It was a big day of celebration for our family. My husband and his Marine battalion had just returned home from Iraq. With another nine month deployment looming on the horizon, we were determined to make the most of his time at home.
We headed out to our favorite Chinese restaurant and were overwhelmed with gratitude when the elderly gentleman sitting across from us paid our bill as he left, a note of thanks scribbled on our receipt.
Over the years we have received generosity from strangers, given in moments of gratitude for our family’s service to our Country. Discounts at our favorite restaurants and clothing stores, free and discounted admission to Disney World, and head of line priviledge in airport security lines (I know, I’m sorry to all of you we skip in line).
We are reminded today of the gratitude poured out upon our family on day’s that stretch long after Veteran’s Day. As a military family, we are grateful that we live in a Country where Fortune 500 Company’s make great efforts to hire Veteran’s; that we live in a Country that has learned to separate politics from the people that serve.
Because it has not always been that way.
Today I say thank you to those who returned home from foreign wars and were not greeted with welcome home signs lining the streets; today I say thank you to those who did not receive a hero’s welcome with a parade of ticker tape and a marching band; today I say thank you to those who carry memories of fallen brothers lost in long forgotten battles.
Because I do believe we have learned from our past and because of that, our family enjoys the benefits of generations that have gone before us, some unnoticed and unrecognized for their sacrifice.
So today, we want to recognize the previously unrecognized and thank you for your service!!!
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