Honor Your Family Members Who Serve or Have Served

Yesterday we commemorated the 67th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day and honored those who were at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, especially those who died in service to their country on that day. We honor our Veterans on Veteran's Day and those who have given their lives throughout our history while serving in the military on Memorial Day. But how many of you are aware that on the third Saturday of every May we as citizens are to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country on what is knowns as “Armed Forces Day”? Not many, I guess. Why am I bringing this up in December? Unfortunately, we Americans, including our government, don't do enough to honor the current active duty and reserve members of our military. Why isn't the Armed Forces Day celebrated? Do you ever hear anything about it? Well, that's a topic I will discuss in more detail next May.

For now, I would like to honor those in my family who currently serve and have served our wonderful country. We all should take a moment to do the same. The sacrifices they make are many. We civilians get to choose where to live, whether its due to the beautiful scenery, the job we applied for or the schools for our children. Our service members go where they're told. We civilians usually get a good night's sleep, a home-cooked (or restaurant-cooked) meal and time to lounge in front of our large-screened LCD or Plasma TVs. Our deployed service members work all day on a few hours sleep, eat packaged meals (although some say they are tasty) and don't get to sit in a recliner to watch the 25th season of Survivor. And some of them make the ultimate sacrifice by laying down their life to help shield a buddy from a grenade, an IED or bullet.

We thank in general our military during the above-mentioned days, but do we ever thank our family members personally? I am sure many do, but my wife and I want to take this opportunity to thank ours publicly:

Active Duty
Brother-in-law, Lt. Col., USAF, F-16 Fighter Pilot and Commander of his Squadron
Nephew, 1st Lt., USAF, AC-130U Gunship Navigator

Veteran
Father, USAF
Step-Father, USMC
2 Uncles, USN
2 Uncles, USA
Grandfather, USA & USAF
2 Great Uncles, USN (both at Pearl Harbor)
Cousin, USA
Cousin, USMC

Thank you for your service. You make this country strong and proud. I invite all who read this blog entry to thank their family members who are serving or have served by adding a comment.