A nice way to show our troops we care

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2005
A nice way to show our troops we care
3
Mon, 04-23-2007 - 11:34am

I read this and it brought tears to my eyes. I just thought I would share it with everyone and send out my hugs to all of you who have a SO deployed. How greatful we are for all the you and your family go through to allow your SO to fight for us and keep us safe.

Will you give this to my Daddy?
> As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support "Red Fridays."
>
> Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in
> the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to
> clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the
> greatest act's of patriotism I have ever seen.
> Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camo's, as they
> began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to
> their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers,
> probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for it hit me. I'm not
> alone. I'm not the only red blooded American who still loves this country
> and supports our troops and their families.
> Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung
> heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go
> to school, work and home without fear or reprisal. Just when I thought I
> could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a
> young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male
> soldiers. He kneeled down and said "hi," the little girl then asked him if
> he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, he didn't
> look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she
> want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of
> this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him
> on the cheek. The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter・s name
> was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had
> been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her
> daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.
> When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of
> the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other
> servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing
> with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15
> Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told
> me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that
> he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying your
> daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is
> coming home very soon." The mom at this point was crying almost
> uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted
> Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this
> entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their
> gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked
> around, there were
> very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of
> selflessness turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling
> down his cheek.
>
>
>
> We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and
> thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day,
> it's good to be an American.
>
>
>
> RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red
> every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called
> the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for
> God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized,
> boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to
> reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all
> our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America
> supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our
> troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and
> every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message
> that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will
> wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United
> States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in
> the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this
> with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long
> before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once
> "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the
> media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to
> make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers.
>
>
>
>
>
> Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear
> something red every Friday.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-22-2003
Thu, 04-26-2007 - 1:54am

I know this is an "older" post, but I just had to reply. When my dh came back from his time in the Iraq war, he received a welcome similar to this. He said it was the ONLY time in his military career that people thanked him. Other times, he's been ridiculed, spit on, insulted, threatened, etc. But he said that one welcome made his entire time worth it. If you see a military member in uniform, please at least smile...if you have it in you, just thank them or give them an encouraging word. They certainly won't get it from the majority of the public, and military morale (at least at the bases we've been at) is down - they need the motivation boost from the people they're fighting for.


Thanks for listening, y'all. It means a lot to the families, too, as many of you sahmommies on this board know. Love to you all - sisters in arms!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-03-2007
Thu, 04-26-2007 - 11:26am

Kat,


I am sure it is different for everyone, but my husband is in the military and he gets thanked everywhere we go.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-22-2003
Fri, 04-27-2007 - 12:48am
That does help, Sara. I'm glad people are being so supportive. Our troops deserve at least that much! We were in Germany and South Dakota, and those people weren't so nice. (The Germans, I guess I can see that...but the people in SD were (largely) very rude!! There were some good ones, don't think I'm making a blanket statement. But the majority were bad.)

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