AMERICA

This post is not about cab driving or a sporting event. The following was sent to me and I would like to share it.



Will you give this to my Daddy?

As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support
'Red Fridays.'

Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference.
While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several
people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately
turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of
patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their
camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well
almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their
hands waving and cheering.


When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being
applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm
not the only r ed-blooded American who still loves this
country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for
these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives
on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work
and home without fear or reprisal.


Just w hen I thought I could not be more proud of my
country or of our service men and women, a young girl,
not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male
soldiers. He kneeled down and said 'hi.'


The little girl then asked him if he would give something
to her daddy for her.


The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22
himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to
her Daddy.. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck
of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster
and then kissed him on the cheek.
The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name
was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a
Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom
was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her
father, the young soldier began to tear up.


When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her
situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief
second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a
military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with
the device and talking back and forth on it.

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked
back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I
spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He
then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave
her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your daddy
told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and
he is coming home very soon.'

The mom a t this point was crying almost uncontrollably and
as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney
and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from
this entire event.


As the soldiers began to leave, heading towa rds their gate,
people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding
and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including
my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness,
turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling
down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their
families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At
the end of the day , it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people
wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support
our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no
longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and
home in record breaking numbers.


We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no
liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our
opinions.. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends,
simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America
supports our troops.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with
dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and
every Friday until t he troops all come home, sending a deafening
message that.. Every red-blooded America n who supports our men
and women afar will wear some thing red.