"Oh Beautiful for Heroes Proved...

In liberating strife, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life."
I can't sing these words at church without tearing up. It's the third verse of America the Beautiful and I think the reason it always gets to me is our family is very steeped in military history. Our very first ancestor to the US, came as a Hessian, having been hired by the British Army to return lawfulness to the colonies. It didn't work for him and he ended up joining the North Carolina militia. I have family members that served on both sides of the Civil War. Having dug through my family history I found my great-grandfather's draft card for WWI. My own Granddad was a marine in the South Pacific during WWII. It's amazing that he survived Okinawa to later start a family. The last time I saw him, we spent several hours discussing his service. It was the best visit I had ever had with him. He's the handsome young man in the photo.
My dad was a kid in the military during Vietnam. He served his tour doing some pretty scary stuff. He was a forward air controller. He has told us stories of crawling through the jungle near the enemy in order to call in airstrikes and then running like crazy to get away from the bombs that were coming.
My baby sister carried a weapon on the deck of her battleship the night of September 11th and shortly afterward sailed for the Gulf. Her ship was the last battleship to go through Yemen before the USS Cole was struck. She said there were reports that the terrorists had used their ship for reconaissance.
My big brother has gone over several times to fix planes in Afghanistan and Kuwait. He has called me a few times on his way home from school, going on to the base, only to report that he has to end the call, they want to search his car. This one has caused me several giggle fits at the thought of my brother, in his Corolla, with all of his military insignia being a cause for alarm to the MPs.
All of these things have caused me to be more patriotic than most. I am grateful for all of those who serve, to make our country safe, protect our freedoms and provide safety for those in the world who need it most. So, on this beautiful day of Independence, remember those who have provided these wonderful freedoms we enjoy! And have a great day.