Remembering and Honoring

The Moving Wall is in town, and opened today as part of the Welcome Home Operation that Vegas is having this weekend as part of our local Veteran Day events. I took the oldest kids to go see it, and to let them get their own rubbings of my uncle's name on the wall. The name of the wall is so perfect... yes it is mobile, and therefore it moves, but it moves the spirit as well to see those rows and rows and rows of names. I don't know if I will ever be able to take my kids to DC to see the Mall and let them see the real wall, so for now this will do. I told the kids that I hope someday they can appreciate what they are seeing here, and Matt said "We do appreciate you bringing us." I told him that I meant someday I hope they will really appreciate the significance of what these names mean... that they were all soldiers who died in one war.. that they are the sons, brothers, and friends of Americans... that there are so many more who aren't listed because they came home alive, but not unharmed. And that they are only a portion of the Americans who have given their lives in the last two hundred plus years in service of our country.

As I was talking to them and helping them get their rubbings, I had no idea a news crew came up behind us and started filming us. I turned around and the reporter asked if she could interview me for a moment. I am sure I am going to hate the way I look and sound, but if you want to see it, we will be on the local cable news channel (6) at 7 tonight, and then on the local WB (channel 12)newsshow at 10. She asked me if I thought we had done enough as a country to make up to the veterans of Vietnam for how they were treated. I don't like questions like that. I can be thankful for our veterans and current soldiers. I can appreciate the sacrifices they make every time they don their gear and leave behind home and family to protect the freedom and liberties we have in our own country and work to provide it for others. I can teach my children that part of their civil duty is to respect the men and women who have honorably served our country. I can be patriotic, I can support our troops at all times, and I can thank them when they come home. But can I make up for the past, especially for a past I wasn't even alive in??? Can we as a country make up for the past??? I don't know. I do know that we have come a long way in appreciating our troops in general as a country. I know that our Iraq vets aren't coming home and being spit on in the streets. I know that I am proud to be an American, and I am proud of our troops, and I am thankful for every single citizen who has ever served in our armed services with integrity, honor, and valor. I can share that with my children, I can teach them that appreciating our armed forces has nothing to do with political affiliations or media agendas, but everything to do with being upstanding citizens. Did my four year old understand all that today? Of course not, but someday he will. Did the reporter understand that? I have no idea. I don't think that was the type of answer she was looking for, so I am curious to see how the report goes.






After we visited the wall, we walked down Fremont Street and saw some of the celebrations. We stopped at the Hummer and the firetruck, where the kids were allowed to explore the insides and take some photos. (They actually had a lot more fun doing that than their expressions relay...LOL)Tomorrow there is an airshow out at the airforce base that I am hoping to get to take them to.

If you are a veteran or soldier who is reading this, my family and I thank you. Happy Veteran's Day.