4th of July

Fireworks from Camelback Mountain. 

Sitting out on my Great Aunt's patio. 

Nice breeze 

Much cooler

and 

Great company... my mama! 

Veterans day video

"It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country, in defense of us, in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray haired. But most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives—the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us. And all we can do is remember."  Ronald Reagan

Thank you to those who have served and still serve. 

Thank you Dad! I miss you tons. Ultimately, you gave your life for this country. You have always and will always be my hero! xoxox

USMC

Happy 237th Birthday to the 

United States Marine Corps!

Memorial Day

This year, Memorial Day has a new meaning for me, for some reason. It's not a day I want to celebrate, it's a day I want to remember. Remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. It's a day to remember those who have gone to a foreign land, to fight for freedom, never to return home. My dad came home but he lived with the war every day of his life. 40 years later, the war won and I lost my father. I am thankful for the fact that I had so many years with him because there are many who don't have the time that I did. Memorial Day is for those men and woman who are true hero's and for those of us who grieve the loss of our loved ones, for our freedom. 

Veteran's Day

I started to blog on Veteran's day, because that is what I usually do. This year though, the day was hard. It's a day that I would call my dad and wish him a Happy Veteran's Day. I cried on my way to work that morning.

Here is a great tribute to our military men and women.... and I am proud to be the daughter of a USMC Recon!

Memorial Service for my dad

On Sept. 24, I had a memorial service for my dad. For me, it was not the traditional, go to the funeral home type service. It was held in my mom's backyard. I rented a 30x30 tent with tables and chairs for 90 people. We had centerpieces and food for after. I spent hours working on a video to share with family and friends. I planned it to be perfect, just for him. I guess in my mind, it represented how much my dad meant to me. It started with me getting up to thank everyone for coming. The problem was, I did not write anything down to say. Every time I went to write, my mind went blank. I had rehearsed over and over what I would say, what I wanted to say, how I would eliminate some things, add something else. There was just so much and I couldn't get it down on paper. Oh, I have sheets of paper all over from my flights to go up there over this year, the flights on my way home, notes or thoughts while I was up there, and obviously this blog as well. So, after I started my thank you's and after the nice neighbor across the street stopped the landscapers (yes, right when I got up to talk, they appeared behind my mom's backyard brick wall to trim the oleander's,). They were nice enough to stop though... so back to the service. I thanked people and left some out (ughh... I knew that would happen, it's IMPORTANT to write things down for situations like this!!!) the Marines entered for the full honor guard.

My entire life, I had imagined this service. When I was little, I would tell my dad that I wanted the flag and even as I got older. I never thought the day would come though, that I'd be accepting a flag in honor of my dad's service to this country. The ceremony was... I don't even think I know the words to describe it. It was somber, beautiful, sad, respectful, amazing. I am so proud of my father, he was an amazing man who accomplished his dreams. He had no fear, he protected his family and loved them with all he had. He was a true friend to so many people. Ones that I can count and go to for advice, because my dad was the man he was. Honor, Courage, Commitment, Integrity, and Respect.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial....
My entire life, I was intrigued by the Vietnam War. I have come to realize it was what tied me to my father. My dad was in the 5th Force Recon {Marine Corps} and was in Vietnam from 1968-1969. The stories he has told me throughout my life and him not living in Arizona made my obsession with this war, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Agent Orange. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to go to Washington, D.C. to see The Wall. This first photo was my first view of the Wall. I cannot even explain my emotions. By the time I found the Wall, I had already seen the Washington Memorial, WWII Memorial, Reflecting Pool, the White House, and had been lost through the streets of D.C. for about 4 hours. But this, this memorial is why I started my adventure that day... to see the Wall, by myself, and feel the emotions I knew I would have. I envisioned seeing flags, letters, teddy bears, letters, but nothing was left next to the wall that day; however, wedged between two panels was this braclet "Bring them Home Now".
The reflection of the Wall is amazingly beautiful... but the amount of names listed is unbelievable. In my research, I found "The latest names added in 2010, brought the number of names on the black granite Wall to 58,267" and "the Memorial is dedicated to the 2.7 million men and women in the U.S. military who served in the designated war zone".
As I walked down past each panel, it was a bittersweet feeling. A feeling of being thankful to these men and woman for the sacrafices they made for us. A feeling of saddness that children grew up without their fathers/mothers because their names were now on this wall because of their sacrafice. Anger for this war taking something from the young soldiers who fought, for those who live still today and are still suffering from this war that ended 35 years ago. Anger at how the soldiers who did come home were treated. It makes me sick to think that people spit on them, looked down on them, that our own government did not accept that there were issues these men and women came home with. When my dad came home from Vietnam, he filled sandbags and put them around his mom's house to protect his family from the enemy. He was 21 years old when he came home. When I was younger, it seemed like he was "such a man" for going off to war but as I grow older, I realize, he was just a kid.

My father, after 40 years, still suffers from PTSD and has medical conditions that have come from the war (medicial conditions due to Agent Orange). Even though I am very blessed, and my father survived the war, after all these years, the war is killing him. That makes me angry! We think that when the soldiers come home, we are lucky. They are alive and hopefully, there will not be medical conditions later due to chemicals but because of the chemicals our government sprayed on the foilage in Vietnam during this war, my father is dying. He's not alone either.

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.
Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.
And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."
~Major Michael Davis O'Donnell1 January 1970Dak To, VietnamListed as KIA February 7, 1978

Veteran's Day... 2009

Thank you for your service...

Appreciate

Hey peeps!

I have a request for anyone wanting to participate. My friends brother was wounded in Afghan. He is back in the states and I know it is hard to acclimate back to the civilian world. I would like to get letters together (a paragraph or so) of thanks and appreciation for him. Even if you have young ones to draw pictures for him, I think that would be fantastic!

I think it is important for him to know there are those of us who appreciate what he has done.

I would like to collect them by the weekend. If you want to get involved, let me know. I will come pick the letters/drawings up or you can alway email me with them too. I would be happy to print things out.

This is just a way to give back to a man who sacrificed his life for us to sleep peacefully at night.

Thanks all!

Veterans Day

To my dad and all the other veterans:

Thank you for serving.

For sacraficing your life so I have freedom-

Freedom to say what I want

Freedom to make my own decisions

Freedom to vote

Freedom to walk down the street and hold my head high

because

I am

American!