Posted by
Darth Duke on Monday, July 09, 2007 3:55:15 PM
A REAL FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION
This year, my wife and I flew back to my hometown in Nebraska for the week of the fourth. We did some of the typical holiday things like going to a picnic on the beach of Lake Mac (everyone there calls it that partly because it's full name is too hard to spell or pronunce right); watched fireworks in Ogallala; and checked out the local art shows.
Two days after the fourth however, we were privilaged to witness a celebration of what this holiday is (or should) be really about. Blake, one of the hometown boys who had served with the Army for 25 months in Iraq, had come home and his parents threw a big community Welcome Home party at their house.
We got there a little early and had a chance to talk with Blake while the family was putting the finishing touches on everything. We were just sitting around shooting the breeze, nothing formal or anything. I hadn't seen him for several years and he sure has grown up. He's not the scrawny little kid with the mullet running around the local pool anymore.
We talked a little bit about his experiences over in Iraq. He was very relaxed and talked quite plainly about it. His unit spent most of their time guarding a water distilling plant that the Army used to prepare and distribute water to the soldiers and even some to the surrounding community. He said everyone he came in contact with was either friendly or indiffrent but none were hostile toward him. The whole time he was there, his unit of 2000 men only lost two. One had a truck accident and drowned in an irrigation ditch before anyone could get him out. The other was blown up by a roadside bomb.
He and a couple other guys spent several months manning a Comm station on the Iraq border. Noone bothered them and all they had to do was keep the equipment running. They lived in mobile home-like barraks with air conditioning that worked most of the time. His training was in communications and electric systems. Now that he's back home, he's going back to the Union Pacific Railroad depot in North Platte, NE.
He's home more or less for good. He still has a couple of years left of National Guard duty where he will have to train every so many weeks during the year for two more years. He could be called up again, but said it was unlikely. He's a typical guy in his 20's but he does have a good head on his shoulders and I think he'll do really well at the railroad.
It was really neat to see a large number of his friends and neighbors come over for the picnic and talk with him. Talking with him and seeing all those folks getting together reminded me of what this country is really all about. It's not all the doom and gloom and politics you hear on the news, it's about sacrificing your time and possibly your life for your country. It's about friends and family being able to have fun together without having to worry about anything bad happening. It's about the freedom we have to have picnics, fireworks, car shows, fairs etc. Few other countries in the world enjoy the amount of free time, cheap food and safety that we have.
I'm very thankful to our patriots both past and present who have given their all so that we can enjoy the only truly free republic in the world.