Ever since he was young, Andre Dawson and his family have been moving from place to place across the country. Not because he was in any trouble, but because of his father and his military obligations. He said he couldn't remember how many times he's moved.
"Quite a few times," Dawson said. "I couldn't give you an exact number."
His father, Master Sgt. Leon Day of the 1st Maintenance Group in the U.S. Air Force, has been stationed at different bases since he joined in November 1989. He's been stationed in California, Georgia and is currently stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Newport News, Va. He's also been stationed overseas in places like Europe, Dubai and South Korea.
Day said moving so often was tough for him and his family but they got used to it.
"You kinda look forward to moving," Day said. "You know that the place you're at is more than likely not your final place."
Growing Up
Dawson grew up not having his father at home all the time because of his duties. He remembers it being rough not getting to see him, but being around his mother made it better.
"I usually stayed with my mom a lot," he said. "Other than that it wasn't too bad."
Coming from a family with military culture, "yes, sir," "no, sir," "yes, ma'am," and "no, ma'am," became second nature to Dawson. That disipline carried over to even when he wasn't around his parents.
"It was pretty stern," Dawson said.
Even though he was absent at times from Dawson's life, his father became his personal role model growing up. When he got to the age when he understood what Day does for his country, it made Dawson look up to his father that much more.
Day said it was difficult for him to be away from his family for extended periods of time, but had no choice because he was part of the military.
"It's one of those things where you roll with the punches because you don't have a choice," Day said.
The relationship between Day and his son is a good one, but it's an evolving relationship. Part of it has been from Dawson growing up and understanding things better. Day said he was sure Dawson would wonder where he was at when he was younger. Now that Dawson is older, Day said Dawson understands that being in the military and making a living for himself and his son.
Life Lessons
Since arriving at Ball State, Dawson has brought with him the lessons Day taught him throughout his life. Some of the lessons come from having a military culture, others are from typical life lessons.
Dawson said besides being completely disiplined and never take anything for granted, his father told him to cherish his friendships that he has.
"You never know how long they're going to last," he said.
Day echoed what his son said about being disiplined and honorable, which comes from the military background. He said he urged his son to be a truthful person.
"You just try to be honorable," Day said. "If you make a mistake, own up to it. Just be truthful."
At Ball State
Day's ultimate goal for his son was for him to attend college. He said he told Dawson that getting an education was going to make his life a lot easier. With an education, he could obtain any standard of living that he wanted.
When Dawson told his father he was attending Ball State to play football , Day became a proud father just like any other father would.
With this Saturday's game against Army on Family Weekend, both Dawson and Day said there was a little more meaning since they are a military family, but would mean more if the opponent was Air Force.
Day wasn't able to get a request for leave on time so he could attend the game, but Dawson will still have his mother and younger sister coming.
"I tried to my dad here but he couldn't get leave," Dawson said. "But it's a special thing, just not as much as if we were playing Air Force."
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