I remember it like as if it were yesterday.
She was three when I went away.
For all purposes, I wasn't suppose to go.
My military unit was assigned to stay home.
I volunteered to go with my sister battalion,
Not because I was a wild buck stallion.
One reason was the ten men taken from my battery
to fill all of the other units that had vacancies.
Another reason was to stand by my middle brother,
while the youngest could stay home to protect mother.
I truly never knew if I would return home safely.
All I knew were the soldiers before me who fought bravely.
I never claimed to be a hero then and I certainly don't now.
I went for many reasons and made it back home somehow.
I am a person who knows the cost of freedom isn't free.
Now I have had the pleasure to have seen my daughter turn twenty.
I rarely ever talk about the time I have spent in the 1990-91 war.
As a matter of fact, my family knows little as you now know more.
...please put your politics aside and hug a soldier today!
It is he/she that allows us all to be who we are in every way.
Inspired by the picture and my real life. My daughter was three when I volunteered to go to Desert Shield/Storm. It is true that I went for many reasons. Many of my friends and relatives were praying that I wouldn't have to go since I already had a brother over there. Can you imagine their shock when I told them that I volunteered? It was very hard to tell my fiance'. It took awhile to explain to her why I did it. She was probably the person who prayed the most for me not to go (as I think she said them like three to five times a day). I had an officer leave my battalion to go to my sister battalion a few months before the war. He asked me to volunteer for he wanted my field of expertise in his section. I was never much on officers, but I had the utmost respect for him. I will admit it was a twenty minute conversation concerning the situation. At first I told him he was crazy if I was planning on volunteering. That's when I started thinking not about myself, but the other people I might be able to help. The ten men that filled the other units from our unit; I would be in a position where I could visit them all and make sure they were treated in a good way. You maybe thinking why wouldn't they? We were like outsiders for we came from another unit to help make theirs complete. It's like being the new kid on the block.
I won't go in to detail about the things concerning the war. All I will say is that if you have never left your county where you reside, then please get out more. This is why I appreciate life and treat every day as a blessing. This is why I also suggest to praise others more than to put them down. I have never understood what is gained by doing something like that to someone. I guess I try to find the good in everyone. I know it's not completely possible, but I still like to think it can happen. I'm an Optimist and not a Pesimist.
I don't regret volunteering at all. It has made me a better person today. Remember one thing about a soldier if there is nothing else you take from one; a soldier is the last person who seeks out a war, he/she is only a defender of one.
I just witnessed my daughter turning from a teenager to twenty a few days ago, but she will always be my little girl just like the day I left for war.
I guarantee you it is the same for the dad and his daughter in the photo (which has been my prompt). #5) "A Kiss Goodbye" picture prompt.
Gold trophy winner
Adding your comment:
Ted E
I never knew Julie was only 3 when you left and voluntered !
