My Son returning from Afghanistan in 2011. He took the flag photo in the title word art. The words Patriotism, Sacrifice, Courage and Dedication are written on the red stripes of the flag. The word sacrifice is also in the journaling.
Uses Made in America Collection by Connie Prince and Template Picture Perfect 64 by Aprilisa (modified).
Journaling reads:
I have to say that I get a little annoyed when people refer to sports figures as Heroes. While I agree they can be quite amazing and talented, my Hero is prepared to give his life for others. My Son is in the Army and I consider every member of the military a Hero. They are prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms. In August of 2010, my son began his second tour of duty in the Middle East. The first tour was to Iraq and this one was to Afghanistan. He could have opted out since it hadn’t been that long since his Iraq tour, but Tim loves his country and knew he needed to be responsible to his Unit and do the right thing. We went to the send off celebration where the Commanders promised the families that the Unit would be home before Thanksgiving 2011. Over a year later, at 8:30 pm, on the eve of Thanksgiving, we waited at the Armory for our men and women to come home. They were flying into a private airfield and were to be bused to the Armory so we couldn’t welcome them at the airport. The Armory sits up on a hill and we all gathered in the cold, wind and dark to wait. Pretty soon we began to hear the whup whup whup of helicopters! Even today, my eyes are welling up! I looked toward the highway and saw three helicopters with their search lights shining on the buses they were escorting home! I immediately burst into tears… how cool was a helicopter escort for our Heroes? As the buses got closer, we realized that the Patriot Guard (motorcycle military group) was in the lead, a flag on each bike, bringing the buses toward us. And another flood of tears erupted and I haven’t even seen my Son yet! Then it got kind of funny (in retrospect). The buses both started to unload and we had no idea which one Tim was on. We are all very short and could not find him. My Daughter in Law finally yelled “Where is my Husband?” Tim heard her and followed the sound. I think we were the last ones to connect with our soldier! More tears and hugs and pure joy ensued. At last, my Hero is home; safe and sound.
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