DE OPPRESSO LIBER
Official Dumbass
As a veteran, I try to impress upon my kids that for every little thing they get to do without having to think about it, they have someone to thank who gave up their life so that they could be free. I'm not one of those military propagandist-extreme types, I just like to take the one day a year we take to honor those who have died so valiantly and unselfishly to keep our country free and the world free of tyranny as best we can. I don't have anyone in my family to my knowledge who has ever passed in a conflict, but my two oldest kids have a great-great uncle who was killed in France in WWII (I'm told the same battle that was the one in the final scenes of Saving Private Ryan, though the name escapes me).
This is my oldest, Timothy Gerard, 13, who gets his middle name from his grandfather Gerard who got his Uncle's name- the one who died in France.
This was his first time marching on the color guard as a Son of the American Legion. He did well and was proud as a humble peacock!
My daughter, Alexis, marched for her first time as a member of the Ladie's Auxiliary of the American Legion. She is 11 and volunteers at the nursing home with her grandmother. She is standing in front of her Great-great uncles cross on the caisson for the town.
Alexis marching with her grandmother, the one waiving on the left.
And, last but not least, my little mini-me- Jacob, 8, who marched with his little league team. (Throwing candy.)
I am currently deliberating on returning to active duty via OCS (Officer Candidate School), but am completely torn in two at the thought of putting my family through an almost certain deployment. I have given my country 8 years of prior service as an enlisted soldier, but still feel the draw of a sense of duty. Not looking to put my family through that, but just a powerful reminder of those who have gone before me who had given up everything so that I could raise my family in a free society in a way that I see fit- not told.
May God bless our troops and may they all return home safely- and soon. Please pray for those who have come home wounded, both physically and mentally. The scars they bear will be reminders for generations to come that freedom is in fact not free.
This is my oldest, Timothy Gerard, 13, who gets his middle name from his grandfather Gerard who got his Uncle's name- the one who died in France.
This was his first time marching on the color guard as a Son of the American Legion. He did well and was proud as a humble peacock!
My daughter, Alexis, marched for her first time as a member of the Ladie's Auxiliary of the American Legion. She is 11 and volunteers at the nursing home with her grandmother. She is standing in front of her Great-great uncles cross on the caisson for the town.
Alexis marching with her grandmother, the one waiving on the left.
And, last but not least, my little mini-me- Jacob, 8, who marched with his little league team. (Throwing candy.)
I am currently deliberating on returning to active duty via OCS (Officer Candidate School), but am completely torn in two at the thought of putting my family through an almost certain deployment. I have given my country 8 years of prior service as an enlisted soldier, but still feel the draw of a sense of duty. Not looking to put my family through that, but just a powerful reminder of those who have gone before me who had given up everything so that I could raise my family in a free society in a way that I see fit- not told.
May God bless our troops and may they all return home safely- and soon. Please pray for those who have come home wounded, both physically and mentally. The scars they bear will be reminders for generations to come that freedom is in fact not free.
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