Please enjoy my version of how I think the O'Neill family originally began. I did some research and tried my best to stay true to the timeline and match them with real life events, wars, conflicts, Air Force bases, training, squadrons, etc that were taking place in those particular timeframes.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had writing it. Feel free to leave a review whether you liked it our not.
Beginnings…..
In March 1950, Susan James, a small town daughter of a Minnesota farmer had graduated nursing school. She was so excited to be away from the farm life and begin a new life at a city hospital where she shared an apartment with a roommate and fellow nurse. Unfortunately in October 1950, she had been drafted by the US Air Force as a Nurse. It was a very demanding job however she always felt nursing was her calling and she enjoyed the adventure.
Eventually she was proving her extraordinary skills in the field hospitals of Korea and was reassigned to an Aerovac Unit as a Flight Nurse. She hated seeing the young men so torn up and battered but she did her best not to get too emotionally involved to any of them as many did not make it through their surgeries or if they did, they completely gave up on life.
The year she was deployed was a long one, she had missed her friends, but simply helping others carried her through and the other members of her team were friendly and easy to get along with. When she was given a date to be released to return home, she was extremely happy but the celebrations that day were cut short with a horrible amount of tragedies needing transport. One of them was a young, sandy haired, brown eyed, pilot who had been shot down and had head trauma, several fracture's, and open wounds. It was thought that he wouldn't make it, he had lost too much blood they told her. She and the doctors continued to try anyway. They got his bleeding under control as she pumped more into him and finally splinted his fracture's. When she read his dog tags his name read: O'Neill, Patrick so she began filling in the form like she did with hundreds of others. As she did, his hand came up and took her by the wrist and a soft sound come from him. "Susie? Is that you?"
She removed his hand from her wrist and their eyes met. Her heart fluttered, Oh My Gosh, she thought, "Patrick!?" She hadn't recognized him under all the flesh wounds and blood which she continued to attempt dabbing and cleaning. She had known a Patrick O'Neill from back home in Minnesota. He was two years her elder but being a small farming town, they all knew each other. She knew he joined the Air Force after graduation but never heard anything more.
"Patrick, you're gonna be just fine. You had lost a lot of blood and have multiple fracture's but we should be to the hospital soon. Now you rest." Quite honestly the man was so drained he was about to fade out into sleep anyway. Susan walked away from him and began to weep, something she had not done since the first day at the field hospital after seeing the massive destruction of these guys losing limbs and dying right in front of her.
When the doctor asked if she was ok, she stood up and fixed herself. "Yes sir, I, I, it's just, this patient is from my hometown, we know each other." The doctor padded her shoulder, "He's gonna be fine, but it's going to be a long road to recovery. Once we land and get him packaged up, he will probably be on the next flight back to the states. Is he a draft or a career Pilot?" She looked at the man for a minute, "He should be a career since he joined fresh out of high school. His tags say he is a Lieutenant." The doctor smiled at her, "he'll be fine then. He should make a full recovery over time. Does he have a wife or parents to take care of him when he returns home?"
She shook her head "No, no wife to my knowledge. His mother passed away a year or so ago but his father still lives in a cabin up in the hills. Not sure he'll take care of him though. They kinda had a rough relationship which is why he joined the Air Force, so he could get away."
The doctor nodded again, "then maybe he will need a nurse. I figure you'll be on that same flight back to the states. You leave on Tuesday right?" She smiled, "That's what the paperwork says."
On the way back to the states, Susan was acting as a Flight Nurse. It was her last day of deployment and the military was going to squeeze every ounce of work out of her she figured, so she simply complied. As long as it got her home she was happy.
During the flight she continued to check on Patrick. He was doing better now that he was casted and bandaged. He had mild concussion but nothing to worry about. He was still a bit week from the loss of blood but the doctors figured he would recover.
Patrick was upset that the doctors told him he would be grounded for at least 12 weeks if not more depending on his physical recovery when his bones heeled but Susan promised to help him.
Once they arrived at Scott AFB in Illinois, Sue was offered an honorary discharge or to stay as a nurse at the Air Force Hospital. She chose to take the discharge and take a full time job at a hospital in Chicago, however she continued to make regular trips back to Scott AFB to check on Patrick O'Neill.
As the weeks continued, Susan and Patrick had quite a close friendship. She had been sneaking him in special items he would request from the store and when he was ready, and she began doing his rehabilitation exercises with him. When Patrick was discharged from the hospital, he was told he had to take another four weeks off then return for reevaluation to see if he could return to duty.
Susan didn't know if she should, but the man had no place to go except to that old cabin up in Minnesota so in January 1952, she offered for him to stay at her apartment. Patrick had accepted the offer and things were going well with their friendship as well as his recovery.
The following month Patrick had passed his physical evaluation and was told he could return to work. He was so excited about the news that he couldn't wait to get home and tell Susan. She too was happy until she realized that meant he would be leaving again. His orders were to report to Lackland AFB in 4 days for flight school re evaluation and if all went well, he'd be redeployed by the end of the year if the troops were still in Korea.
After he gave her the news and it all sunk in, her happiness turned to sadness and she began crying. He went to her and took her into a hug. "What's wrong Susie? I thought you'd be happy for me." She looked up at him and wiped her tears, "I am very happy for you Pat, but that means I'm going to lose you."
He looked her in the eyes and took her hand, "You will never lose me Susie. I just have to go away for a while, I'll be back. And I will visit you as often as I can before I leave the states." She gave him the cutest puppy dog face she could muster and it broke him right there. He took her into a tight embrace and moved his lips close to hers, hoping she would accept.
When their lips locked, Patrick walked them to her bedroom and they both surrendered to their feelings and made love together for the first time. When he laid next to her, he could see tears in her eyes so he turned on his side to look at her and wiped the tear from her face. "What's wrong Susie? Did I hurt you? Why are you crying?"
She shook her head, "no, but you were the first man I have ever made love to." He swept another tear from her face, "and if I'm lucky, I will be the only one. I will be back as soon as I can, will you wait for me?" All she could do was nod yes.
Patrick had left several days later as requested. They had made love again the night before he left. The two were so much in love Patrick thought about not leaving but he loved the Air Force and in order to continue piloting, he needed to get flight time on the books. He called Susan as often as he could but one night late May he made one of his scheduled calls which she had always been home waiting for and there was no answer. He tried several times that night with no luck.
The following day he tried again and she answered but was crying. "What's wrong honey? Sounds like you are crying." All he heard was silence for a few moments until he finally heard the soft words come through the phone. "Pat, I don't know how to tell you this, you're going to be so mad…." He was getting eager. "Just tell me, what's wrong."
Finally she let it out, "Pat, I.. I am pregnant." She began sobbing almost uncontrollably. "What!? Ok, ok, ok. It's going to be ok. I will catch a flight outta here tomorrow. Can you pick me up at Scott tomorrow night, say 6:00?" She stopped crying for a moment. "Yes, I can do that. What are you going to do?" She could feel his smile through the phone line, "don't worry about it. I just want to be with you. We'll work everything out."
The following evening Susan picked him up at the AFB as he requested. He took her into a strong embrace and drove them back to her apartment. "Ok, so, the first thing I want to say is. Don't you worry about that baby, I will make it right. Have you told anyone yet?" She shook her head, "No, I haven't told anyone yet except obviously my doctor."
"Ok, good, then the first thing we do tomorrow is go down to the jeweler and get a ring. Friday we can go to Town Hall and get married.." She was listening and broke in, "what, get married Friday? You mean you would marry me?" Patrick took her hand in his, "Susie, I have always thought you were a wonderful girl and now I see you are a beautiful and caring woman, what's not to love, especially if you are carrying my little Flyboy in there" and he rubbed her belly. She raised her eyebrows, "Flyboy huh, what if it's a little Flygirl." He smiled and made a cute face, "that would be ok too." She laughed, "well that's good, cause I'm not sure we get a choice."
He laid her down on the couch and hovered over her, "with a strong momma like you, I am sure either one would make a strong little soldier." And their mouths met, keeping each other occupied for nearly a half hour.
In the morning they made the arrangements for the wedding the following day and he let her choose her ring. They invited friends and family to gather for a reception on Saturday at a nearby restaurant. The others had only known about the wedding and had no idea about the possibility of a child.
Susan's parents were not happy about the news of a wedding but it was done and nothing they could do about it. They loved their daughter and trusted she was in good control of her life. They also knew Patrick O'Neill well enough to know he was a rowdy child but that he was a caring person. When they saw him with their daughter Saturday, they had no question about him taking good care of their little girl.
When they got back to their apartment Saturday night, Patrick told her he was able to get a transfer back to Scott AFB. "What? When did you get that all worked out." He smiled and kissed her forehead, "I've been working on it since I left." She snuggled into him on the couch. She loved being able to be with him and spend one on one time with him. He rubbed her arm, "the one glitch is, they assigned me to this new 581st squadron out of the Philippines. Looks like I will be deployed for a couple months but I'll be back hopefully by August."
She started crying again, "You can't leave me now, I thought you were transferring to be here with me." He squeezed her, "Susie, you know I can't leave the Air Force, it's my life and unfortunately there are going to be times that I get sent on a mission that may take a while. Let's hope this damned crap in Korea ends soon so we won't have to worry about it so much anymore." She smiled up at him, "As long as you promise to return to me in one piece!" He smiled back, "I'll do my best."
As the months went by, Susan had been visited by her mother several times. She had questioned her daughter's actions but once she found out her daughter was pregnant, she understood what needed to be done. Luckily it was with an honorable man like Patrick.
As July ended, Susan had still received no information on her husband and his return so she began getting worried. In August, she went to the Admin Office and asked for any details. They said there had been several casualties within the 581st but that to their knowledge Patrick was still alive and well.
September 1st was her last day of work. She was excited that the baby was getting so close to his/her due date but also nervous, especially since the father was nowhere to be found. When one of the other wives found out Patrick was returning she called Susan so she could watch the plane landing. She ran to the fence and there he was, one of the most handsome men in the bunch. He came running over to the fence and kissed her through the chain link. "Hey, let me go change and go to the debriefing, and I will meet you in about an hour." She nodded with tear filled eyes. She got into her car and let out a deep breath that she had been holding since May. Her man was home and in one piece as requested.
That night they couldn't keep their hands off each other but Patrick didn't want to hurt the baby even though she kept telling him the doctor said it would be fine, so their love making was very calm and gentle. Just the feeling of him inside her overly sensitive core was enough pleasure to send shock waves pulsating through her body and he enjoyed watching her receive such gratification.
Patrick returned to work three days later and received his orders to stay with the 581st Squadron out of Scott AFB so he was excited. Bad news was, that unless the conflict was over and done by then, the 581st that he was part of, would be going back around New Years. With the baby so close to arrival, he decided to keep that information to himself.
On October 19, 1952, Susan James was brought into the hospital in labor. She remained in labor for over 24 hours and things were starting to not look so good for the baby. The doctors told her that if the baby was not delivered in the next 6 hours, they were going to go in and get the baby out by C-Section. Susan's blood pressure and other vitals were off the wall and the doctors were getting concerned for her own safety.
Very late in the afternoon the following day, October 20, a very loud, healthy, hefty baby boy was born to Susan & Patrick O'Neill. Susan was happy the baby was healthy and that she was able to give her husband the baby boy he wanted. Patrick was so excited about the baby he could barely contain himself. Susan's parents were there and they too couldn't wait to see the little bundle of baby.
Patrick was told he could go in to see his wife and he watched her put the baby to her breast for the first time. He openly wept, something the strong Air Force Pilot would never let anyone see except his wife this one time. She looked to her husband, "Did you decide on a name? I told you if it was a boy, it would be your choice." He smiled and wiped his eyes, "How about Jonathan James O'Neill." She smiled, "that's beautiful!" "Ok, let's get this straight, that is the last time you refer anything about my future little flyboy as beautiful." They laughed, "I promise. I meant a handsome name." And Patrick leaned in to kiss her on the cheek before going to get Susan's parents to come visit very briefly.
The next two months were wonderful, the family had grown to three and Susan enjoyed being a stay at home mother to her new son. Patrick had been back and forth a couple times for overnight trips but always returned within a day. When Patrick returned they talked about the need to find a house or an apartment with a second bedroom. The little one worked for now with the baby in the bassinette but at the rate baby John was growing he was going to need a crib and except for the living room, there was not much room for that anywhere else.
Patrick had worked out getting a house on the base. This way there was no commute and he felt that when he was away, he wouldn't have to worry about her being cared for with the other wives around. They did go to her parents for Thanksgiving and visited his father while they were there.
One day while Susan was at her parents, Patrick decided to visit his father alone. He wanted to be able to talk to his father without the ears of others to worry about.
Liam O'Neill may not have gotten along well at times with his son but he was immensely proud of how he turned out, a strong man, Air Force Pilot, seemingly wonderful husband, and now a loving father.
Patrick and his dad sat on the dock of the cabin fishing and talking about things that had happened over the years. Patrick apologized for not really having the time to visit and only sent letters on occasion and phone calls when he could. His father understood and invited him and his family to come stay with him anytime. He explained to his father that he was being deployed in January and for some reason he had a bad feeling about this one. His father told him it was probably only because of his new responsibilities and a pilot as good as his son would make it home.
What was on Patrick's mind was, that there already was a time he barely made it home, but he wasn't going to worry the man about that. He did make it home and found the love of his life, that's all his father needed to know. It was a learned behavior from being part of a secret operations section of the Air Force few even knew about. He asked his father that if anything were to ever happen to him, to please be sure his boy had a good male role model to help raise him. He also told his father about a small fund he put aside for the baby if anything were to go wrong and he wanted his father to be in charge of making sure Susan or John got it. His father promised but assured him, there would be no need but that he still wanted to be able to see his grandson grow up so he wanted many visits. Patrick shook his father's hand before leaving and promised he would bring the boy around as often as he could.
The family's first Christmas together was wonderful and Patrick wanted to start working on baby number two but Susan just kissed him and laughed. The thought was entertaining but she wanted to raise her son a year or two first before having a second child. Patrick accepted her answer but it didn't stop them from having a warm and quite intimate night together.
When he returned to work the following day, he was given his orders to report in on January 2nd for redeployment back to the Philippines. He knew it was coming he just didn't know the exact date. When he got home from work that night, he had to tell his wife who broke down almost to hysterics. He held her all night and they talked about maybe having her go stay with her parents while he was gone but she refused. She thought staying on the base would be good and her mother could maybe come down to stay for the winter months.
The month had gone by slowly but she was kept busy by her little bundle of joy and her mother had in fact come down to stay with her. The other wives had all become friends and they would have outtings. On January 15, Susan had heard about a B-29 being shot down over Korea but had no idea her husband would've been involved since she had no idea what he did or where, other than he flew planes and being stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines.
January 20, 1953 was the worst day of her life. She was awakened by knocking and when she looked out the window, she saw two uniformed Air Force Officers carrying a clip board. Her gut was stricken with a knot but she opened the door. "May I help you?" the two men stepped forward, "Ma'am, this is Captain Murphy and I am Colonel Jones, my we come in for a moment to speak to you?" She opened the door and handed the baby to her mother while they all sat in the living room. "Ma'am, we are here to notify you that on January 15, 1953 at approximately 2300 hours, a plane your husband Patrick O'Neill was in, was shot down over Korea along with 8 other crew members. Ms O'Neill, we have been notified by our intelligence that your husband is alive and is now a POW." Susan was crying so hard she was shaking, her mother was crying and the baby was now crying so she took him from her mother to comfort him. The two men stood up. "Ms O'Neill, please know that the United States Air Force will do everything in their power to reunite your husband with you. If there is anything you need, this is my card, don't hesitate to contact me. If there is any change in your husband's status, I will return to inform you." The two men looked to the ground "I am very sorry." The two men turned to let themselves out the door.
Susan fell to the couch holding the baby, crying uncontrollably. Her mother was trying to stay strong, "Susie, why don't you come home and stay with us for a while. We'll let Colonel Jones know where to contact you when they find Patrick."
Susan refused to leave but after the winter and with no new updates, she finally decided to take her mother up on the offer. At least at home, she would have family, even extended family, and she could visit Patrick's father. She had called him when she found out about Patrick but hadn't heard from him since.
Over the next two years, there had been no news. Baby John was now almost two years old. He was walking, talking, getting into everything indoors and out. He was quite the adventurous little devil. He was a huge part of the small community as everyone knew what had happened to Patrick. Grandpa O'Neill had made him is own little cane pole for fishing and enjoyed spending time with the little monster. Liam even started teaching him to swim and began calling him Jack because he could get away faster than a Jackrabbit, and of course, being another name for John, it fit perfectly. So to Liam, he would always be Jack. Eventually it started to stick as people asked him what his name was and he told them Jack. But when he was bad, it was ALWAYS Jonathon from his mother or Grandpa James who was a bit more strict then his Grandpa O'Neill.
Just before Thanksgiving 1955, another set of Air Force Officers arrived on the James doorstep. "Hello ma'am, my name is Lieutenant Campbell and this is Lieutenant Hanon. We brought information on your husband Patrick O'Neill." She took a deep breath and nodded pointing to the picnic table.
The James women sat at the picnic table while Mr James stood next to them with his hand on his daughters shoulder. Jack was running around and started playing in his sandbox. The two men stood with their hats under their arms and Lt Campbell read from a clipboard. "Ms O'Neill, it brings us great delight to inform you that your husband Patrick O'Neill is one of the final POW's we have freed from Korea. He has some minor injuries which will be treated overseas and we will contact you with a date of his return. We will do our best to get them home before the holidays.
Susan was so happy she jumped up and gave each of the men a hug and then grabbed her son. The two Officers shook Mr James' hand, smiled and nodded to the others before turning to leave. Susan's mother ran over to hug her daughter and her father asked if she wanted him to take her to share the good news with Liam which she agreed to.
Liam O'Neill couldn't be happier, after two years he was beginning to give up hope that his son would be returned. Susan's father left her and the baby at Liam's house for dinner and picked her up later. When she left, Liam gave the woman a kiss and told her to keep him informed.
On November 22, 1955, Susan received a call from Patrick. He said he was overseas but coming home the following day. He said he would be tied up in debriefings for the following day and wanted her to meet him at the Duluth Air Force Base on the 24th in the morning. She was so excited, she ran and told her parents and then called Liam to let him know his son would be home for Thanksgiving.
After a wonderful holiday with his family, he broke the news that he was able to secure a transfer to the new 343d Fighter Group out of Duluth AFB. He told everyone that it was time to spend his time with his wife and young son whom he had missed growing up over the last three years and that it was time to get something more secure for his family. He couldn't promise that he wouldn't be sent on any missions at all overseas being a special ops pilot, but that this position was mainly for defense of the United States so most missions would be on home soil.
Over the next three years living on the AFB at Duluth, Jack O'Neill was growing into a troubled youngster. He was regularly in trouble at school though most of the time it was for fighting another kid while he was defending the honor of another student, usually a weaker student. He was quite loved, secretly of course, by the girls for his bravery and especially his cuteness. His father and Grandpa O'Neill were raising him to take care of a lady. He was taught to open & hold doors for them, carry heavy items for them (when he could at only 6 years old it didn't take much to be too heavy for him), pay for a candy bar if she wanted one, and all the stuff that made the girls feel respected and cared for. His father treated his mother like a gift when he was around her because he knew he was lucky to find such a wonderful woman to marry and to be the mother of his son. They were a very close little family and Jack was even closer to his mother since she had raised him the first three years. He would jump to do anything she asked and kept her close when his father was away on missions.
During the summer of 1959, John had taken his father's belt, his mother's drapes, climbed up to the roof of the shed with what he thought to be a cape. He told the girls to watch him and said he was going to fly like Superman. When he landed he had broken his arm but all the girls fought over who was going to help him. A young girl from a few houses down gave him a long kiss on the cheek and he thought it lasted the day. When Patrick arrived at the hospital to see his son and wife, Patrick asked his son why he had done what he did. Jack made his father laugh out loud when he told him, "cause the girls like it!"
When Susan went to drop Jack off at Liam's house for the weekend, Liam saw the cast and asked what had happened so she told him. Liam smiled and shook his head saying he was most definitely his father's son. "Sounds like something Patrick would've done at that age!" and they both laughed together.
Jack was a bit embarrassed with his grandfather knowing how stupid it was but all Liam said when he rustled the boys hair, was "hey, scars heal... glory fades, and all we're left with are the memories right?" Jack looked up and smiled at his favorite grandpa when Liam continued, "Pain hurts, but only for a minute. Life is short so go on and live it! You're an O'Neill, you attract trouble!" Liam hugged his grandson. "Now, since you are one handed, no swimming, no bike riding, what can we do?" and at the same time they both said it, "FISH!" Luckily it was Jack's left arm that he broke so he could still hold the pole and operate the line. It wasn't like they were worried about catching anything but if they did, Liam could hold the pole for the boy.