Katherine Boyle

He was one of the first Catholic chaplains in Vietnam, did four tours.

Yeah, it's an incredible story, the stuff you saw.

He never talked about it, of course.

I only really started learning a lot about it at the very end of his life.

But he came back, I mean, four tours, came back radically anti-war, but also radically pro-life.

Like, we have to protect life at all costs.

And I grew up in this family where he was the hero of the family.

He was what we aspire to be, God and country.

So I grew up in this very Irish Catholic family.

My dad started medical practice in the 60s in Northern Florida.

Integrated practice was sort of radical at the time, very poor practice.

His view was you take care of the working people.

So all the images of me growing up, I just have all these memories of my dad having all the cops come into our house at like nine or 10 o'clock at night and giving them a shot, like the old, what is it?

The image of the old timey doctors, you like pull your pants down, give you a shot and flanking on the name of the, Norman Rockwell, like in the white coat with the stethoscope.

But that was my dad.

He was just like, wanted to be a priest, ended up a doctor.

and took care of the people in our community.

And I always say, pillars of the community used to be a thing.

Our generation doesn't have as many of those people that stay in their community that say, I want to take care of everyone, where you're just known as the person that the first responders could go to, or that the cops can go to, or that you're going to help out the people who are really supporting your community.

I think it's changed for a lot of reasons.