Epilogue - Shooting for the Moon

Looking back over more than eight decades, I realize my life has been a journey few could have predicted when I was a barefoot boy in the slums of Manila. I did not have wealth, privilege, or an easy path, but I had determination—and a dream that seemed as distant as the moon.

When I enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard at 18, I left behind everything familiar. I began at the lowest rung, working as a steward, polishing silverware and serving meals. Step by step, through hard work, learning, and the belief that I could always do better, I climbed the ladder—until I retired as a Commander after 27 years of service.

Along the way, life gave me more than I could have imagined: a marriage that has lasted a lifetime, children who have made me proud, adventures across oceans, and friendships forged in every corner of the world. I won battles on the chessboard and overcame obstacles that once seemed unbeatable.

Now, from my home in Benicia, California—3,000 miles from where I first set foot in America—I live in comfort, surrounded by my family, my garden, my paints, and my memories. I have reached my own version of the moon, not because life handed it to me, but because I refused to stop climbing.

If there is one lesson I hope my story leaves behind, it is this: No dream is too far if you are willing to work for it. Poverty may have been my beginning, but it did not define my end.

I shot for the moon. And somehow, I made it there.