Touching Lives More Than We Know

I am still "processing" my feelings about something I just discovered online but wanted to share it through the tears in my eyes.

I had gone to the site for the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans event which we attended in Branson this past June. One of the features on the site now is stories and messages written by people who were there. It is not just a free for all of people posting anything they want to but you have to submit your story, have it reviewed and they post only those they feel deserve sharing.

Some of you may have read my account of the Veteran's parade that Gary participated in...but somehow reading about it from someone else's viewpoint hit us REALLY HARD...here is how the story was told by the wife of a veteran from Wisconsin:

Where do I begin. I am the proud wife of a United States Marine that served in Vietnam from 1966-1967. Nothing can begin to compare to the wonderful time we had in Branson, MO in June while attending the Operations Homecoming U.S.A.

The parade was awesome, nothing like I have ever seen before in all the parades that I have watched my husband march in. There was a women across the street from where I was watching the parade that constantly was cheering and yelling, "Welcome Home, We are so proud of you". People hugging these vets as they came down the parade route was a site that will long remain in my memory. Boy let me tell you, I had tears during most of that parade.

One very touching experience for me happened during the parade. There was quite a long break in the parade and everyone was wondering what had happened. All of a sudden up over the hill came a group of veterans. In the front was a vet that was walking with two crutches. He had apparently walked the entire parade route and seemed to be determined to finish that parade. I looked around our area of spectators and I didn't see a dry eye anywhere. That man received a well deserved route of applause as he walked by. That is a site I will never forget.

Well, (look at the picture collage on my blog header) that man on 2 crutches who had such an impact was my dear veteran husband, Gary, and he walked the full 1.7 miles of that parade. He would tell you though that he walked it not for himself but for his comrads. He also was "moved" by the support of the other 6 or 8 veterans of the 101st Airborne who moved alongside him protecting him throughout the entire route. Once they finished the course, he turned around to thank them for their support and found they had all disappeared.

About 45 minutes later, Gary entered a restaurant nearby and was further humbled by the sound and sight of the entire restaurant of people standing and applauding his determination, accomplishment and service to our country.

Let's each one of us make sure that we do not wait even 35 days (instead of the 35 years the Vietnam Veterans have waited) to welcome home and thank our current soldiers and veterans who have stayed the course for us and our country !