Veterans

 Tonight I would like to tell you about a man named Donald Bradley. Each night he goes to bed in a VA hospital....missing his wife of 50 years. He can't walk anymore....but he used to jump out of planes. He can't make his own food anymore, but he used to be able to open a MRE with his teeth. He can't care for himself anymore....but he used to do things for our country that we only read about in books. He missed months out of every year of his girls lives...because he needed to. His wife spent her nights alone in a bed, virtually a single mom, just praying...praying that her husband would come home. His daughters prayed for their daddy in their prayers each night, and listened intently for the sound of his boots in the hallway and his bag hitting the floor. His daughters grew up overseas....American girls in school in Greece, Germany...and wherever they were stationed. He served in the Korean War...and went on countless missions we will never know about.  There is another man named Mitchell Mitch Moss , I must tell you about. He was in the Persian Gulf War. Then he met Dawn at her daddy's church in Germany...like turned to love....and years later here they are in Chattanooga with 3 kids...and...a lifetime of service to our country. Then the Twin Towers happened...and Mitch had to go...not 1, not 6....but 15 months away from his family. Birthdays that he is not in the pictures for. School events that can't be relived....a wedding anniversary celebrated by a party of 1. I remember hearing my friend cry...torn between the incredible fear she may not see her husband again....and the insurmountable pressure of being a single mom.  On this Veterans Day, I would like to say a tearful and humble thank you to Donald, his wife Patsy Ann, his daughters Beth Ann and Sue Ann. I would like to thank Mitch, Dawn...and their children Bradley, Madison and Hailey. Bradley Moss sacrificed having his daddy home for Christmas....so my son Michael Brown could celebrate Christmas in freedom. I have so many special people that I know and love who have sacrificed for my freedom. Deyanira Stephen Lambert live right down the road from me....they sacrificed for me, too. I wonder if you are thinking, "Wow, she is so self absorbed, she thinks they did that just for her?" My answer is yes.....yes I do think they did it just for me. I am an American, and they sacrificed just for my freedom....just for your freedom. You see...they don't go to war and decide, "Aw, well, there's not as many people as there used to be....so we really shouldn't fight for our country anymore". One American is the same as 5 million Americans....and all of us, according to our soldiers, are worth dying for. The Americans that hate God, and the ones that believe we are one nation created under Him. The Americans in prison, and the ones that have never broken the law. The Americans that talk badly about our country, and the ones that love it. You see we all represent something...freedom. That freedom has cost many a mom and a dad to miss special days with their families.....but they believe our freedom is worth it. I thank them for that. I don't deserve their sacrifice....and I could never repay them....but I love them and my children are being taught to love them. They may not wear capes....or have the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound...but they are the real kind of heroes...the kind Iron Man and the Avengers only dream of being.