Three years into WWII, at just 19-years-old, a young man joined thousands of others in enlisting with the hope of helping those in combat survive the battles ahead.
He wanted to be a military medic- a corpsman- and joined the Navy to do so… not realizing that the Navy supplied corpsmen to the Marines.
Instead of a hospital ship, the young man in this story found himself storming beaches in the Pacific, and during the Battle of Tarawa, his landing craft struck a mine.
The explosion flipped the entire raft into the water, killing everyone but him. In total, nearly 6000 people died there over a 3-day-battle at the shoreline.
Though the young man managed to survive long enough to get help, his leg was riddled with shrapnel. Doctors wanted to amputate, but he begged them to save it.
When he returned home, his leg was intact, but the shrapnel stayed; a souvenir from a time in battle that earned him a Purple Heart and Silver Star.
But the war wasn’t finished with him.
Decades later, at just 55 years old, he developed Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors believed the shrapnel he had carried in his body for years may have contributed to the diagnosis.
He spent more than two decades living with Alzheimer’s before ultimately passing away in a nursing home in Apopka, Florida.
His name was Clinton Lyle Hoatson, and he was Family First Firm CEO Geoff Hoatson’s grandfather.
His story is one of the reasons our firm exists today.
Geoff founded Family First Firm because he believes families deserve support, dignity, and a plan when life takes an unexpected turn. Elder law is about so much more than documents; it’s about protecting people who have spent their lives protecting others. It’s about helping families navigate some of the most difficult chapters of their lives with compassion, clarity, and peace of mind.
Clinton Lyle Hoatson survived an explosion that took the lives of everyone around him, and survived injuries that doctors thought would cost him his leg. But Alzheimer’s changed the course of his life, and eventually, he needed care that his family could not provide alone.
On Veterans Day, we think about him. We think about the sacrifices made long after the uniform comes off. We think about the veterans and families who are navigating aging, illness, and the complicated realities of long-term care today.
These are the people we serve at Family First Firm.
To all who have served: thank you. Not just for what you did then, but for everything you’ve carried since.
Happy Veterans Day.