It's OK. It's a good reminder.
Posted on 11/14/2007 9:06:07 AM PST by mountainlyons
Red Shirt
If the Red shirt thing is new to you, read below how it went for a man...
Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together.
After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.
No, he responded.
Heading out I asked?
No. I'm escorting a soldier home.
Going to pick him up?
No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq , I'm taking him home to his family.
The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days.
I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.
Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.
&nbs p; "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back ho me to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign."
Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.
So here's a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do.
Red Friday's.
Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red e very Frid ay. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority." We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing.
Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that .. every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar, will wear something red.
By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, i t will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.
The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is. "We need your support and your prayers." Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something red every Friday.
This has been around a long, long time.
Thanks for the reminder. I don’t want to forget or get complacent.
I got something similar, except it asked me to wear blue to work on Friday.
I suppose I could wear blue pants and a red shirt . . .
What happens when I am supposed to wear yellow (as in yellow ribbon) to support the troops, though?
Very touching story, and believable as this story is nearly identical to what happened with a local soldier whose service my wife and I attended. There was a small cadre of soldiers who brought the fallen hero home, and one of them acted as the liason for the family in much the way this Marine did in this story. Prayers up for the families of those who have fallen, and for the soldiers and their families who continue to fight today.
Oldy but goody.
As a vet, I’ve found wearing a ‘US NAVY VETERAN’ ballcap, or a ‘CV62, USS Independence’ ballcap does the job very well.
Whats different today from say....1981 when I was discharged, is how the teens act when they meet me in various circumstances.
‘Your a Vet? Thats so cool!’ from a young lady not long ago waiting on my table in a proverbial ‘greasy spoon’.
‘You were in the Navy? I’m thinking about joining it or the Marine Corps right now. Can I ask you some questions?’
(No, I don’t dissuade them from becoming a jarhead, although I might tell a joke or two in jest bout you children of the ‘Green Machine’).
Despite what you hear in the media, folks, its been my experience there has been a huge ‘sea change’ in how our population views members, and Vets, of our military, for the better.
In January of 1981 (January 7th to be specific) I was called a ‘Baby Killer’ while deplaning in Frisco, prepping for the ride to Travis AFB for a flight across the Pacific.
This year, 2007, I watched as people APPLAUDED troops deplaning at Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and again in Las Vegas’s airport. I’ve seen strangers pick up checks for three soldiers ‘enroute’ home or to war in multiple airports in the past three years.
I’ve seen kids, maybe eight or ten years old walk up to soldiers, tug on the sleeve, and say ‘thank you’.
Gives you hope about the future...at least it does me.
Welcome to FR brother!
Let’s hear it for the “Redshirts” ...
Nope.
Most likely he would have stated “... No. I’m escorting a Marine home.”
It seems odd that a Marine would be handling this task for a fallen soldier.
It's OK. It's a good reminder.
This is what sets off the BS meter. The Marine would have said he was escorting a Marine home, not a soldier.
see:
http://www.mises.org/store/Mises-T-Shirt-Red-P203C0.aspx
Roger that.
Thanks for posting this, makes one wish we could get something going, that would show our support.
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