white that what we were involved in, and he told me this, is a war for survival of our republic. Aaron knows that the war, Islamic fundamentalism, radicalism has gone on for hundreds of years if not thousands. and it can be traced through history and he felt, and so did the other members of his team, felt that the very existence of our republic is at stake. And because of that, Aaron was willing to give his life. and what I have to say is that S.E.A.L. team six, I just know those men felt the same way and they see it clearly, they see it black and white. so many of us don't.
Aaron told me right out of his own mouth that he had a class where he said, dad, there's three kinds -- the man told us there are three kinds of people in the world, sheep dogs, sheep, and wolves.I can honestly say that S.E.A.L. team six are the sheep dogs. sheep dogs always see the warning, black and white, clearly. most of us are sheep. we don't usually see it.
Karen--
And there are some wolves out there --
Go ahead, sir. I'm sorry.
Karen, you -- you said something over the weekend that really struck me. you said, now, if there is anything good to come out of this for the first time you get to talk about the amazing things that Aaron did in his life and his career with the S.E.A.L. ls because there's a huge code of secrecy here and now you get to brag a little about him. what are you most proud of in terms of his accomplishments?
Well, I'm most proud of Aaron's humility and his nobility. but more than anything, I'm most proud of the way he loved God and how important his faith was to him. and you know, Aaron, everything he did, like you said, was secret and it just feels really strange right now that only in his death can we celebrate who he was in his life. it's very -- it's a very difficult concept to understand. but Aaron would want everybody to know most is that he loved America, he believed America could be great again, and he fought for the America he grew up in, Matt, and we believe -- we're a very patriotic family, we believe that America will be on its feet again and a country that the rest of the world looks to as a leader. and we're just really sad about this huge loss. we're really sad that our son is gone, but we know -- we know that he would have done it all again.
Kimberly, you met --
And he loved every minute of his life.
Kimberly, you met Aaron in Guam. He was serving there. You were a member of the Washington Redskins cheerleaders. Here was this tough warrior but you saw a tender side of him. You have two children, Reagan is 2, I believe, and your daughter was born only eight weeks ago. he made it home for both of those births. so he was home just in June. What was that visit like?
It was wonderful. as much as our men are gone away from their families, over hundreds of days over the years, that we make the most of our time together and we were blessed that we could be together for the birth of our children. Aaron was an amazing father. and I'm proud that I will get to carry on his legacy through our children.
What do you want your kids to know about him when they get old enough to understand who he was, what's the one thing you want them to take away?
They will take away his love for Christ, they will take away his strength and his love for this country and they will know what an amazing man he is/was.
Karen and Billy and Kimberly, thank you so much.I know how difficult it is for you to join us this morning. please accept our condolences and we thank Aaron for his service to this country and you for your sacrifices.
Kimberly Vaughn's husband Aaron was one of the Navy S.E.A.L.'s who died in the in that attack. she's along with us now along with his parents. please accept my condolences as I welcome you to the show.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Kimberly, even as I express my condolences to you, and Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn, I was reading last night that you think we should start by making sure that our condolences are expressed to all the families who are grieving this morning because aaron truly felt he was a member of the team.
Exactly. although I'm able to be here this morning and I'm thankful to share Aaron's story, the other people have also lost their loved ones and they're feeling.
Mr. Vaughn, I was reading about your son. and, boy, he was an impressive young man as a child, as a young adult, as a son, as a father, as a husband. he was a young man who stood out. why did he want to be a S.E.A.L.?
Matt, I can just tell you that after 9/11 aaron told me and his mother that he wanted to be a S.E.A.L. and he said that he had wanted to ever since he was a little boy. and Aaron, if I can just say it, God bless him, he loved his country, he loved God, he loved Kimberly, and he loved Reagan and Chamberlain, and he honestly believed and saw black and white that what we were involved in, and he told me this, is a war for survival of our republic. Aaron knows that the war, Islamic fundamentalism, radicalism has gone on for hundreds of years if not thousands. and it can be traced through history and he felt, and so did the other members of his team, felt that the very existence of our republic is at stake. And because of that, Aaron was willing to give his life. and what I have to say is that S.E.A.L. team six, I just know those men felt the same way and they see it clearly, they see it black and white. so many of us don't.
Aaron told me right out of his own mouth that he had a class where he said, dad, there's three kinds -- the man told us there are three kinds of people in the world, sheep dogs, sheep, and wolves.I can honestly say that S.E.A.L. team six are the sheep dogs. sheep dogs always see the warning, black and white, clearly. most of us are sheep. we don't usually see it.
Karen--
And there are some wolves out there --
Go ahead, sir. I'm sorry.
There are wolves out there, and Aaron explained it to me. And you know, sir, it's really strange, Matt, that -- that 90 some odd days ago S.E.A.L. team six had a big victory and possibly sheep in high places said things what made many of us very uncomfortable. And now some 90 some odd days later S.E.A.L. team six has suffered a terrible tragedy. I just pray that during these last days, these next days, they will allow S.E.A.L. team six, the wives, the children, the families to grieve, to bury their dead, and not make it political.
Karen, you -- you said something over the weekend that really struck me. you said, now, if there is anything good to come out of this for the first time you get to talk about the amazing things that Aaron did in his life and his career with the S.E.A.L. ls because there's a huge code of secrecy here and now you get to brag a little about him. what are you most proud of in terms of his accomplishments?
Well, I'm most proud of Aaron's humility and his nobility. but more than anything, I'm most proud of the way he loved God and how important his faith was to him. and you know, Aaron, everything he did, like you said, was secret and it just feels really strange right now that only in his death can we celebrate who he was in his life. it's very -- it's a very difficult concept to understand. but Aaron would want everybody to know most is that he loved America, he believed America could be great again, and he fought for the America he grew up in, Matt, and we believe -- we're a very patriotic family, we believe that America will be on its feet again and a country that the rest of the world looks to as a leader. and we're just really sad about this huge loss. we're really sad that our son is gone, but we know -- we know that he would have done it all again.
Kimberly, you met --
And he loved every minute of his life.
Kimberly, you met Aaron in Guam. He was serving there. You were a member of the Washington Redskins cheerleaders. Here was this tough warrior but you saw a tender side of him. You have two children, Reagan is 2, I believe, and your daughter was born only eight weeks ago. he made it home for both of those births. so he was home just in June. What was that visit like?
It was wonderful. as much as our men are gone away from their families, over hundreds of days over the years, that we make the most of our time together and we were blessed that we could be together for the birth of our children. Aaron was an amazing father. and I'm proud that I will get to carry on his legacy through our children.
What do you want your kids to know about him when they get old enough to understand who he was, what's the one thing you want them to take away?
They will take away his love for Christ, they will take away his strength and his love for this country and they will know what an amazing man he is/was.
Karen and Billy and Kimberly, thank you so much.I know how difficult it is for you to join us this morning. please accept our condolences and we thank Aaron for his service to this country and you for your sacrifices.
No comments:
Post a Comment