military pride

“So, both of your parents are in the military?” inquired my friend Cathy. I turned to her with an earnest expression on my face and responded “yes they are.” She stared at me with a remorseful look. “Must be hard not having your parents around, worrying if they’ll get back safely, or if you’ll receive that knock on your door.” She paused for a second. “So why are you proud of your military family?” I gazed deeply into her eyes so she could not only see, but feel the pride I had of my parents serving and protecting our country. With great fortitude, I began to inform her about the past and how it changed my view forever of military life.

The year was 2003. I jumped slightly as my parents called for me to join them at the dinner table. I sat down at the table and started to say grace. I noticed that something was wrong because my parents were staring at me. I dropped my fork and placed my hands on my lap. I waited for them to say something. “Kendra, you know the war in Iraq has started,” stated my mom. I nodded, thinking in my mind what this had to do with them, since they had just come back from Korea less than a year ago. “Well,” she continued, “your dad and I have been given orders to deploy, him in February and I in March.” I immediately began to cry.
I could not withhold the emotion that was held up inside. I had heard so much horrific news of soldiers dying in Iraq. My dad looked at me with a frown on his face. “Why are you crying? We’ve been gone plenty of other times before. We are American Soldiers and must do whatever it takes to defend our country,” He looked towards the ceiling and continued “Even if it means dying in honor of this country.” I looked over to my mom for her to make an objective comment to this statement, but her face was as stern as his. I slowly dried my eyes and smiled. I thought if they could have that kind of attitude, I could too.

For their entire deployment, I stayed with my aunt. Being an only child, my parents and I have a close relationship. Encouragement and words of affirmation were the key ingredients to maintain my positive attitude. I watched the news constantly and of course every now and then, I’d get worried. When I received their phone call, however, I knew everything was o.k. They had returned twelve months later and our family bond was stronger than ever.

“So you see Cathy, I’m proud of my military family because of the dedication, honor and valor they provided for their country. They are inspired by great heroes before them and I am inspired by them, because they are not only America’s heroes, but mine as well.