Posted by Annette Boettcher Liles on July 12, 2011:

Kathy Eierman is one of my oldest, dearest friends. Our dads were both in the Army. One of the things that military families have in common is that they are part of such a unique community -- one focused not so much on industry, but on service...serious, life-on-the-line, walk-the-talk service. One where hovering around a kid's head and heart daily is not just thoughts of fun and gain, but of potentially profound, ultimate loss. Col. Barlow served in Vietnam and so did my dad. That means Kathy, at around the tender age of eight or nine, already knew the same feeling I knew: "Did Dad live through this day?" There were no text messages then, no internet, and overseas phone calls were NOT good news. We just had to have faith, send up prayers and hang together in the same scary little boat until, once in a while, a letter arrived. This kind of extraordinary community in which we were raised, as I have learned in all my years now as a "civilian," was a monumental gift to us. Despite the hardships of war, long absences or moving somewhere else nearly every year, there was such joy in being a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. We were a really close family, all of us. Army dads end up being dads to a lot of kids; it's a revolving door with all that moving...new faces, new places...but always the constant held sway: We are in the Army family. I was blessed beyond measure to be one of those kids who barged through the front door of the Barlows at West Point as if I was home, and just loved, loved, loved Col. Barlow, his daughter and the whole family. Col. Barlow was kind and funny and genuinely caring. Once, when I was in college and got in a pinch on a car trip, Col. Barlow helped me out. My own dad was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth while I was stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike. I didn't think twice about reaching out to Col. Barlow, and he didn't think twice about helping me. It is just a tiny example of Col. Barlow's greatness. I can hear him laughing now; I see those blue eyes sparkling as Kathy and I raced passed him, out the door, late for the movie, driving off (very gingerly) in that big, beige, totally uncool family sedan. Greg Eierman wrote, "He will always be present within everyone whom he ever met." That is the truth. Godspeed, Col. Barlow , one of my favorite dads. From the entire Boettcher family, and my husband Donny, we send our love and prayers to Kathy Eierman and all the Barlow family. Annette Boettcher Liles

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