Sunday, June 5, 2011

Do You Say Thank You???

On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.
Dan Lipinski
 
Today was the town of Redford's annual Memorial Day Parade. It was a warm, bright and sunny day. The high water that the town recently suffered through were all but back to normal. The grass along the route was trimmed, the streets blocked and the crowd about average.
 
The sound of sirens rang out to start the parade. Police in their finest, firefighters who had dressed out their truck with the boots and coat of a recently lost comrade set the path for the honored veterans. They stopped the veterans so they were on the bridge between the American flag and the POW/MIA flag. These old soldiers in uniform stood in this heat as the bugle sounded, the wreath was honored and sent down the recently swollen waters, and the rifle fire filled the air.
 
A lot of people forgot to be quiet as the men and women were honoring those lost. Few knew to stand as their flag was carried by. But one little eleven year old girl knew to do both.  She had her grandfather in mind when she looked at these men. She had heard her mother talk of the war he had fought and how the returning men were treated. She had read books and looked that war up on line. And she had heard many stories from veterans and the widows of soldiers. She stood as the flag passed and was silent to honor the dead.
 
As the soldiers, firefighters, and officers started to pass they noticed the little girl and the sign she had made. She stood out because she was the only one there with a sign. She stood out because she was young. She stood out because she was standing there not waiting for candy, but holding a sign that said "Thanks Veterans" with a small American Flag drawn on it. 
 
She watched the men who were so much like her grandfather and thought of him. They all have stories, like Grandpa tells. They all have wounds they don't share, like Grandpa does. Grandpa may live a couple of states away but he has touched her young life enough for her to know how important it is to say thank you.
 
The marchers were just as touched by this young girl as she was by them. Some pointed her out to others, while others said, "You are very welcome." Even those who weren't veterans noticed and told the girl that they liked her sign. She stood there for the whole parade just be sure she didn't miss anyone. She said that you can never tell for sure who served if they weren't wearing their uniform.
 
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. 
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy
 
 It can be hard to know that we are teaching our children the right things and then they do something to show us that they are on the right track. Our actions are noticed by those who are watching when we don't know they are looking. 
 
The girl watched other people, listened to them, and saw other kids scrambling for the candy. She heard them talk about the school bands, the Girl Scouts, and this church and that. She noticed the lack of remembrance that many showed. She mentioned that the other kids didn't understand what the parade was for. She was told that maybe others that she couldn't see or hear did. She wanted to know if it was talked about in other homes like it is in her's. She was told that it depended on the home. She had many questions by the time the parade was over and the streets opened for traffic.
 
 I am going to ask you a few of those questions for her....
 
~ Do you remember the servicemen and women? 
~ What do you to do to show your gratitude?
~ Do you teach your children about the past wars.
~ Do you know (and teach) the flag etiquette? (She said rules)
~ How do you say thanks?
 
Pray for Peace, Hope for better, and work for love. 

7 comments:

  1. What an outstanding young lady! But then, it's obvious she comes from an outstanding home.
    Generations past and current owe so much more than can actually be appreciated just by watching a parade. Like this young lady, communication, listening, researching and taking to heart, the stories and events of our Veteran's is paramount.
    My father was in the Air Force during the second world war. Both of us are book worms and there were many books on the war in our home while I was growing up. But none of them held stories and lessons and engendered such gratitude as the words that came from my father himself.
    Kudos to all young people, and especially the young lady in this blog who still want to know and who value what they learn.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My kids are still little but they already know Mommy's motto, "Thank a Vet EVERY Chance You Get!" and the older one knows that everything we have that is good about America was brought into being by the sacrifices of our soldiers. I am teaching as they grow, I promise they will know why our Veterans must always be honored and never forgotten.

    Your daughter is a smart and wonderful girl, I am so proud of her! She will grow up to be a fine American patriot, in fact, she already is!

    Thank her for me, and thank you for sharing this great story!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cait,
    i always knew you were an amazing young lady. You have a heart big enough to fit the whole world in and still find room to squeeze in a little bit more. I have always, and continue to be, very proud of you. I love and miss you...mow where are my toes!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Linked to this post here:
    http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2011/06/blog-buffet-open-thread.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. thanks so much for sharing this and Thank You for little girls like this....the special children who will make sure that the upcoming generation have respect, gratitude and compassion.....I am sending the special girl hugs and ask that she shares them amongst her obviously loving, caring and supportive family! xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. thanks so much for sharing this and Thank You for little girls like this....the special children who will make sure that the upcoming generation have respect, gratitude and compassion.....I am sending the special girl hugs and ask that she shares them amongst her obviously loving, caring and supportive family! xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. My kids are still little but they already know Mommy's motto, "Thank a Vet EVERY Chance You Get!" and the older one knows that everything we have that is good about America was brought into being by the sacrifices of our soldiers. I am teaching as they grow, I promise they will know why our Veterans must always be honored and never forgotten.

    Your daughter is a smart and wonderful girl, I am so proud of her! She will grow up to be a fine American patriot, in fact, she already is!

    Thank her for me, and thank you for sharing this great story!

    ReplyDelete

I welcome your thoughts if they are shared with respect and that you understand that we may not agree but we can still share and exchange ideas.