A few weeks ago I had an amazing honor. I went up to Washington to watch with a good portion of my family as my cousin took her oath of office and was officially commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
I might be pretty good with words but there's no way to describe how proud I was of her in this moment. It was hard to hold back tears as her dad, also in the Air Force, saluted her for the first time. Here she is, a beautiful, smart, accomplished twenty-one year old, graduating college with a bachelor's of science and going straight into the military as an officer.
There were eleven officers being commissioned and it occurred to me what an amazing thing this is. That these eleven young people are not only willing to serve but willing to lead. They will head into the military knowing that they may be called upon to lay down their lives for our freedom. Not only that but they know that they'll be leading others who may be called upon to do the same. And they're willing to take on all that entails.
And why? Why do they do that?
Sure there's the fact that the military helps pay for school and it gives you job training, etc. That's not a reason to risk your life though. I believe that they do it for same reason so many people join the armed forces every day, because they believe in this country, they believe in our freedom and they believe in defending those things. Even if it means at the expense of their own lives.
This coming week as you celebrate Independence Day remember my cousin, the other young officers, and our military personnel all over the world, past and present. They are the reason we get to be free.
Today I just want to say thank you to them and their families for the amazing sacrifices that they make to keep the United States of America the home of the brave and the land of the free.
Happy Independence Day everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment