My mother always said that bygones were supposed to be bygones. She always said "the past has passed" and suggested that I not dig around in it. Why would she write Colorado Congressman Joel Hefley to try getting my father's dishonorable discharge reversed? Very often with her, emotional crises both large and small are about money. You can see how that works in the last paragraph of the transcribed text of the letter later in this path. 

I've never met anyone who holds a grudge as well as my mother does. I suppose that kind of energy naturally extends to righting perceived wrongs, too. But the campaign didn't do that well; there's no record of Hefley ever responding. In 1990 she ended up filling out some paperwork, and it took two years for the Army to deny it. 

These artifacts have a special place in my reliquary now, separated from the court-martial and discharge papers. They sit inside the envelope shown below, which is addressed to my father at an address where he never lived.

1. DEAR U.S. ARMY, PLEASE REVISIT THE PAST
2. WHAT MY MOTHER SAID TO JOEL HEFLEY
3. NO MA'AM, WE WILL NOT CORRECT YOUR PERCEIVED INJUSTICE