A Special Thank You...

[Teresa]

To all soldiers.............We Salute You!

Thank You...............

[Teresa]

First  year cadets at the Air  Force  Academy  are allowed to leave the Academy without penalty up through the end of  first-year Christmas break. Those who came back were assigned to write a paper on why they chose to return. Here  is one young cadet's masterpiece, which has begun to be widely  publicized...
____________________________________________________

Why  return  to the  Air  Force  Academy  after  Winter  Break?

So  after our sunburns have faded and the memories of our winter break have  been reduced to pictures  we've  pinned on our desk boards, and once again we've exchanged T-shirts and  swim suits for  flight  suits and camouflage, there still remains the question that every cadet at  U.S. Air Force Academy  in  Colorado Springs has asked themselves at some point: Why did we come back?  Why, after  spending  two weeks with our family would we return to one of the most demanding  lifestyles  in  the country? After listening to our 'friends' who are home from State or  Ivy League schools chock  full  of wisdom about how our war in Iraq is unjust and unworldly, why would we  return? And after  watching  the news and reading the papers which only seem to condemn the military's  every mistake and shadow every victory, why would we continue to think it  is worth the sacrifice of a normal  college  life?

Is  it because the institution to which we belong is tuition-free? Anyone  who claims this has forgotten that we will, by the time we graduate, repay  the US  taxpayer  many  times over in blood, sweat, and tears. Is it because the schooling we are  receiving is one of the best undergraduate educations in the country?  While the quality of the education is second to  none,  anyone who provides this as a main reason has lost sight of the awesome  responsibility that awaits those who are tough enough to graduate and  become commissioned officers in the  U.S.  Air Force.

I  come back to the Academy because I want to have the training necessary so  that one day I'll have the incredible responsibility of leading the sons  and daughters of America  in combat. These men and women will never ask about my Academy grade point  average, their only concern will be  that  I have the ability to lead them expertly; I will be humbled to earn their  respect. I come back to the Academy because I want to be the commander who  saves lives by negotiating with Arab leaders... in their own  language.

I  come back to the Academy because, if called upon, I want to be the pilot  who flies half way around the world with three mid-air refuelings to send  a bomb from 30,000 feet into a basement housing the enemy... through a  ventilation shaft two feet wide. Becoming an officer in  today's  modern  Air Force is so much more than just command; it is being a diplomat, a  strategist, a communicator, a moral compass, but always a warrior  first.

I  come back to the Air  Force  Academy  because, right now, the United  States  is fighting a global war that is an 'away  game'  in Iraq  - taking  the fight to the terrorists.

Whether  or not we think the terrorists were in Iraq  before our invasion, they are unquestionably there now. And if there is  any doubt as to whether this is a global war, just ask the people in  Amman,  in London,  in Madrid,  in Casablanca,  in Riyadh,  and in Bali.

This  war must remain an away game  because we have seen what happens when it becomes a home game... I come  back to the Academy because I want to be a part of that  fight.

I  come back to the Academy because I don't want my vacationing family to  board a bus in Paris  that gets blown away by  someone who thinks that it would be a good idea to convert the Western  world to Islam.

I  come back to the Academy because I don't want the woman I love to be the  one who dials her last frantic cell phone call while huddled in the back  of an airliner with a hundred other people seconds  away from slamming into the Capitol  building.

I  come back to the Academy because during my freshman year of high school I  sat in a geometry class and watched nineteen terrorists change the course  of history live on television. For the first time,  every  class currently at a U.S.  Service  Academy  made the decision to join after the 2001 terror  attacks.

Some  have said that the U.S.  invasion of Iraq  and Afghanistan  only created more terrorists... I say that the  attacks of September  11th, 2001  created an untold more number of American soldiers; I go to school with  4,000 of them. And that's worth more than missing a few frat  parties.

Joseph  R. Tomczak Cadet, Fourth  Class  United  States  Air  Force  Academy 

(U.S.  Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colorado) had Cadet Tomczak's essay read into the  Congressional Record, and at a meeting of the Air  Force  Academy  Board of   Visitors  he presented Cadet Tomczak with a framed copy of the  essay.)

[Bonnie M.]

I salute the young man!

[Teresa]

Her hair was up in a pony tail, her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school, and she couldn't wait to go.

But her Mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home
Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees ... a dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats.

One by one the teacher called each student from the class.
To introduce their daddy, as seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching, for a man who wasn't there.

Where's her daddy at? She heard a boy call out.
She probably doesn't have one, another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say,
Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day.

The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique.

"My Daddy couldn't be here, because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be, since this is such a special day.
And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy, and how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories, he taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite.
We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him. I'm not standing here alone.

Cause my daddy's always with me, even though we are apart
I know because he told me, he'll forever be in my heart."

With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere there in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years.
For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her, doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud.

"I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here, but heaven's just too far.
You see he was a soldier and died just this past year
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy and taught Americans to fear.
But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away ...........
And when I closed my eyes, I'll see him there today. "

And to her mother's amazement, she witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,  who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,  they saw him at her side.

"I know you're with me Daddy,"' to the silence she called out.

And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with doubt.
Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed.

But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining star.
And given the gift of believing, that heaven is never too far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There must be many children in the same boat as this little girl. Thanks
to our servicemen and their families for the sacrifice they are making to
keep our country free. May God & the Angels Hold each one of them. 

[Judy Harder]

Amen