Musings of a Patriot's Daughter

Many of you have heard me speak of my father, of how he and my mother adopted me as a small red headed baby, how proud of I am of his life's accomplishments and his dedication to his hometown, but I don't know if I ever shared that he served his country in WWII as a paratrooper with the 13th Airborne division and over 50 years later lives each day, a proud American.

It hit me the other night as I was visiting my parents at their local Lion's Club family night how much patriotism filled the room. Before each meeting the Lion's club begins with The Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer. Looking out over that room filled with past Vets and people who genuinely care not just about their community but their country was humbling. To think of all this group of people had seen and experienced within their lives and still picked themselves up and began again when times were tough was an inspiration to me, especially when it comes to my father.

For although my father is now 87 years old and hindered by arthritis, he still maintains a strong sense of loyalty and love for his country. He speaks of times when he was a paratrooper with a mixture of nostalgia and realism that cuts to the heart and belies any Hollywood movie depicting the glories of war. Because it was not always glorious. The truth is as my father has often said, "People died. I saw friends I trained with die and I lived with the knowledge there was nothing I could do to help them." But yet he continued to go on day after day, because he was a Paratrooper first and most of all because he was an American serving his country.

I was raised to be grateful for what this country has given us and for the sacrifices veterans such as my father have given for the good of our country and I am proud to be an American. The intensity of this pride hit me not only when I visited the Lion's Club family night and witnessed some whom have served their communities for over 50 years, but when I recently visited an M-P school and was invited to say The Pledge of Allegiance with the students. To say it was a moving moment for me would be an understatement, for but a brief moment it connected two generations and gave me hope for the world and times before us.

A simple pledge taken to heart by so many Americans young and old is one that I genuinely believe we all should implement within our lives every day. What is to stop us as Americans to begin our day, despite our jobs or where we are to take a moment and pledge our allegiance to this country that has done so much for us. For in doing so, we are not only showing our pride of country, but we are also demonstrating for all to see that we are proud to be Americans, something I think it's time we begin to bring to the forefront in our lives and in this country as well.