Xtreme
Sun Aug 20, 2006, 07:46 AM
From the daughter of a Soldier...
Last week I was in Melbourne attending a conference. While I was in
the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning
to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the
greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their uniforms, as
they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was
abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw
the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it
hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Australian who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.
Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work, and enjoy our home without fear or reprisal.
Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said "hi," the little girl
then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would
try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Suddenly the little girl
grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.
The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney,
told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been
in Afghanistan for 5 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to
tear up.
When this temporarily single mum was done explaining her situation, all
of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the
other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started
playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.
After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back
over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that
he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying
"Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and
he is coming home very soon."
The mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the
young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum.
I was standing no more than 6 feet away as this entire event
unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of moment turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families
and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's
good to be an Australian.
I have a family full of people in the miltary,and it make me a very proud Australian!!
Last week I was in Melbourne attending a conference. While I was in
the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning
to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the
greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their uniforms, as
they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was
abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw
the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it
hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Australian who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.
Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work, and enjoy our home without fear or reprisal.
Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said "hi," the little girl
then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would
try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Suddenly the little girl
grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.
The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney,
told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been
in Afghanistan for 5 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to
tear up.
When this temporarily single mum was done explaining her situation, all
of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the
other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started
playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.
After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back
over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that
he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying
"Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and
he is coming home very soon."
The mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the
young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum.
I was standing no more than 6 feet away as this entire event
unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of moment turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families
and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's
good to be an Australian.
I have a family full of people in the miltary,and it make me a very proud Australian!!