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For All Who Wear The Uniform

When The Music Stopped

June 25, 2010 17:45 by admin

(For those who are unaware: At all military base theaters, the National Anthem is played before the movie begins.)

This is written from a Chaplain in Iraq:

I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom at all military bases, we stood to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going well until three-quarters of the way through the National Anthem, the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and yell for the movie to begin. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here in Iraq, 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again and the Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. But again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would you expect 1000 Soldiers standing at attention to do?? Frankly, I expected some laughter, and everyone would eventually sit down and wait for the movie to start.

But No!!... You could have heard a pin drop, while every Soldier continued to stand at attention.

Suddenly, there was a lone voice from the front of the auditorium, then a dozen voices, and soon the room was filled with the voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off: "And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

It was the most inspiring moment I have had in Iraq and I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you.

Remember them as they fight for us!

Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our soldiers serving us here at home and abroad. Many have already paid the ultimate price.

Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins, LSA Anaconda is at the Ballad Airport in Iraq, north of Baghdad.

(Received and unverified by ThankYouSoldier.com via email ... that being said, real event or not ... I'll bet this WOULD happen and should encourage the Patriot in all of us!)


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Veteran's Day Is Just One Day A Year?

November 12, 2009 19:21 by admin

I'm a bit upset ... or maybe just a bit confused? Let me explain. I love our Veterans, our Heroes who have worn the uniform of this great country and faced down the "bad guys" time and time again through history. I'm thankful for opportunities like yesterday (Veteran's Day) when we can take a minute to show our appreciation.

But shouldn't the sentiments last for more than just one day? Let me direct your attention to the image below which details site visits for our ThankYouSoldier.com and Blog site. Now I don't normally pay too much attention to the traffic we get on our sites. We never started this site for promotion but rather to show our support for our troops and to simply say "Thank You Soldier" for all they do and the sacrifices they make daily.

That being said, this was too extreme to no be noticeable. We get a lot of hits each day on our sites, but yesterday being Veteran's Day, we saw literally hundreds more visitors flood our pages from search engines using phrases like, "how to thank a soldier", "letters to soldiers", or "thanking our military". Shouldn't these be daily searches? Shouldn't our desire to show our appreciation to our deployed men and women in uniform be something on the front of our minds rather than simply stirred up by a national holiday?

Listen, we have men and women who bravely defend freedoms 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Don't wait for a holiday to try and figure out how to say "thank you". Tell them now! Do your searches, find the cause that suits your needs ... or simply shake a soldier's hand the next time you see them out.

And if you need an idea or two, we're here:

Hero Packs Project: http://www.thankyousoldier.com/heropacks.html

Letter Writer Project: http://www.thankyousoldier.com/lettersproject.html

Never let any of our Heroes wonder if they are being remembered back at home! You can make a difference and you CAN do it today.

And just so you know ... we're back at "normal" levels today.


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