militarymoms

Yesterday, for the second year in a row, I drove my daughter to Emmitsburg, Md., for a dance event.  This event coincides with Rolling Thunder, the annual tribute paid by bikers to our nation’s missing and captive veterans.  As we drive north, we watch literally hundreds of bikers head south to Washington, D.C.  It’s always a thrill to see so many bikers converging on our capital city - and Rolling Thunder is proof that our citizens can bring attention to important causes if they unite their efforts.

We’ve lost so many good citizens in our nation’s wars, and today is their day.  I wrote last week about ways to celebrate Memorial Day.  And, make no mistake, each person who gave his or her life for the U.S. is indeed a hero.  They deserve far more from us than a moment of silence.

Since I married the military, the world has truly become smaller to me.  Whenever I hear about a natural disaster, for example, I automatically think, “Who do I know there?” because I usually do know someone.  I think that’s why I ache whenever I read about our soldiers dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I don’t know them personally, but I am connected to them in ways that spouses of civilians can’t really understand.  Perhaps I know their friends, or I know someone who served in their unit, or I know someone from their home town.  They’re part of the extended family to which I’ve belonged for almost 23 years.

Please do something special to honor our fallen heroes today.  Most importantly, share this effort with your loved ones, especially your children.  Teach them to honor our heroes, to visit their gravesites, to salute the flag they died to protect.  Today is not about sales and barbecues.  It’s about people who gave everything to keep us free.

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