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 acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. 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, who 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 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to 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.
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 Americans 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, dignity, and by example; and wear something red every Friday.
WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE. THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.
Written about the funeral of Sgt. Eric Newman held on Saturday, October 24, 2010...
The funeral was held with full military honors... He was posthumously awarded not only the bronze star, but also the Purple Heart and several other medals for
his exemplary service in the U.S. Army...
Eric Newman, 30, was killed when a roadside bomb exploded Oct. 14 in Akatzai Kalay, Afghanistan. He married Charidy Newman last year, and was planning to become a state trooper after his career in the military was
over. The introductory information I’ve included here came from the story about the funeral published by The Meridian Star. READ HERE
I saw America today.
I was among more that 200 people gathered on the tarmac at the Meridian
Air Navel Station to welcome Sgt. Eric C. Newman, 30, of Waynesboro ,
Miss. home from Afghanistan.
He did not exit to cheers and hugs but was greeted by respectful
silence. Military men and women, bikers, policemen, firemen, all in
formation riveted their attention as Sgt. Newman disembarked from the
plane carrying him.
He exited in a flag draped coffin, killed in action in Afghanistan.
The family stood near the hearse and as Sgt. Newman’s casket approached
he was greeted by his new wife and his mother as they draped their arms
around the casket where their beloved husband and son lay. There would
be no married life for the newly married couple and another mother had
given her son in the name of freedom.
I saw America today.
The procession formed with a police escort in front leading the hearse
carrying Sgt. Newman which was followed by his family, more than 100
bikers, including the Patriot Guard Riders, scores of police officers,
firemen, and friends. I rode near the front and I never could see the
end of the procession as we rolled over the hills from Meridian to
Waynesboro.
I saw America today.
On the 60 mile journey truckers, the big rigs, pulled to the side of the
road, exited their trucks and put hand over heart in honor of Sgt.
Newman and the American flag. Down the road from one big shiny rig was a
humble logging truck, driver standing on the ground, hand over heart.
For sixty miles a mixture of people stood by the side of the road, flag
in hand as we rolled past. At every junction where a side road entered
there were people. At the overpasses there was always a fire truck
displaying a large American flag. Every fire department along the way
had their fire truck standing by to honor this young American who gave
his life for us.
There was a young Boy Scout, in uniform, proudly saluting Sgt. Newman
and the American flags that passed him.
A man in bib overalls stood by a ragged old pickup truck giving honor.
Just down the road was a man dressed in suit and tie by his expensive
SUV.
Something in the bright blue sky above caught my eye. It was two jet
fighter planes flying over the procession, the thoughtful action of
fellow soldiers.
I could see a woman kneeling, holding something out in her hands. At
first I thought it must be a camera but as I passed I could clearly see
it was a folded American flag. Just like the one that was given to my
mother when my father died. Yes, it was her way of saying, "I lost a
loved one as well."
I saw America today.
As we left the main road and entered Waynesboro two fire trucks were
parked in such a way as to form an arch with a giant American flag
suspended between the two.
The streets were lined solid with people. No cars were moving. I
observed someone in a wheel chair on the side of the road. When we drew
closer I saw several in wheel chairs, some on crutches. They were old,
and fragile. They were residents of a nursing home. On down the road
there was another group from yet another nursing home, all waving tiny
American flags.
As we wound our way through town hundreds of people lined the sides of
the streets. We passed an elementary school. The children lined the
fence three deep, most with flags, some with red, white, and blue
balloons which were later released.
Next we passed the high school. Again the students respectfully lined
the streets adjacent to the school. All were standing respectfully in
honor of Sgt. Newman.
And did I mention the yellow ribbons? They were on trees, mailboxes,
fences, and anywhere people could place them.
I saw America today.
When we had finished the escort all the bikers were asked to meet at the
First Baptist Church of Waynesboro. There they gathered us up and
escorted us to the Western Sizzlin ’ where the people of the town
treated us to lunch for doing something of which we were proud to be a
part.
Today, I saw America and I’m proud to be an American. God bless America.
In our Native American culture, our warriors were celebrated and honored not just for their achievements and feats in battle, but because of who they were. They were the ones who dedicated their lives to their people, willingly faced fear to protect them and committed to develop their talent and abilities to become assets to their people. It is a person who made a vow to fight for something much bigger than self. Our warriors were (and still are) a necessary part of the fabric of our tribal societies, just as our nation’s warriors in uniform fulfill that duty to the United States today.
Before going into battle, ceremonies and rites were performed to protect the warriors and bring them victory – when they returned home, more ceremonies were conducted to give gratitude and welcome them back. But the entire time the warriors were gone, the people prayed them home, keeping ceremonial fires burning, never losing sight that those warriors were out there making great sacrifice, taking great risk – and terribly missing their home hearths and families.
