A personal reflection on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Published Jan. 19, 2010 By Alinda Nelson 30th Space Wing Equal Opportunity director VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- I remember, as if it were yesterday, 42-years ago, the day I heard the news about Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. I have always been associated with the military, in one facet or another: an "Army Brat," an Air Force wife. In other words a "dependent." Sound familiar? But, what I would like to express is how strong my emotions and feelings were when the news swept across our great country that a human being with such strong feelings of peace and non-violence had been shot and killed. I was out with friends, when I heard someone say, "Martin Luther King Jr. is dead." I was deeply saddened, stunned and hurt. At the same time, I overheard a "white" man say, "Maybe it's good all the trouble he started." This was the late 1960s, a time when there was lots of unrest and tensions between two races. I know what America was struggling with - discrimination, disrespect and all the negativity that goes along with people not accepting or having tolerance for each other, being different. But I knew a "drum major" for human dignity would no longer render his wisdom, his words and his commitment. His death caused me to reflect back upon my sheltered "dependent" life, being associated with the military. I had experienced and felt racism rear its ugly head a few times. Those times were while my dad was on a remote assignment and our family went "down south" to wait his return. I was not used to the blatant display of being labeled "colored," as we were referred to during that time, or sitting in the upstairs balcony at the movies - not able to go into the front door or mingle with "white folks." I saw signs that read, "For White Only" at bathrooms or water fountains. Was it that I was being set apart by the mere color of my skin or, if through association, could contaminate or degrade someone of another race. I had never experienced this type of treatment before, but knew Dr. King was an advocate for the civil rights for all people; not just the "coloreds," but an advocate for humanity, human dignity and respect. Martin Luther King Jr. leaves behind a legacy. He believed, had hope and dreamed "All men would not be judged by the color or their skin, but the content of their character." His hope is still alive today. It is a similar hope and commitment our military is fighting for today, the American way of life, "Freedom." I end with an excerpt from one of Dr. King's speeches, "March on Washington": "... And so let freedom ring, from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But, not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when we allow freedom to ring - when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last." And, on Jan. 18, a new decade to honor and commemorate the MLK Holiday, let's not have forgotten his legacy and celebrate "A Day On, Not a Day Off"