The Nicest Thing...

[+Dave 2,322]

My wife and her unit were doing NCODP today and one of the things they were doing was a trip to the USAF Museum. Sheila asked me to give them a tour of the museum (being a USAF History SME) and to educate these young soldiers on the mission of the USAF and its early beginnings. So I got into uniform and met Sheila's unit (about 20 soldiers in all, an her OIC) there. We were walking around I was showing them things, explaining, doing typical educator type stuff. We walked over to the early WWII section of the museum and we just got past the Pearl Harbor section when out of the blue this kid about 5 years old walked up to me and said. "Thank you for your service sir." It was the cutest and one of the nicest things I have had happen to me in awhile. I have had lots of people do that to me before but this time it was different. So I gave him sharp salute and said you welcome and he walked off. As he walked off, I got kind of choked up. Sheila asked what was that about and I explained it to her.

 

Reminded me why I serve my country.

[+JSF_Aggie 1,291]

Good stuff.

[topcat II 6]

Very cool and yes we do Thank You!!!

[Ruggbutt 45]

this kid about 5 years old walked up to me and said. "Thank you for your service sir."

Those parents rawked! I'm glad that you had something as wonderful as that happen to you Dave, you've sacrificed one hell of a lot.

 

Have you seen the vid on YouTube that had the 6 y/o Belgian kid dressed in a Highlander uniform? The Canuck soldiers were marching by, the kid snapped into salute, squad leader shouted "eyes right" (the kid was on the right). It was beautiful.

[Viper6 3]

That is Great! I'm glad you got to experience 'that feeling' that makes it all worth while.

[Syrinx 13]

Very nice, this is the kind of thing I like.

 

Whenever I can, but it's usually around poppy-day (unless I meet them as part of my job working with elder citizens) I like to personally thank the old servicemen as I put money in their collection boxes. You can see the look of surprise and then incredulance that someone like me would personally say thankyou to them. I'll be honest, I get a bit teary eyed when I do it. Sounds silly but it's true.

 

It's nice that you can make someone feel good just by saying a few kind words, just to let them know that all they went through, and for the ones who didn't come back that there are people out there who do appreciate what they did and show their thanks.

 

Dave, I can just imagine that your face was a picture, the same expression as some of the guys I mention above.

[+streakeagle 871]

When I joined the Navy in 1989, I was sent to boot camp in San Diego because that is where most of my schools would be.

In that time frame, going off base in a uniform drew all kinds of negative attention.

Almost every other car that passed you by while walking would shout some foul words and/or derrogatory remark.

In one case, I was doing shore patrol duty and walking the outside fence perimeter with a club and a radio... I had eggs thrown at me.

There was even someone making a hobby out of putting a laser-scope red dot on patrols at night, which the real base police were dying to catch but never could.

I would guess that about half of the people doing the harrassment were other sailors.

 

By November of 1990, I was stationed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard (near San Francisco) on the USS Richard B. Russell (SSN-687).

I was sent back to San Diego for another school.

I was eating at a fast food burger place off base with another sailor from my ship in uniform when an older lady came up to us.

Desert Shield was on the verge of turning into Desert Storm and she just wanted to thank us for serving.

That was a radical departure for me.

Someone in San Diego showing respect and courtesy to uniformed servicemen?

It was as if the first war in Iraq undid the damage done by Vietnam and Korea.

Those in the military were appreciated and supported like they had been up to post WW2.

 

Unfortunately, the lingering Iraq/Afghanistan situation that very much parallels the never-ending struggle against insurgents in Vietnam seems to be helping the pendulum swing back the other way.

I feel sympathy/empathy for those still serving and bearing what is a much heavier burden than the twilight of the cold war that I served in.

 

<S> to those who have served, are serving, and will serve.

21-gun <S> to those who didn't come back and won't ever come back.

[FalconC45 162]

My wife and her unit were doing NCODP today and one of the things they were doing was a trip to the USAF Museum. Sheila asked me to give them a tour of the museum (being a USAF History SME) and to educate these young soldiers on the mission of the USAF and its early beginnings. So I got into uniform and met Sheila's unit (about 20 soldiers in all, an her OIC) there. We were walking around I was showing them things, explaining, doing typical educator type stuff. We walked over to the early WWII section of the museum and we just got past the Pearl Harbor section when out of the blue this kid about 5 years old walked up to me and said. "Thank you for your service sir." It was the cutest and one of the nicest things I have had happen to me in awhile. I have had lots of people do that to me before but this time it was different. So I gave him sharp salute and said you welcome and he walked off. As he walked off, I got kind of choked up. Sheila asked what was that about and I explained it to her.

 

Reminded me why I serve my country.

 

Sweet. Hope I'll see you tomorrow at the TATTOO :)

 

Falcon

[Silverbolt 104]

Good Stuff

i just wish i was visiting some USAF's Museum now *.*

[+ST0RM 145]

Nice story Dave. Glad to hear that there are a few people left that actually bring their children up to appreciate the military.

[Fubar512 1,350]

Thanks for sharing that, Dave.

[Nesher 628]

great story Dave...

 

in Israel it's very common for people to walk to soldiers and greet them in a way

it happened to me many time

warms your heart to see that people care and respect you when your in uniform..

 

hope every serviceman and servicewoman will have the pleasure to be greeted and respected as they deserve

by the people of their country

 

<S>

[sparkomatic 7]

has the USAF museum hired you yet? maybe you can claim squatter's rights?

[DWCAce 19]

Guess that's another kid i can put into the 'won't be an idiot' category :)

[ONETINSOLDIER 2]

Very nice, this is the kind of thing I like.

 

Whenever I can, but it's usually around poppy-day

 

Not tryin to toot my horn,I used to live down the street from the cemetary in Santa Rosa, Ca , and every year, the crew there did a sloppy job of placing the flags at the headstones on memorial day.(proper placement is one bootlength from marker) I sectioned off a piece of my back yard, naming it flanders field and grew poppys for the ww1 headstones. I would sneak down there before sunrise and straighten all the flags and distribute the poppys. It was the LEAST I could do for them. Your comment on poppy day brought that back,

And thank you, Dave.

~S~

[+Jarhead1 27]

Not tryin to toot my horn,I used to live down the street from the cemetary in Santa Rosa, Ca , and every year, the crew there did a sloppy job of placing the flags at the headstones on memorial day.(proper placement is one bootlength from marker) I sectioned off a piece of my back yard, naming it flanders field and grew poppys for the ww1 headstones. I would sneak down there before sunrise and straighten all the flags and distribute the poppys. It was the LEAST I could do for them. Your comment on poppy day brought that back,

And thank you, Dave.

~S~

 

 

Gwar, thats good to go, thanks for doing that, more people in our country need to remember our veterans. When I see someone that I suspect is a vet, I go up to them and thank them for their service. Then they usually turn it around and ask me if I am in and then thank me for mine, lol, but I havent done ANYTHING CLOSE to what our vets have before.

[Alexander51 3]

Outstanding Dave! Thank's for sharing this

 

<Snaps to attention and salutes smartly>