When Rocky Canfield told his friends that his father helped build the eternal flame on President John F. Kennedy’s grave they didn’t believe him.
“No he didn’t,” they told him.
“Yeah, he did,” said Rocky, who is 50 and lives on the streets in Fort Walton Beach.
Rocky was right. His father, Army Sgt. Leon Canfield, was called to serve his country by welding gas lines feeding the eternal flame at Arlington National Cemetery.
“We’re a part of history,” Rocky says. “All the gas lines that are done are still there.”
See photos from the day of the assassination. >>
See Leon Canfield's letters of commendation. >>
Rocky’s older sister, Twila Nicholson of Tennessee, is the keeper of the family history. She has the photo taken of their father, welding torch in hand. She has letters of commendation attached to his military records thanking him for his contributions to JFK’s memorial.
“Although your efforts were involved in one of the country’s most saddened occasions, you readily responded to long and arduous hours in preparation of paying tribute to our Commander-in-Chief,” read one of the letters.
“Your contribution . . . will be viewed by all those visiting the final resting place of the late President in years to come.”
That was in 1963.
Four years later, Leon was killed in Vietnam.
Rocky and his three siblings were left with memories of a father who had given everything to his country.
“He put his life on the line for his country,” Rocky says. “That’s my hero. That’s the one.
“That’s who I always wanted to be like, but I took a detour, somehow.”
Contact Daily News Assignment Editor Wendy Victora at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn.