In 1995 The United States Air Force adopted its core values of, “Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence In All We Do.” Senior Airman Ashton Lynn Marie Goodman was an embodiment of those core values. She was also a writer, fond of creating her “little stories” that eventually made their way into the hands of Melissa Pritchard who then had one of the stories, “Reflections in Brass” published in Issue 50 of Hayden’s Ferry Review.
Due to the “Reflections in Brass” being published posthumously, this interview was conducted with Mark Goodman, Ashton’s father.
From Editorial Assistant Ryan Hopkins: After the withdrawal of American forces, the War in Afghanistan has formally ended, and yet the war continues in the minds of many of our service members. While no one is ever the same after the military, what can we do to help them reintegrate?
Mark Goodman: I think the military is trying hard to put programs in place to help our veterans. Much better than we ever did for our Vietnam brethren. But with veteran suicides at an all time high we have a long way to go.
RH: Two great unifiers are food and music, and from Melissa Pritchard’s article, “Finding Ashton,” we learned that Ashton loved to sing along to Jon Bon-Jovi and enjoy the local foods from the only restaurant in Panjshir. Did she always sing along to Bon-Jovi, and where did her love of music come from? Also, when Ashton was home, what were some of her favorite foods?
MG: She always liked music and listened to a little of everything.
RH: Ashton’s writing shows a great deal of experience and a command of the craft. Had she always taken an interest in writing, or was it more of a recent development for?
MG: No I think it was a recent thing. A way to cope.
RH: As a retired Master Sergeant of the United States Air Force, you too have raised your right hand and taken the Oath of Enlistment. How did you feel when Ashton did the same? And how did you feel during other milestones like when she graduated from bootcamp, or picked up her first promotion?
MG: I was very proud of her for following in her mom’s footsteps. She was a 3rd generation female in the Air Force. I was a recruiter here in Indianapolis in the past and used that to help her get the job she wanted in the time frame she wanted to leave.
Ryan Hopkins is a fiction writer from Red Lion, PA. He is a senior in the BA in English Literature program at ASU, and interned as an Editorial Assistant at Hayden’s Ferry Review.