I am fortunate to have tomorrow - Veteran's Day - off and wanted to do a special blog dedicated to our active, retired and deceased military thanking them for giving selflessly of themselves to serve our country and protect us. I don't know about you - but I am a patriot through-and-through and proud of it. I bleed red, white and blue. At one time my cousin Jana and I had talked about joining the Marines when we graduated from high school but since I graduated a year ahead of her we never pursued it....and I'm not sure how serious we really were about the Marines. But there are times looking back - that I wish I would have joined the military - but that wasn't God's plan for my life and that's ok.
Not much can infuriate me but this sure can........not respecting our National Anthem when it's being played and/or sung. I don't care what you are doing but if you are at an event where the National Anthem is being played and/or sung - you stop what you are doing, stand, take off your hat/cap, find the American flag so you can look at it and be quiet during the anthem - no if's, and's or but's. End of story. It's optional to place your hand over your heart (sometimes I do and sometimes I don't) and it's optional to sing along - I usually do.
The rest of my blog will be devoted to thanking specific military personnel that I either know or they are kids of my friends. If I forget someone I apologize, I don't mean it intentionally.
Family:
Gerald Hill (my uncle)
Casey McFall ~ John McFall (father-in-law) ~ Jim McFall (Mike's brother) ~ Roy McFall (Mike's uncle)
Might as well be family - I have known these guys forever:
Dennis D (Big Bro) ~ Jim D (Poncho) ~ Jack D (Pa D)...two sons and a dad and three different branches of the military
WDM PD in no particular order :)
I miss celebrating the Marine's birthday at the PD hearing From the Halls of Montezuma played VERY LOUDLY over and over and over (once a Marine, always a Marine)
Dale B ~ Travis O ~ Bill S ~ Bernie T ~ Steve H ~ Jeff L ~ Joe T ~ Shawn M ~ Larry R ~ Tom T
Friends:
Cindy F ~ Isis S ~ Lincoln R (3rd generation Army dude :) ~ Chuck L ~ Shanon M
Kids of Friends:
Chad B ~ Sarah F (went into the military this summer) ~ Caleb L (went to boot camp within the past two weeks) I think I've probably just shown my age.....boot camp....I mean basic training right :)
Blast from the Past from the church in Urbandale:
Dean T (I remember the night the church prayed for you/over you before you went to Vietnam) hope Mom and Dad share this with you
Special thoughts and prayers to the Iowa Reserves that were just deployed to Afghanistan. This is the largest Iowa troop deployment to date - and it's right before the holidays.
Man, when I started listing names in my head it seemed like I had so many more names than this - I know names will pop in my head starting right after I hit the "publish post" button. Again, I apologize to anyone I miss listing above.
Three "military-like" things on my Bucket List if I had a Bucket List:
1. Tour an active air craft carrier and watch planes take off and land! The flight deck is so awesome.
2. Tour a submarine - a big submarine.
3. Fly in any type of fighter plane and have the pilot put the plane (and me) through the maneuvers!