In the midst of tough economic times, daily stresses and responsibilities, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we have thousands of Americans who are, daily, exposed to mortal danger, fear and suffer the agonies of being torn away from the tender tendrils that used to wrap around children, spouses and loved ones. We have thousands more that have returned with severe injuries, broken families and deep social issues caused by combat or extended and multiple deployments. Even when they return stateside, they not yet home. As civilians in street clothes, no ribbons of achievement or scars of battle are visible – just the quiet dignity of a man or woman who did their best under hard circumstances on behalf of many others.
I arrived at my home airport in Colorado Springs which is a busy hub for soldiers going out and coming home from deployments and duties. I was coming home from an awful trip of long layovers, delays and bad weather that created a sixteen hour travel day. I was walking through the terminal a few paces behind a soldier in uniform who wore a full pack trimmed in desert dust, a leathery tan and hollowed out look of being gone too long. As we rounded the corner, there were no balloons or "welcome home" signs. There was a woman who covered her mouth with both hands and began to weep. A boy of three or four, with fire-red hair and dressed in his Sunday best, shot away from his mother and ran to his father alone, arms wide and smiling even wider. The soldier dropped to his knees, closed his eyes in relief, and the boy melted into his arms yelling, "Daddy, you’re home!"
For the rest of my life, I’ll never forget that moment of embrace.
The next time you are worried that Starbuck’s got your order wrong, that you’ll make the next traffic light or you’ll have to stay at work for an extra hour, remember the person standing guard on a freezing night in Kandahar, the wounded warrior recovering at the Landstuhl Hospital in Germany or the young Marine on a ship wishing he could hold his new baby girl, whispering pray me home.
Veteran’s Day may have been yesterday – but it should be every day we honor the sacrifice and commitment of our men and woman in uniform, past and present, that serve and protect us. Please thank a veteran for their service – and pray them all home.
We give each of our
fallen comrades a fitting memorial and mourned their loss. Each time. I knew
these heroes left wives, husbands, children and other loved ones behind. They
were volunteers and each had their reasons for joining the army and defending
their country. They all had great plans for the future, but none of them had
planned on dying in combat. These soldiers will never see their children
graduate from high school, will never attend their weddings, will never coach
their little league baseball teams.
Colonel Ted Spain
Brigade Commander who
had thirteen KIA’s from his unit
The following groups,
organizations, associations or whatever other name you want to tag them with,
have reached out and given a full 100% of their time, money and love to our
veterans. We salute them and offer our most humble thanks for their support to
vets. There will be other names and their information added to this list but,
these extraordinary men and women do not bring attention to themselves, we have
to search them out.
AL Pony
Express Messengers
The many of these men
and women should receive a medal for the thankless accomplishments they achieved
for gathering monies for the American Legion’s Legacy Run. For two years 2007 &
2008 they surpassed any accumulation of donations given, to help the families of
those who have had a father or mother KIA or DOW in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pony
Express Messengers from all over the United States delivered saddlebags of money
and checks to the podium of the National American Legion conventions for two
years in a row without mention of their dedication. We will.
This was created by the
American Legion Riders of Post 135 in Bedford, Texas with many sincere and
devoted American Legion Riders participating nationwide as an elite strength
called Pony Express Messengers. Unfortunately for some, it grew quickly and
brought paranoia to those who had their ambition on the lofty goals of political
influence and prestigious titles. The thought they might lose the limelight must
have been terrifying. Slanderous and false accusations of “skimming the
donations and no accountability” were spread by those who were not allowed to
take the reins and control the movement. Others used the Pony Express name for
their own purpose and influenced donation gathering “attaboys” as a stepping
stone to their own thrilling recognition.
Regardless, a loyal
handful of Pony Express Messengers across the country still wear the Pony
Express badge and really learned what it meant to earn it. These have been asked
to be the trusted deliverers of the KIA flag to whereever it has to be taken. We
salute you, Thank you for your service to veterans. Their website is:
www.alr135.org please visit.
A
Thousand Thanks
There is a young lady
walking across the U.S.A., her name is Keela Carr. She is attempting to bring
attention to the ugly plight of homeless veterans our government ignores. Since
the beginning of June 2009 at the back gate of Fort Irwin, California she has
been walking 3 hours on 3 hours off across the country. A KIA Ghost Soldier
walked a few miles with her on this journey to Kingman, Arizona and listened to
her truth.
She deserves and she
will get our support in this quest in building a place to give homeless vets an
address, so they can use the V.A. hospitals, get a license, food stamps,
assistance or whatever else you have to have an address for.
The website for this
energetic, selfless civilian patriot is
www.athousandthanks.us,
check it out. Find what her coordinates are and contact other veterans in the
area she is walking. She is already doing the hard part. Get out there and
support her.
She travels with a
small loyal and dedicated group of volunteers, Derrick, Aaron and Scott, giving
her the support to put one foot in front of the other for our veterans.
