Dawn's Blog...: Saying Thank You

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by US Army Africa via Flickr"]

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY 2009 - US ARMY AFRICA - ...

[/caption]

Today, being Veteran's Day, is an appropriate time to discuss the words, "Thank You". I have many family and friends that have served in some branch of the armed forces. Really, the words themselves seem so empty, for all that the men and women in uniform have sacrificed for me. And don't be mistaken, it is a sacrifice.....Some people would say, "but he chose to sign up!", or "no one asked her to do that, she decided to do that herself!". Okay. So we don't have the draft right now. Does that make the sacrifice any less? NO. The only difference is, that today's young men and women CHOOSE to sacrifice.

Think about that. I mean it. Really, ponder that. Men and women choose to sign up for however many years, to serve their country. It takes some real guts to stand up and say, "I'm going to go through grueling training, I'm going to be stationed wherever I'm assigned, and I'm going to attempt to keep peace. If necessary, I will fight with dignity and honor. Above all else I am loyal to God and country.

People back home may never understand what a soldier goes through. The ache of leaving family for months or years on end. The courage that overcomes the fear when faced with imminent danger. Doing what needs to be done. And doing it with pride and skill.

THANK YOU

1. Thank you for your willingness to serve.

2. Thank you for being brave.

3. Thank you for putting up with dirt and sand, and not being able to shower.

4. Thank you for withstanding the heat, and the cold.

5. Thank you for loving our country.

6. Thank you for standing in the gap, as our protector.

7. Thank you for sacrificing your time away from family.

8. Thank you for upholding the greater good.

9. Thank you for caring.

10. I thank you....because without you....life would not be what it is for us today in this country.

Whether you served in one of the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq.... whether you stormed the beaches of Normandy, trudged through the jungles of Vietnam, or endured the heat and sand of the Middle East.....and all the places in between. I thank you. The officers, and the grunts, the nurses and doctors, the MP, the snipers, the radio operators, the helicopter pilots, and the tank driver. The ones who cook and clean, and fix vehicles, and set up tents. The chaplains, and the guy on guard duty. All of you. I appreciate ALL OF YOU.

Thank you to the men and women who have come home as wounded warriors. That sacrificed an arm, or a leg, or their hearing or sight for us....for me. And thank you to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.....their very lives. You are not forgotten.