I should have written this long ago in grammar school but somehow never thought about it the way I do now. Having a child in the military changes everything.
My father fought for this country in WWII and I thought it was just amazing that he never took a bullet. It is funny how children think when they listen to stories about their parents and about things they no nothing about...like war. I wondered, as a child, why my father would have tears in his eyes every memorial day. Now I know. I remember when the Vietnam vets came home, my father watched it all on TV with tears streaming down his face. Now I know why. My father watched the TV show, Combat, every week and told me it was the most realistic show depicting the war. He told me stories how the younger soldiers called him 'Pop' because he was so much older than most of them and he would always give the younger boys his chocolate bars and his sugar packets. He told me that is when he started drinking coffee without sugar. I don't know where they got coffee on the battle field but hey...it was a good story and I have never known my father to lie...not about war, anyway.
I have had the honor of marching in The Connecticut Hurricanes Drum and Bugle Corps with a veteran of the Vietnam Conflict...it was not considered a war. RIGHT!!! Tell that to the veterans that fought. Anyway, he also was a POW. I don't know for how long because he does not like to talk about it. I have riden the bus to many drum corps shows with him, and I noticed that the way he sleeps on the bus must have been how he slept in the jungles of Vietnam and the POW camp. He sits in the corner of the seat, all curled up and covers his entire body with his blanket. What does this tell... WAR in our soldiers minds NEVER goes away, it is NEVER forgotten.
Now I think about Memorial Day and it hits a little closer to home. Joey is now considered a veteran of foreign war. I am very, VERY proud of him and what he felt he had to do. I am so lucky that he was one of our soldiers to come home alive. He was in Iraq for a year and for that whole year I watched the news and pretended he was still in Ft. Stewart, GA safe. I think this is the only way I got though that year. We also waited for his son to be born and that would happen after he was home from the war. I think about all the families that are NOT as lucky as I have been and my heart breaks for them. I wish I could go to them and just give them a hug. There is NOTHING you can say to someone that has lost a loved one to war. NOTHING!!!! But because these families and their loved one paid the ultimate sacrifice, we can live the life we do. Freedom...so many of us take it for granted...including me until this last year. Am I happy that Joey chose to enlist in the Army...NO... Am I proud of him for doing it...OH YES!!! There are no words to explain how proud I am of him. I hope for him that there is no war for his son, Lj, to have to fight in. We still have a long time before that decision is made. And I wonder if everyday, Joey will encourage Lj to make the decision he did. I pray that the world is at peace when that time comes.
I don't know why world peace is so hard to achieve. People of all nations have the right to believe what they want and the rest of the world has no business telling them how they should live!!! We wouldn't want anyone coming into this country and telling us that we have too much freedom and we need to make new laws ending that freedom. I pray that NEVER happens...and I know it never will because of our men and women who have chosen to fight for all of us so that it doesn't
I want to say THANK YOU to all of them. It is such a small thing but an important one. Our soldiers need to hear it. And here is a little story to tell you why this has to be done.
When Joey was in boot camp, we went down for family weekend. Joe had to wear his uniform off base and anytime he went out. He wanted to stop and get fast food but he didn't want to go in and eat, he wanted to eat in the car. After questioning him, he told me that not everyone likes the soldiers so he was afraid of reprecussions because he was in uniform. While we were sitting in the parking lot, a car pulled in and a rather rough and tough looking guy got out of the car and looked at Joey. He went in to get food and maybe 15 minutes later came out. On his way to his car he detoured toward our car. Joe was in the back seat with the window open. The guy walked up to the window. Now I am thinking...ok, here it comes...the guy put out his hand and shook Joe's hand and said "Thank you." Since that day, I try NOT to judge a book by it's cover. I am not so sure Joe is afraid of being in uniform but he very seldom advertises it. I am very proud of him for all he has done.
Thank you to all the men and women who serve our country. May you all come home safe. And please, everyone, remember them always on this day.
