Posted on 02/17/2005 4:53:37 AM PST by tsmith130
Edited on 02/17/2005 5:18:32 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Mod note: One for the troops! Bumped to BN for more exposure.
(AgapePress) - Rick from Winona, Mississippi, called my state-wide talk radio program this week. Sometimes, you get a phone call that ought to be read in the broader market.
On the program that day we were discussing the report that some Europeans were disgusted with the Super Bowl commercial of American soldiers getting applause in an airport. The critics thought it too extreme in its patriotism and a possible incitement to further war.
At any rate, Rick (he asked us not to use his full name) called to talk about his experience coming back recently from the fields of war. His words (and they are worth your time reading, only lightly edited):
"I heard you talking about the Super Bowl commercial. I'm a Marine, a re-con Marine. I just got back from overseas, the second week of December, actually. I was injured overseas, so that's why I'm home now.
"But the whole time I was [there, in recovery] we watched the news to see what's going on. And we saw the protests, and we saw what the media was saying about what's going on, and we were worried about what we were actually going to face when we came home. We didn't know what to expect, to be honest with you. From the news media we were seeing, the whole country was basically telling us we're a bunch of jerks.
"I thank God that the troops that are there don't see the news coverage. I thank God every day, because there'd be ten times the number getting killed, just because it would so un-motivate [sic] them.
"Back to the story: there were seven other soldiers that came home with me that day. We flew into JFK, and we were talking on the way back: What's going to happen? What will we be facing? Is it going to be like the Vietnam era, are there going to be people spitting at us?
"We didn't know. We had that much trepidation about it.
"We get into JFK, we step out of the breezeway into the main terminal, and directly in front of us was an elderly gentleman carrying a bag. And he immediately stopped, set his bag down, and the first thing we all thought was, 'Oh, Lord, here we go already.' He just stopped and looked at us for a second, and then tears came to his eyes and he saluted us.
"And -- I'm breaking up now [editor's note: with tears] -- every one of us just started crying like babies. Everybody in the terminal -- I kid you not, at least two to three hundred people -- just started clapping, spontaneously. To me, it was so much worth what we were doing, to realize that people over here actually get what we were doing. We weren't over there because it's fun. We're over there doing a job.
"When I saw the Super Bowl commercial, I just started bawling like a baby again because that was something totally unexpected. We had no idea that people actually appreciated what we're doing, from what we see on the news. We thought we were going to come back and get eggs thrown at us. It was so refreshing to know that what we were seeing on the news is just a bunch of garbage that's being concocted by the media, that 99.9 percent of the country doesn't believe that way.
"I have a couple of more months of recovery. I got hit with a concussion and have some internal damage, but I'm feeling up, doing well, and hopefully I can get back over there with my boys."
It caused some tears in this talk show host's eyes to know there were tears in his. Appreciation, smiles, handclaps -- they can go a long way when a nation is at war, regardless of what the media and some Europeans might think.
Matt Friedeman (mfriedeman@wbs.edu) is a professor at Wesley Biblical Seminary. Respond to this column at his blog at "In the Fight."
Just think,,we have a whole generation of young men who are serving this country, putting their lives on the line, seeing their buddies getting killed and being applauded.
Mark my words, this generation of soldiers is going to come home and MAKE A DIFFERENCE. They may be the best hope we have. Keep applauding.
I just showed my 5 year old son the Bud commercial (thanks for the link), he asked me why I was showing it to him-I told him because I Never want you to forget what these people do for us. He said (God Bless him) "I know".
My son told me about the wonderful reception that some of the guys received at an airport when he went home on his 2 week leave during his first deployment.
I'm flying out to Colorado this afternoon. I hope I see some of our men and women in uniform at the airports. They derserve a heartfelt "thank-you & God bless you".
Great observation and great comment.
wow!
Bump for our current troops and all former/retired military members everywhere. Thank you and may God Bless you all abundantly.
bttt
Maybe they will enter politics and get into the House, Senate, etc. It would sure be good to retire many of those claiming to be Congresspersons and leaders. It would be nice to get rid of the whole bunch of wooses---because both parties seem to keep electing them.
"Tissue alert!"
Oh, golly! Couldn't you have put the alert in the title? My tissue was half soaked by the time I got to your alert.
God bless our troops!!!!!!!
I always try to shake the hands of troops I see in uniforms these days, remind them that I did it once, now it is their turn, and then, if I can, slip them a $5 to pay for coffee or something.
I'm happy to hear this. Unfortunately in the Nations Capitol this isn't always the case. I have a client who is an officer in the military and works at the Pentagon. He never wears his military uniform when he has to take the metro into DC. Why? Rude comments from the lefties that get on between Silver Spring and Takoma Park metro stations. I am still shocked to hear this sort of thing.
Yay!Bump / ping!!!
Please add me to your lists
Our troops are the best.
"On July 3, 1970 I was one of about 200 soldiers, airmen, and Marines on a DEROS flight from TSN via Yakota to Travis AFB."
Thank you for your service to our country. Welcome home.
I know someone has a link and I did a quick search and couldn't find one. People on one the superbowl threads would be a good place to start.
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