I’ve known the woman and her husband for decades. Her husband was active duty navy during the Vietnam era, and in the reserves for the next sixteen, retiring as a chief petty officer.

His wife knew he did something in “intelligence”, but that was about it. Every year, he would fly to Japan as part of his reserve commitment, and return- tight-lipped. I can remember gatherings of friends in which some of us would pester him, “C’mon,<insert name>, you can tell us. You work for the NSA, don’t you?”.

And he would just smile.

He retired from the navy in 1987. His wife said he never did say a word about what he did on those trips to Japan. And after a few years, she stopped asking him.

Fast forward to 2017. <Insert name> is in an assisted living facility. In just a few months, Parkinson’s would take his life. His wife came to visit.

A few weeks ago, his widow told me about that visit.

“He smiled and said “Remember those trips to Japan? It was the NSA’.”

That’s all he said. He died soon after.

Perhaps he felt he had to square that one dishonesty with his wife; I don’t know…… or that after thirty years of being out of the service, it was a secret that just didn’t matter anymore. Who can tell?

But when I look at the care this anonymous chief petty officer displayed to honor the vow he took in 1967, I can’t help comparing it to the casual disregard shown by today’s guardians of the nation’s secrets.