The Daughter Of A Soldier

  Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference.  While I was in t
e airport returning home, I heard several people behind me begin to clap and ch
er.  I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patr
otism I have ever seen.

  Moving through 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 t
eir feet with their hands waving and cheering.

  When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them being applauded and cheered f
r, it hit me.  I'm not alone.  I'm not the only red-blooded American who still
oves this country and supports our troops and their families.

  Of course, I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung he
oes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to sch
ol, 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 th
 male soldiers.  He kneeled down and said, "Hi."

  The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her Daddy for he
.

  The young soldier (he didn't look any older than 22) said he would try, and a
ked what she wanted to give her Daddy.

  Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the
iggest 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, tol
 the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 mo
ths now.

  As the Mom was explaining how much Courtney missed her father, the young sold
er began to tear up.  When this temporarily single Mom was done explaining her
ituation, 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 Cour
ney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your Daddy and he told me to g
ve 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 yo
 that he loves you more than anything and he was coming home very soon."

  The Mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldi
r stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her Mom.

  As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed th
ir applause.  As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very fe
 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.


----

Now there are some of you out there who would follow the example of Jane
Fonda and condemn even the above soldiers, JUST because they're
soldiers.

If you do, you're a sick evil SOB deserving to be dressed up in a brown
shirt & speak only German!

Yes, there are arseholes in the military -- hate THEM!!!

Most of those you really hate are the administration, not the poor
victims in the ranks. . .

Most in the military are there because they want to protect YOU, not
because they want to kill women & children!  Or torture ALLEGED
suspects! (under orders, BTW!)

You're not throwing away your idealism of a war-free world by praising
the noble goals of the enlisted folks. . .

Praise them for their willingness to take risks on YOUR behalf, and save
your anger for those who actually earn it!

I, too, long for a world without war, but I know we won't get the world
we want by merely giving in to bullies!

(Did giving up your lunch money without question or fight ever lead to a
better school experience for you?)

Didn't you admire the one person who had the cojones to stand up to the
bully, ending his reign of terror?

Whatever you think of Bush, Cheney, & friends, that's not related to the
average man/woman in the troops!



Because I care,
|<+]::-)  (Cyberpope(the Bishop of ROM!))


--- PPoint 1.76