Will you give this to my Daddy?
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 act's of
patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their
camo's, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well
almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands
wav ing 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 i mmediately 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 she asked him if he would give something to her daddy for
h er. The young soldier, he 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 daughters 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 unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading
towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood
there applauding and looked around, their 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 America 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 g
ame 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 and dignity, by
example; and wear something red every Friday.
IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON IF YOU COULD CARE LESS THEN
HIT THE DELETE BUTTON --- IT IS YOUR CHOICE. 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.
HAVE A GREAT DAY