An uncle had served in the military during WWII and I always liked the uniforms, they were sharp. I remember the servicemen walking the streets in their uniforms, sharp. My uncle was a Tuskegee Army AF man but I chose the Air Force honestly, because I considered it to be the less violent and aggressive branch. The AF could train you for the future, I believed and I was trained and worked as a dental hygienist. I was in the service for four years and spent eighteen months in England. While in England I learned that you could go to school for free, that was very interesting to me. I also liked the country. 
	After my discharge I returned to the states, to NY but I'd decided that I really wanted to get back to England. I worked at an area grocery store to save up enough money to make my way back. When I did return, I found work as an orderly in a psychiatric hospital but there was a bit of a hiccup involving my ability to continue employment. The police discovered that I was working in the country illegally and informed the nursing administration of this. Nursing was very pleased with my work performance and assured the authorities that they would apply for a work permit on my behalf. I lived and worked and studied nursing at the University of Birmingham in England for three years. I loved nursing but when I returned to the states and began working here, I noticed a big difference. There seemed to be a greater role in patient care and a greater respect for nurses in England, I felt. 
	I worked in different hospitals in NY but it was at Maimonides Hospital that I had the pleasure of meeting an African-American anesthesiologist, Dr. Jackson. He encouraged me to consider going to school for nurse anesthetist so I did. I attended NYU/Bellevue for two years and after taking and passing the national exam I was certified as a nurse anesthetist. l continued working in the hospital(s) until I learned that the facility was actually charging more for my skills and services than I was seeing in my paycheck. This didn't seem right to me so I decided to go work for myself and I struck out on my own. I established my own practice and worked as a nurse anesthetist practitioner from 1982-2004. 
 	I don't have many memories of my mother. Her name was Carrie and she died when I was 5 years old. I mostly remember her on this one day sitting and looking out of the window. She was pregnant with my younger sister. I remember my mom being taken to the hospital by ambulance and that she didn't return. My mother died in childbirth but my sister survived. We all lived with my grandmother after that, she raised me and my six siblings in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn where she'd arrived years before from South Carolina. We were 4 boys and 3 girls and we very close. 
	My grandmother, Rose Williams, was a strong and beautiful woman. She had been sharecropping in the south before making her way out of there (SC) to Pennsylvania and later to NYC where she worked as a domestic. Armed with only a third-grade education she was certainly one of the smartest people I’ve known. My grandma's husband had died suddenly and she was looking to make a better way for her five children (my mom and her siblings). Eventually she sent for all of them, and they made their life in Brooklyn, where I was born and raised, 
I lived with my grandmother and siblings on Pacific Street. My grandmother was enterprising and worked all the time doing many different jobs. She was a bookie, or a "number runner" as they were called in those days, she held card parties, sold dinners, did all she could do to take care of her seven grandchildren. I respected and loved her- greatly, she kept the family together, it was always about the family. 
	My brothers and I could best be described as ornery. I was certainly a mischievous, inquisitive little boy, to be sure. I was a class clown but l was also very bright. I attended East NY Tech for about a year and a half but ended my academic career before graduating because I was told that I would be left back. Knowing how that news would be greeted by my grandmother I decided then to join the military. The Air Force (AF).  I took the exam and passed but due to my age my grandmother had to sign so I requested that the recruiter accompany me home to talk to her. The recruit did and my grandmother signed. Later on, I earned my GED, I call it the "Good Enough Diploma". 
 	I would say the most important thing to me is family, friends and connections. My son was a Buddhist Monk. Now he’s lives in California and has two beautiful girls, my granddaughters. I'm so proud of my son, he is a good guy. He comes from a proud legacy. I think of my grandmother who did everything to keep us together, the sacrifices she made. Every holiday the family was together, food, music, all of it, we were together. Honestly, I miss this the most. Now we are all scattered, living in different parts of the country, different parts of the world. We don't get together the way we used to but l still do what I can. I have a ninety-five- year-old aunt who still lives in Brooklyn, l see her regularly, she visits me and visit her. I speak often with my two sisters; they live in New Jersey and California. 
	You know, sometimes I think that I could have maybe gone further professionally, you know, I could've challenged myself more. But all in all, I didn't do badly.  I would say to anyone that has good health, family, friends, good memories, I would say to honor and cherish them. Truly, I am so grateful. 
* A biography on this patient was created as part of the MY LIFE MY STORY PROGRAM. This Veteran was interviewed, and this story is being told by the Veteran in their own words. No facts were confirmed or discounted. 

I interview, Date: 04/ 02 /2019
interviewer: Beverly Sauls-Wiggins, LCSW. ACHP-SW Veteran reviewed and approved story.
Date reviewed and approved by Veteran: 04/15/2019 
Edited minimally before the funeral to reflect by son, Frank Halcond Jr.


Frank with is grand-daughters Lina Halcond and Aya Halcond

Champions keep competing until they get it right.

FRANKLIN HALCOND

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