Vietnam War Era
“Repatriation is a service that the Army performs when the fl ag-draped caskets were brought back home from Vietnam and touches American soil for the fi rst time,” she said. “I just thanked God. I was so thankful that he was not a POW and had not suff ered for years,” Laverne Ransbottom said.
It was a powerful moment for this mother and
the brother who was four years younger than Fred Ransbottom, who was his role model. “There were so many people there and television cameras that I didn’t want to openly cry, I was just so thankful that Freddy was on his way home,” Laverne Ransbottom said. Donny Ransbottom has mixed emotions about
his brother’s return. “For us, his coming home is a long-awaited and what will be a joyful occasion when it fi nally happens,” Donny Ransbottom said. “Although, to this day I am still wondering what ‘remains’ we will have to bury.”
By Dr. John Nelson
Even without DNA confi rmation, Laverne Ransbottom was convinced the remains belonged to her son, and she was right.
His 1965 Putnam City high school class ring with his initials inscribed was found along with his dog tags and his leather billfold with identifi cation inside. “Both his brother and I placed his class ring on
our fi nger,” Laverne Ransbottom said. That was a moment in which time stopped, if only briefl y, for the two. “I can’t express the feelings that went over me, to be that close to Freddy,” she said. “At last, he was coming home.” So now, bittersweet though it is, Laverne Ransbottom awaits the return of her eldest son. Ransbottom spends time each day making plans for the funeral services, or as she says, the celebration of his life, when his remains have at last come home.
He will be buried next to his father Fredrick at Memorial Park Cemetery in Edmond, Oklahoma. . “He could have been buried at Arlington, but he has been gone too long. It is time he came home for good,” Laverne Ransbottom said. Fredrick Joel Ransbottom’s remains were laid to rest Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007. h
To read the rest of the story of Lt. Fredrick Ransbottom and his journey “Coming Home” go to The Edmond Sun Web site.
20 VETERAN FAMILY NETWORK h AUGUST 2011
For most of us this refrain brings back memories of high school graduation or the movie “The Sound of Music”. For Dr. Doug Beall it is a way of life. Dr Beall is a nationally recognized interventional radiologist and pain specialist in Oklahoma City and an avid mountaineer and adventurer. Dr. Beall is retired USAF with a busy medical practice, but his passion also includes challenging the worlds’ highest peaks. Doug Beall graduated from Georgetown University medical school and did his residency and fellowship in interventional radiology at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is married with two beautiful children and a loving and supportive wife who has encouraged his summiting of Mount Everest on May 11, 2007 and this years’ month long trek to the North Pole.
A member and supporter of Veteran Family Network, Dr. Beall is an ardent believer in Veterans and their families having access to quality health care and the services and networking of VFN to allow Vets to help and give something back to their fellow Vets who have served and protected this nation since Valley Forge. He will modestly give much of the credit for his professional success and mountaineering triumphs to his faith and family, but emphasizes the virtues of military discipline, determination, pursuit of excellence, and perseverance in making dreams a reality. As part of VFN, Dr. Beall believes in doing everything possible as a physician and Veteran to help Vets and their families follow every rainbow and realize the American dream, and to always be reminded that the charity and prayers of a grateful nation will last through eternity. He can honestly claim that while standing on the top of Everest and being able to see the actual curve of the earth he could also look up and stretch out his hand to touch the face of God. Most of us will never stand on a peak at an altitude of 29,000 feet, but we can help our fellow vets and their families reach new heights by pulling together.h
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