A chaplain’s thoughts: Who is this person? Published Aug. 6, 2011 By Chaplain (Maj.) Craig Abee 315th Airlift Wing Chaplain Service JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, SC -- His grandfather was murdered. His father was left penniless. After gaining some modest wealth, his father lost it all and the family had to move. His mother died when he is 9 years old. The family had to move again. His sister, who partially raised him died. He lost one of his earliest jobs as a clerk because the business failed. The love of his life died. His first election ended in defeat before winning his next four elections. His first partnership in business failed. Only one of his four children lived past 18 years of age. He lost his next elections despite being the incumbent. It took three more partnerships before he found lifelong success in business. Next came three straight election losses, before being elected the sixteenth president of the United States. Maybe your experience at the recent Operational Readiness Exercise was not what you hoped it would be. Maybe there was something you just have not been able to master. Maybe your mistakes outnumbered your successes. Maybe you wanted to just throw up your hands. Perseverance turns hopes, shortcomings, failures and raised hands of surrender into raised hands of victory. Perseverance is one of the paths to a successful Operational Readiness Inspection. Just imagine where our nation might be, if Abraham Lincoln had not persevered.