God Bless the USA

About half my lifetime ago, I was sitting in my dad's car being an arrogant teenager. (Okay, so a little more than half my lifetime ago...alright.) My dad was in northern California and I was a little far from my mom and my friends, and where I called home.

I was suffering from the normal teenage angst...boy A didn't like me, boy B did, I didn't like boy B, boy C and I both kinda liked each other so we kept in touch through letters (way before email) and I was all too worried about where I shopped, what I wore, and how I looked. (If I had only known then that several years into the future it would take twice as long and twice as much make up to look half as good, right?)

So I remember my dad going off on what I thought was a useless tangent about memorial day and what it meant. He talked about the different wars, and seemed to focus on the Vietnam war. My dad was a career military officer...a pilot in the Army...and had worked his way up the totem pole where a lot of people liked and respected him. He never served in the Vietnam war, or any conflict for that matter, but I'm sure the reality that he might have to, clouded his life in some way. At any rate, as he was telling me about the Vietnam war, he began to ask me if I knew why it happened or when. He asked me if I had studied it in school and I think I "lovingly" snapped at him with a typical teenage "I don't know and I don't care!"

Well, let me tell you that what ensued was probably the most passionate conversation or should I say lecture that I ever experienced with him. We did not and still do not have a real close relationship. I mainly feel that it is because my parents divorced and when I had to choose who to live with, I chose mom. (Kids should never have to make that choice...especially preteen girls who have many biological reasons for needing to be with mom!) I don't fault either of my parents for this, it is what it is, but I understand that the defining straw in my relationship with my dad was simply that I chose to live with my mom. I wish that he could understand that by choosing her I wasn't rejecting him, but I guess I will never understand his pain either. His military career took him to various other states after the divorce, and although I saw him a couple of times a year, it affected our relationship.

The reason I share that personal blurb about our relationship was to explain to you how I was impacted by his "lecture." I think as kids we always look at our parents from our own narcissistic points of view. We think they were born and bred to be put on this planet as our parents and we often can't see them as much else.

That day, I saw my dad as a truly passionate American. I saw him as a really dedicated serviceman. I think I also saw a little history professor and politician in him too.

He pulled the car over, and in response to my arrogant "I don't care" said to me:

"Young lady, a lot of people not much older than you fought and died for our country so you could sit your pampered little butt (he didn't say butt) in school and not care."

Ouch. I got his point. He made several others in the course of that conversation, but the first one, was the most powerful to me. It is the statement that said, "This is bigger than you sweetie pie...you need to show some gratitude."

He wasn't mad at me, but it was personal to him. He had lived a life rich with military experience wherein he knew that his own life could be taken so that our freedoms could be protected. He voluntarily signed up for that and made it his life's work. I don't think he cared if other people were ignorant about it, but I think he wanted me to be fully aware of something that meant so much to him. After all, I was his daughter. A daughter of an Army Major.

To this day, those words resonate with me from time to time. I sometimes forget how privileged I am (we are) to live in this country, to be protected by strangers who love this country even more than I do, and to enjoy the freedoms that I enjoy.

Because of a soldier, I can:

* Pray to God at home, in church, and even at school, or choose not to.
* Congregate peacefully to object to something like abortion or have one.
* Choose not to carry a weapon, or be thankful that I can.
* Sleep peacefully in a house instead of a bomb shelter.
* Go just about anywhere I want.
* Go to work or school and not ever think about what is happening in other countries.
* Be ignorant of the battles fought throughout history, question them, or simply learn about them.
* Send my husband off to work, instead of war.

There is so much more, but as we enjoy our Memorial Day Weekend, I just wanted to share those thoughts with you all. Even the soldiers who haven't "fought" the wars, have helped win the battles.

Thank you to our Nation's Armed Forces, past - present - and future, and thank you to my dad.

Major William Thomas West, Jr. You have taught me a lesson that lives on in my heart and will continue to live on in my children.

"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free...and I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me...and I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, because there ain't no doubt I love this land...God Bless the USA!"