Home of the Free, Because of the Brave

Happy Independance Day!!!

Steve and Jean have the title of this post on a sign in their sun room. Every time I read those words I swell with pride for my husband and all the men and women who have made those words come to life.

I thought this poem was very fitting for today. I made sure that I sat down with Drake, Ashtyn, and Dade and talked about what the true meaning of the Fourth of July is, not just the carnivals, parades, and fireworks. We talked about how 232 years ago our brave soldiers fought to give us our freedoms, just as Brent and all his comrades are doing today. Thank you, everyone, for your support of him and of our family. It means to very much!

And Brent...You know how incredibly proud I am of you! Thank you and make sure you tell everyone there how much what you guys do truly means to us here at home. I love you more every day!

Servicemen

I watched the flag pass by one day,

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Man saluted it,

And then he stood at ease...

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud,

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,

When everything was still,

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That Taps had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin.

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free.

Enjoy Your Freedom & God Bless Our Troops