Early in the morning of September 12, 2001 I remember waking up in the middle of the night, in the dark. We lived close to the city at the time, and there was never a time we could not hear traffic, and airplanes overhead, not even at 3 in the morning. But this morning was different. There was not a sound… no traffic, no planes from the airport… not a sound. I can never remember, before or since, such a stillness. And as I lay there praying, I heard the sound of a military jet high overhead. Thank you, whoever you were. God bless you.
When I was 9 or 10, I remember my Dad taking us to the parade. I remember being so excited by all the soldiers, their guns, and the jeeps, and the tank, and the flags. I didn’t really understand then, what my Dad had to say about these soldiers fighting and winning the war for us. Thank you, whoever you were. God bless you.
In 1970, I met a man who had just gotten back from Viet Nam. I do not remember his name. But I remember watching his face as he sat at my kitchen table and told us of the fear, the excitement, the pain, the loneliness, the confusion. And I will always remember the look on his face when he came up to the memories he wouldn’t tell us about. Thank you, whoever you were. God bless you.
In our many trips between Boise and Seattle, we go by the Yakima Firing Range. Many times we’ve seen the troops there, in humvees, in trucks, in helicopters… training. On our last trip, we watched an A-6 flying down the river near Tri-Cities, low and fast. The freeway there is on the side of the foothills, so we were above the jet. He was travelling in the same direction and when he was a couple miles ahead of us he laid it over hard, banking and turning to the right, and came back towards us. My heart was pounding as he roared over us. Training. Thank you all, whoever you were. God bless you.
And earlier this year, an appointment took me across town, and the route I chose took me past Cloverdale Cemetery. It was a sunny day. And there, amidst the graves, was a family, surrounded by friends, and many soldiers. It was the funeral of a man who had given his life for us in Iraq. I do not know you, or your family. But whoever you were, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
I would hug you all, if I could. Thank you. And may God bless you ALL!
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