Happy Veteran's Day!!!

This was my blog from last year---I decided to post it again in honor of all veterans!


My dad was born in 1928, he was second to the youngest of 13 children. He was 12 years old when his older brother joined the navy and was stationed at Pearl Harbor. My dad, who grew up extremely poor and never went anywhere, once told me that he was so jealous that his brother got to "see the world and have fun hanging out in Hawaii." On December 7, my uncle was on the USS Oklahoma when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. (My uncle survived, but he really never talked about that day.) My dad wanted desperately to join the war, so at 16, he quit school, lied about his age, and joined the navy. Although he never saw a battle like Pearl Harbor, he proudly served our country for 6 years. He came home to a country that was proud of him, but without an education, he never found a solid career. My father-in-law, a college graduate and a father of 2 small children, was drafted at the age of 25 to serve in Vietnam. He was a canine handler, and he and his dog were trained to seek out "boobie traps" before sending troops in to an unknown territory. He saved hundreds of lives. He came home to a country that was divided by war, and he was not celebrated as the hero that he was. He missed 4 years of his young children's lives. My son joined the army because he didn't like college. He was chosen for military intelligence, and he currently seeks out terrorists' cells. I haven't seen him in a year, and I haven't heard his voice since Mother's Day. He still has another year before he finishes his commitment. My sister's husband was recently deployed to a clinic in Egypt where they send wounded soldiers from Afghanistan. He is a medic in the Army National Guard, and this is his 3rd deployment in 4 years. My 4 year old niece and my 2 year old nephew tell me every day how much they miss their daddy, and my sister has had to raise her children pretty much alone. I am proud of all these men, but their service to our country as come at personal costs to their families. Every day I can say that I don't agree with our government, or I can protest some new law. I can choose where I live, own a gun, raise my children in my religious preference, read uncensored literature, attend school, earn a living in a profession of my choice, travel, and do countless other things that I take for granted. We say that we are proud to be Americans, and we enjoy our freedom, but do we really understand what that means? Do we really appreciate all that we have in this country? Do we really acknowledge the men and women that serve in our armed forces every day to secure our way of life? So as we celebrate Veteran's Day, I challenge all of us to thank our country's heroes--the men and women who leave their families to serve our country. I challenge us to not just thank them on November 11th but to thank them every day. It is their sacrifice that keeps us from having to sacrifice our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.