Veteran's Day

I'm not sure I've ever really noticed Veteran's Day before. Yes, I remember being in church growing up and seeing all the vets stand up, and I remember getting the day off school when I was younger, but that's all it really was. It didn't mean anything to me. This year, it does.

This year, many of my very close friends are veterans. I saw them go off to Iraq in April of 2008. That summer, I went to my first military funeral. I waited, writing letters and e-mails and sending off care packages for 15 months. I prayed for them, hoping they would all come back and dreading that they wouldn't. In May and June of 2009, I was there to hug them when they got off the bus in Baumholder - and to go to a few more funerals.

Freedom isn't free. We hear it all the time, but I understand that so much more now. I have friends who lost dear friends in Iraq, and I've seen the hurt it causes. I've seen the pictures and heard the stories and seen the videos that they bring back. I've seen the effects of the nightmares, and seen the tears. Freedom isn't free - it costs lives.

Even without paying the ultimate price, every soldier has given up a part of their life for ours. Today is the one day we have set apart to thank them. To let them know that we remember them, and appreciate them.

So, thank you, all you who have served, from the bottom of my heart. God bless.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALS7wRSN0Gw