How You Live is How You Survive
Sgt. Kenneth "Socrates" E. Ruggles, Jr. lived from December 7, 1949 to December 26, 2022.
He was the best brother-in-law I could have asked for.
I loved him dearly and am heartbroken he has gone to Heaven while we here on earth who had the privilege to know him grieve
He was a living example of how to live, love, learn, and survive.
As I was honored to know him for 38 years as my wife's brother, fellow Veteran, and civil defense practitioner, I present here lessons from his life that will help you survive any natural or manmade disaster.Kenny is how I addressed him so I will use that name in this memorial.
The Eternal Lesson
You see, how you live determines how you not only survive but triumph over any disaster that you experience...and also how you leave this world. And as sure as the Bible is God's Holy Word, you will encounter disasters in your brief visit to this earth before you return to the Father.Study Kenny's life to know what you need to prepare for, deal with, overcome, and know what survival on this planet means.
Life Skills
Kenny learned well all the skills necessary to work and operate an orchard, and then some.
Here is a partial list of the life skills he mastered in his life:
- Good Son
- Loving Father
- Wise Grandfather
- Devoted Husband
- Master Carpenter
- Master Mechanic
- Master Stone Mason
- Master Electrician
- Master Plumber
- Master Roofer
- Accountant
- Rancher (Cows and Pigs)
- Farmer
- Orchard Fruit Grower
It may seem hard to believe that he mastered all these skills and more, but he did and I saw it with my own eyes.
Running a family orchard, the Ruggles Orchard in Levels, WV, requires this skill stack to keep it operating and making money.
As money is always in short supply, he had to learn these skills to keep the operation operating like clockwork AND to save the money from paying others so it would go to his children instead.
My wife told me that the only outside tradesman she can ever recall him hiring was the man who put the refrigeration unit in the cold storage buildings that stored and preserved the fruit.Although he built the large cold storage shed to store the peaches and apple crops, the refrigeration unit is a large commercial one that requires exquisite expertise to install properly.
It was such a complicated and specialized job he had to hire an outside expert, so he did, but mostly because he did not have, and could not afford, the specialized tools and equipment required to install that unit.
Once Kenny told me, "The U.S. Government could collapse and all it would mean to me is that I will pay fewer taxes."
He would continue to run his orchard, provide for his family, husband the land, feed others, and serve Jesus.
There is a survival lesson in that.
Naval Academy
Kenny was awarded an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. While there, he boxed and beat Oliver North. He exceeded all the requirements...but one, the secret one. When he attended in the 1960's, the Naval Academy still had a strict "non-official" hazing regime. As a moral man, he hated it, refused to participate in it as an upper classman, and was shunned. Eventually, he left them in the rear view mirror, had an honorable discharge, and moved on.
Army National Guard
Given the skills listed above, it was not long before he was invited to try out for the Rangers, and then Delta Force.
Missions
Kenny went on multiple missions worldwide.
Out of respect for the fact that he was a quiet warrior, I will skip those here, except one, the story of his mission to locate the remains of a downed American pilot in Laos as it compromises no secrets and was a public MIA recovery mission.Why?
Because it has lessons that apply to the current politicized and weaponized senior officer corps in the Pentagon.
When Kenny was assigned to go to Laos to verify if the remains a village in Laos claimed were of an American pilot, his preference was to go alone.
However, an obese Army Lt. Colonel wanted to "punch his ticket" and insisted that he accompany Kenny on the mission.
"See that? Army Reg's say that is what I am required to take on this mission. See that over there? [It was about one-tenth the size of the other pile.] That is what I am actually taking with me."
He did not tell me at the time what that mission entailed, just that he would be gone, but he did fill me in later.
When he returned, we were sorting apples in the cold storage shed.
"Sure." I answered.
"Well, I think the Lt. Colonel who accompanied me is having me separated from the Army right now."
"Why? I asked.
"Well, he was fat and a smoker. When we got to the village in Laos, I told the locals to feed him good. Then I told him I was going to hump to the crash site and find out what I could. I was not hopeful. Most of the time these locals know the Americans pay good money for remains, so they give you dog bones or chicken bones and claim they are from an American."
"When the Lt. Colonel figured out I was leaving him behind in the village, he went nuts and started cursing at me. Then he threatened to have me, get this, busted out of the service after I served a stint in Fort Leavenworth for disobeying his direct order to take him with me on the mission."
So I asked him, "Colonel, you smoke, right?"
"What does that have to do with anything Sgt. Ruggles?"
"Well, a bad sniper will see you 1,000 yards out. A good sniper will see you 2,000 yards out when you light that cigarette. I have a wife and four children I intend to return to so it's best you stay here.""He cursed me up and down but I went on that mission for two weeks without him. He swore the whole way across the Pacific on the return flight that he was going to have me prosecuted for disobeying a direct order."
"Turns out today I am to get a call from them determining my fate."
A half hour later, Kenny's wife came and said he had a call from the Pentagon.
"Well, I guess that's it for me." he said as he walked to answer the phone.
When he returned, he had a huge smile on his face. When I said, "Why are you laughing? This is messed up."
He smiled even bigger and said, "Remember that jackwagon Colonel I told you about? The one who threatened me with jail time in Fort Leavenworth?"
"Yeah. I remember you told me about him."
"Guess what? He was just introduced by a two star who told me the Colonel wanted to apologize to me, which he just did. Ain't that some shit!"
Afghanistan
Here I will only speak of his unclassified missions in Afghanistan.On his free time, his translator asked Kenny to go with him to visit his "cousin" in Kabul who he said owned a bookstore.
Any translator who worked with the Americans was in danger of being assassinated, so Kenny agreed to accompany him to protect him.
Kenny dressed in Afghan attire to fit in better and agreed to stay in the car they used when his translator visited his "cousin."
When they reached the bookstore in Kabul, the translator went into the bookstore and Kenney remained in their car.
Five minutes passed.
Out of nowhere, a HUGE Afghan appeared with a rock, stood in front of Kenny, and indicated through body language he planned to hurl it at Kenny.
Then another Afghan with a rock joined him.
Kenny said he kept thinking, "Where the hell is my translator to talk these people down?"
More Afghan's with rocks gathered around the HUGE Afghan until there were about 25 of them.
Kenny had a pistol and a rifle he kept hidden on his lap, but did not want to use it.
He started praying his translator would show to deflate the situation.
When the HUGE guy pulled back his arm to toss the rock at him, Kenny said he thought of his wife and 4 children and decided he was not dying.
He quickly opened the door, took a kneeling position, and pointed his rifle at the HUGE Afghan, placing a red laser dot on his forehead.
Kenny said you would not believe how fast that guy went from a look of total rage to a big smile.
He dropped the rock and the other 25 did the same.
I remember him saying once, "I don't know what happened. We went from Kazakhstan to Tora Bora and we had 'em whooped in 2022."
Final Years
Kenny lived on his own terms and ultimately left this world on his own terms.When he visited our house in Martinsburg, WV for the remarkable Thanksgiving dinner his sister and my wife Robin Rae Ruggles Curley prepared, I had one last chance to talk to him the month before he died.
I asked him, "Are your knees ruined (the doctors told him they were bone on bone and needed to be replaced which he refused to do) and your back ruined due to climbing up and down ladders with 40 pound sacks of peaches and apples?"
He responded, "No. It was the rucksack runs and the parachute jumps. In the Army we had to run miles and miles with a heavy rucksack on our backs. The worst runs were on the beach because you couldn't get get traction. And parachute landings with rucksacks, especially at night or on HALO jumps, destroyed my knees and back."
When he went to the VA in his Sixties and Seventies, he got the usual VA suggested remedies: painkillers and surgery.
Having seen how excessive VA painkiller prescriptions turned so many Vets into zombies, and how the knee replacement his father had made his ability to walk even worse, Kenny refused both.
My final memory of him is his excruciatingly painful walk from down the stairs of my back deck across the yard to my Irish cottage, and then back.
He was in agony, but never complained, then or any other time, about the pain.
You could see the pain reflected in a facial wince, but he never did what so many other elderly do and just complain about their medical issues nonstop...or become pill poppers.
He ate the pain and soldiered on.
The Legacy of Sgt. Kenny "Socrates" Ruggles
Like so many men who were living legacies when alive, Kenny left many legacies to his kin, friends, neighbors, and nation.
My reflections on his legacy are above.
Bill, his SF Delta teammate, when viewing photos of Kenny in Afghanistan at his funeral viewing, paid Kenny a high compliment: "He was always steady in combat like he was born for it, completely calm, never got distracted."
My wife, recalling one memory of Kenny said after he passed, "He was always so handsome and my hero. When I was five, he took me on a motorcycle ride in the nearby ball park and up and down stairs. I held on for dear life and loved every minute."
His greatest legacy is that he was a quiet warrior.
When I offered once to write his biography, he cut me off quickly with, "Why? I didn't do anything 15,000 other guys didn't do just as well."
I created a think piece 20 years ago called The President is Hostage: Payback's a Bitch that has his personality woven into the main character.
Out of respect for Kenny, I will write a much better novel that is worthy of his legacy at some point.
Warriors Know Warriors
When we went to the Ruggles Orchard to comfort Kenny's surviving family, his son showed me a Bible Kenny took with him on all his missions.His Bible had a bookmarker with a photo of my MIA Uncle 1st Lt. Frank J. Curley.
I had sent him a photo of my uncle's B-24 crew many years before but had no idea he used it as a bookmarker in his Bible.
Warriors know warriors and I thank him for the respect he showed my Uncle Frank by using his crew photo as his Bible bookmark.
Enjoy.
And remember a Vet you know.
Maybe take him or her out for coffee and just listen.
For many years, as a volunteer, I have written resumes for special forces guys transitioning to the civilian world.
It is not easy for them to go from military life to civilian life.
A resume is one of the hardest things for them to write because evaluations and ratings in the military are so different from the civilian world.
As I get to know them and their experiences to translate it to a civilian language.
It is a great feeling for me when they land a job, and they are always appreciative.
Most importantly, we break the anxiety/depression/suicide ideation/suicide reality cycle because they have a mission, a purpose, and can provide for the families.
The combat nightmares begin to become less frequent, and they can have a great work, family, and community life.
One essential is to listen to them.
For an introduction, maybe visit Combat Stories on YouTube to get an idea of what I am talking about.
As the WWII Ranger and Paratrooper Jack Womer said on the final page of his book Fighting with the Filthy Thirteen, "Remember us."
Remember them with whatever talent God has given you.
