Member Spotlight: califgold2

Hello again, and welcome to our latest installment of the New Member Spotlight.  We were all very enthused by the response many of you had to our last Member Spotlight, and I have a feeling this one will touch many of you as well. 

And for all of you out there with stories...keep 'em coming! Remember, it can be anything from a uniquely interesting item you sold, to how eBay has led to a dramatic change in your life. You can submit your stories directly to chatterblog@ebay.com (team), ryank@ebay.com (me), or on our dedicated discussion board thread. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our RSS Feed, so you can get updates each time a new post goes up.

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A Special Item for a "Special Soldier"
by califgold2

Last year, at age 36, my oldest son Brian left business and family and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was 40 pounds overweight when he left for boot camp on February 1, and I keep a picture of him (holding his 6 year old daughter's hand as he walked away from his family to the swearing-in ceremony) to remind me of the sacrifices his family have and will continue to make. Brian had a difficult time in boot camp...the rest of the soldiers were 18-22 year-olds and his nickname quickly became "Gramps."

He was hospitalized three times, and completed boot camp and the subsequent three months of advanced individualized training with a broken bone in his foot. He refused to have it cast until he returned home because he would have had to leave training until it healed and he would be unable to graduate with his group. We didn't recognize Brian when he got home, he was 40 pounds lighter and looked like he could drop and give us 50 push-ups without breaking a sweat! He began serving the one-week a month for his reserve unit here in Sacramento, and our family was very concerned he would be shipped to Iraq soon. But in January, his brigade nominated Brian, now age 37, as their candidate to the Army's Soldier of the Year competition. The first round of the competition was held in January at Moffett Field and Hunter Leggett Army Base here in California.

Although I am not a Catholic, I felt that before he left he needed to have a St. Christopher medal to carry with him on his travels (my Polish grandparents gave me a St. Christopher when I was young and I still travel with one in my suitcase). Checking on eBay, I found exactly the right medal for Brian, a lovely vintage St. Christopher image on one side, the Army logo on the reverse. The front and back halves could be separated and there was room for engraving.

Before I bid, I dropped a note to the seller telling her why I wanted it and asked if she knew anything of the history of the medal she was auctioning. She replied it had been in her mother's antique shop for some years, and now her mother was retired and is liquidating the remaining stock. She doubted her mother would remember where she got it.

Nevertheless, I bid on the medal, won it, and wrote back to the seller thanking her for the sale. She inquired as to my son's status, and I told her the whole story of this "elderly" soldier. She wrote back that Brian sounded like a wonderful person and a great soldier, and that she and her husband (who served in Vietnam), would like to designate him their "special soldier," to whom they could send letters, care packages, and in general just show how much they support what he is doing. I was absolutely stunned and very touched that another American family clear across the country, in upstate New York, would find it in their hearts to care about what my son was doing, and when I shared the information with Brian and his wife, they were also very touched.

Since that time, Brian has won the Brigade competition in January, the Battalion competition in March and the Division competition in April – and in July will represent the Psychologicla Operations Division at the All Army Division competition in Arkansas (and he has carried the St. Christopher with him each time). Whether Brian wins or loses the next round, there is no way I could be prouder of him! My pride and Brian's achievements are shared with the seller's family who has written and emailed both my son and me with their thoughts, best wishes, encouragement and support throughout these months.

eBay brought two families together, and taught me a poignant lesson about Americans in wartime. One last thing about this story I'd like to mention is the symmetry of it all: the feast day of St. Christopher is July 25. The birth date of the seller's mother, from whose antique store the medal was taken, is July 25. My son, Brian's birth date is also July 25 – serendipity – or fate?

Sincerely,
Diane (califgold2)