Memorial Day

Being that I have never served in the armed forces, it is difficult for me to write a fitting tribute, but it's important for me acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice our men and women have made for us.

A few years ago, I was standing in line at the airport while a soldier in civilian clothes stepped up to the ticketing counter and realized that his flight was canceled. He pleaded for some help and explained that he had to catch a connecting flight that was heading to South Korea or he would have to wait several days for the next one. The ticketing agent gave him a sympathetic look, but could do nothing.

Calmly, but stearnly, the guy turned around and called out, "Is there anyone here that can give an Army guy a seat to Seattle so I can make it to Korea? I can't repay you, but I have to get there."

Before he could even blink, an older lady in front of me standing at about 4'11", looked up at all 6'2" of this man and said, "I will gladly give up my seat, and you have already paid us back a thousand times over," and then told the ticketing agent to put her on the next flight out. The man hugged her and ran off to his gate; on his way to stare at a mined line across the Korean Penninsula with a muderous son-of-a-bitch and his 500,000 man army standing on the other side.

I'm so thankful for this man and the hundreds of thousands of others that have left their homes to protect us--those to whom I could never adequately repay. They sit in their trenches, taking great risks that could cause them to either come home missing body parts or in a body bag, so that I can spend my summer watching baseball games with my friends in peace. They eat MRE's and enjoy perks like a rare fresh shower, so that I can stuff my face in the world's greatest restaurants with a bottle of wine. The depths of gratitude that I owe these people is without bottom.

I want to thank all of our troops, for enduring the 120-degree heat in Iraq, or the mountainous terrain in Afghanistan, while dodging car bombs and IEDs, so that an entire generation of people will experience the freedom that none of their forefathers did. That you have exceeded expectations in upholding our country's ideals in the face of the most extreme pressure under the nose of the perfidious ones who want to see them fail. The world is being changed for the better as a direct result of what you have done, and I stand amazed, and completely humbled.

Thank you, thank you and thank you.