I lost my dad when I was 17. Problem is I knew him only for 1-1/2 years between the ages of 9 and 10. Like yours, my dad was an alcoholic. He was a Vet and hit the beach at Omaha on the first wave. He lost his left leg and right lung when the war was nearly ended. He had good cause for being an alcoholic. I just wish he had been in my life longer. Growing up without a father damaged my outcome.