Veteran's Day

I got an email this morning from my friend Joy that was about the men and women who are still fighting in Iraq. They're not fighting a popular war, but just like with the unpopular Korean Conflict and the Vietnam wars, men and women are still fighting and dying and making incredible sacrifices no matter how the war is perceived.

My husband's grandfather fought in World War II as a pilot. He was required to do things that he never imagined he could do. His worst memory was of flying his plane so low that he saw the women and children in the village he was ordered to attack. That story is just one of many he had to endure. He is such a tender man and it's extremely difficult for him to talk about his experiences during the war. He is now nearing his 90's, he is losing his vision and his hearing and he is forgotten by most, but not by us.

We have a family in our neighborhood who at one time had three family members in Iraq. The father and two sons. I have the utmost respect and reverence for a wife and a mother who can have that much strength to endure having her husband and sons overseas fighting a war that is criticized and ridiculed. I have no idea if I could do that and I hope I'll never have to. They have always held my admiration and I'm grateful for the sacrifices that their family has made for mine.

Today is a day to be a patriot and remember all of those who made these kinds of sacrifices for us. It doesn't matter what you think of what is happening over there or who our president is or is going to be. I'll just be grateful for what has been done for me.