So I just wanted to share with you my experience this weekend. I attended the Memorial at our local VA cemetery and what an honor and privilege it was. There must have been 1200 plus people in attendance, vets and cilvilians alike some with their kids and grand kids. I try and attend every year, I am not sure it has ever had such an effect on me as this year. As hard as I tried to keep it together and hold back the tears, be the tough Marine I couldn't do it. Just the thought that Freedom is not free, that so many have died for all of us just overwhelmed me. So many times we go about our daily lives rushing around from place to place and not taking the time to reflect on what we have and why we have it. I arrived in uniform with 12 dozen yellow carnations. I had every intention of making sure that ever grave that did not have flowers would have at least one carnation. It broke my heart that after I had exhausted all my flowers you could not see a difference at all. So many were over grown and have been forgotten. As I was wandering through the graves reading the names, dates and brance of service I was thinking about the sacrifice that these men and women made for ME. About half way through I had kneeled down and was saying a prayer for our Military, as I stood up and wiped away a tear I noticed a small boy maybe 6-7 yrs old and he was looking at me. I smiled and said hello, he asked me what I was doing and I said I was saying a prayer. He looked up at me and said "do you know him"? I said no, he asked me why I was praying for this person. I was trying to think how do you explain something like this to a child? I told him that every life is special and that it is always sad when someone dies and we should always pray for them as well as their family. He just had a look of innocence and wonder. He reached up and took my hand and pulled me through the different graves asking me who is this? when did he die? was he Army or Marine? Then out of the blue he looked at me and said "Sir" will you pray with me for this guy right here? So I knelt down and said a prayer with him and as I wiped the tears away his mom called him back over to sit with her. Well it must have been a good hour or two and I had lost sight of this lil boy. I was walking very slow looking at all the flags and just reflecting back on my service and how many friends I had lost in Iraq when all of a sudden this lil boy came running up to me and wrapped his arms around me and gave me the biggest hug ever. I started crying again and I looked down and said thank you, he looked at me and said no.... thank you. When I asked for what he just smiled and said I don't know but thank you. Dear friends even if you don't support this war please do support the soldiers. Take a moment to thank one you would be amazed at the power of two simple words. Don't talk ill of the war or our military you never know who may be listening. Take a moment once a month and go pick one grave and place a yellow carnation on that site and say a prayer. Stand up and be proud, be proud that your in such a great Country that we have men and women and children willing to die for you, for this Country.
~Semper Fi~
