This is my good friend Mike holding my daughter earlier today. We were at the deployment ceremony for Mike and 114 other member's of Delaware's 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade in Dover. Tomorrow the men and women of the 261st will depart for Texas, leaving home and family, job and place of worship. From Texas it will be onto the Middle East.
I needed to take a moment here to express my deep felt gratitude, respect, and sense of awe for these amazing people. Up to this point, the war has largely been academic for me. I have watched the news, read the papers, debated this or that on-line, but it has always been in a detached sort of way, the way I study history from centuries past.
Today that all changed.
It changed in the resolute and determined looks of men and women voluntarily leaving home and family to travel halfway across the world and placing themselves in harms way. It changed in the tears that dripped from the eyes of family members, tears a mystifying combination of fierce pride and deep sadness. It changed with the farewell hug of a friend I will not see for many months.
It changed.
It touched me today in the way it has touched thousands upon thousands of families. It is no longer academic. It sits with me here in my kitchen as I type, in the form of a dark green cross and set of prayer beads that hang on my wall, a daily reminder to pray not only for the Mike and his fellow soldiers in the 261st, but all men and women, serving this country on foreign soil and here at home. A daily reminder to pray also for their families, who make deep sacrifices as well, missing the person who should be filling that empty kitchen chair on a daily basis.
Mike thanked me for coming today, as did many of the other soldiers I met.
But it is I who thank them. Not only for their brave actions, which no awkward words of mine could ever express the depth of gratitude I feel. But also for their example. Their selfless, courageous, amazing example.
If you are someone who is inclined to pray, I ask you to stop right now and pray for our soldiers. Thank God for them, pray for their safety, and pray comfort for their families. And when you see a soldier, in the mall, on the street, in your neighborhood...stop and say thank you. Express your appreciation.
You will never meet someone who deserves it more.
A hearty AMEN! It's very difficult for those of us who have had soldiers serving overseas to hear other people slam the war. We take it personally. When slamming the war, we are slamming the men and women who are willing fighting to protect those they left behind, and those who have given their lives in the process. We HAVE to finish the job.
ReplyDeleteI am ok with someone who opposes the war itself, if they do it for their own personal reasons, not because they are brainwashed by what movie stars or popular politicians say. But, in opposing the war, they must support the troops, and most do in my experience. There are certainly those who do not, but I think they are a small minority.
ReplyDeleteApathy is a bigger problem than those who don't support the military. Which is why I think it is so important to thank a soldier when you see them. Let them know that their sacrifice is not taken for granted by everyone.
Great post, Brian. I have family members that are currently deployed in the Middle East, and I think about them and pray for them constantly, as well as praying for their families and loved ones.
ReplyDeleteThat was well said man!
ReplyDeleteOk friends, that was one of the most meaningful things I have ever read. I appreciate your support and prayers and I know Mike does as well. Oppose the war all you want, hate those that slam this war and the next, disagree with whatever you want. WE live in America and we have all those rights. Thank a Soldier!
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