received this in an email.... sometimes i don't open this stuff cuz it's not worth the time. i'm glad i opened this one. fair warning, it'll tug at cha.
dad was a navy vet. he served as a pilot on one of the carriers in WW2. he always gave a knowing nod to other people he noticed either served or was serving in our military. i picked up that habit without realizing it until now..... if i pass a soldier in uniform and the situation presents itself, i'll try to catch their eye and say thank you.
back when desert storm was happening, my brother was serving-- as an air force pilot. for the longest time we weren't allowed to know where he was or what he was doing. i'll never forget the day mom got the call that he was coming home. even via the telephone, i could tell it was the first day in way too many that mom became herself again.
when mom called, it took no more than an hour for her to arrange getting us flights to go meet him. of course actually meeting him would take a couple of days as they had to get home from the other end of the world, but for heavens sake, those plans were made in an hour! i don't remember why dad didn't make the trip with us..... but i remember the flight we took was some red eye and i was very pregnant with my youngest son.... mom and i travelled with my two oldest children who were 3 at the time! i laugh when i recall getting them on their first flight and buckled in. they had no idea what was going on and they were sooo tired! god was with us that night as there was no screaming or tantrums..... the flight went with ease as did the cab ride to the hotel. my we musta been a sight to behold-- a pregnant lady with two 3 year olds and their gramma trasping around an airport at 2am! if people saw this today they'd probably think we were hiding from the law!
when we got to the base to welcome our troops home the next day, families were everywhere and it was quite the experience... pictures in the video you'll see made me remember this in vivid detail. people every-freaking-where! i'll never forget when the first planes were spotted..... they did a sorta fly-by thing and tipped their wing saying hello to those waiting on the ground. i've got goosebumps remembering this now...
when my brother got off the plane-- course he was the last one off being the pilot.... jeez, the waiting! ... the twins were jumping up and down "uncle dot, uncle dot!" and my pregnant body attempting to chase after them so their tiny bodies wouldn't get lost among the masses. tears.... oh my gawd, the tears from my mother's face.
bear with me-- i'm wiping tears right now.
ok... so i'm reliving that. i'm also reliving dad's funeral... there are a couple of pictures in the video that adequately show how i felt the day we buried him. how quickly that pain comes back with pictures. presenting the flag, the military personnel assigned to work the service, the feeling of honor and horrid sadness when taps played on that horn.
not kidding when i said the video will tug at you.... it did me, for my own reasons, you see. the person who created this video is a young lady all of 15 years old. for a brief 5 minutes, i had faith in our nations future while reliving some stunning memories of my own past.
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Beautiful and heart wrenching video. I too remember the flag draping my fathers casket.
By the way, my dad was a navy pilot on a carrier in WW2. I wonder if they ever knew each other.
Hey Kat, my dad was also a Naval pilot on a carrier. He wa also a test pilot for the Navy. It would have been cool if all three of our dads had crossed paths at some point. Such brave guys they were....
I try to say thank you too. They don't expect it but it really means so much they lay their lives on the line for us and our freedom. God bless every one of them, past and present.
Thank you for sharing the video with us. I will be sharing it with others.
Post a Comment