I've read this before and it always touch my heart and wanted to share it with everyone
YOU NEVER KNOW HOW STRONG YOU ARE
UNTIL BEING STRONG IS THE ONLY CHOICE YOU HAVE
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 acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the Terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone(well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving 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 immediately 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 asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her.
The young soldier, who 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 daughter's 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 thisto 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.
As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there 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.
We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many American, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Americans
supports our troops.
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.
WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF
THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE.
THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED----
MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD
