In Memorium

Memorial Day Weekend is nearly here. I was hoping to participate in a blog hop with a group of authors from the publishing company I signed with, but I'm a stop on a blog tour for another author, and I can't be in two places at once, at  least, not on one blog. So I decided to use this blog in an unofficial and unknown salute to the men and women who have sacrificed their lives so that I may enjoy the many freedoms that are available to me. It won't get much traffic, and it won't be promoting my novel, but it will serve its purpose.

Twenty years of my husband's life was devoted to the military, and to protecting our nation. I followed along whenever I had the opportunity and the permission of Uncle Sam. There were long periods of time when I had to stay behind because of my health. The year he spent in Korea was like that. That was the longest separation we experienced as a married couple, although there were many that lasted several months. Difficult doesn't begin to describe it, especially when I couldn't even manage to tie my own shoes. 

But would I have kept him at home with me when so many others depended on him to be ready for anything and to be willing to give his all if it was required of him? No. He's not that kind of man. I can't recall the number of times he has said he would gladly go again if he were called. 

Even though he has left me when duty called, I was never left alone. The most amazing trait that the military instills in our soldiers, I believe, is the sense of brotherhood. And even though I know there are many female members of the military, they are a brotherhood. They support each other, and each other's families, as equally important and equally loved. The service members have this mindset and use it in such a way that they are assured, even if they are halfway around the world, that someone is looking out for their families.

It's important to remember every day that a soldier will lay down his/her life for us. But it's also important, at least, for me, to remember that they will do whatever it takes along the way to make the life of their fellow humans a little easier. That's one of the reasons they can go off to battle and leave their loved ones behind. They know that the others who have gone before them, and managed to return, will be looking out for their families until they return. I hope and pray that each one of them has the opportunity to return. 

Thank you from the deepest depths of my heart to every service member who has sacrificed for another.