STEPS TO HONOR

Journal Entry - Monday, September 1, 2008: Today I am running once again for the fallen heroes that were in some way connected to my son. I have decided that I really like this concept of honoring someone and need to start making a list of heroes that I can honor each day. My mind starts to consider the many people that have served in our military over the course of our nation’s history. Imagine the number of men and women that have stood in the gap over the years. What about those that serve willingly that were not called to make the ultimate sacrifice? Shouldn’t we honor them for their service? After getting a small glimpse into what my own son has gone through over the past five years, I realize more each day that military service is difficult and challenging to say the least! Must we wait for one to be injured or killed before we are grateful for their service? We often forget about those that are serving on bases right here in the USA. Once you enter the military, your life is no longer your own. You can’t decide to take a day off, call in sick, or sleep in. You always take a turn spending a major holiday on “Barracks Duty”. The year my son had duty on Christmas Day he told me it was the loneliest Christmas ever! He said he would have preferred to be in Iraq because at least he would have been with his buddies. What about the pressure to make sure you get back from your 96 (4 day weekend) in time to get through the traffic at the main gate and get in line to get your regulation haircut before the barber shop closes? And what about those inspections? I often wonder how I would feel if someone came to my house once a week to do an inspection. Would everything be straight enough or clean enough? Unlikely! I am starting to really appreciate the daily sacrifice made by our military. They really don’t have lives of their own for the time they serve and they are doing that for you and for me!