Today is a very special day for me. In fact it is the most special day of the year for me. My dad was a career military man. He walked out of the tobacco fields of Henderson, NC and joined the Army just in time for the Korean War. He later would serve as an advisor in the Vietnam war and earn a bronze and silver star while in country. He also had a couple of purple hearts as well. I remember well the day he came home for Christmas from Vietnam and we all were so excited to see him.
As time passed by and we all grew up dad rarely talked about his time in Korea or Vietnam. Only when us boys pressed him for details would he open up about it. And the conversation would always end with tears in his eyes and how much he loved his country. He would always say "The only heroes in war are the ones that never came home. All the heroes are still over there."
I remember going to a game with him and during the national anthem tears came down his face. I never said a word. I had a huge lump in my throat and my heart was full of pride just knowing he was my dad.
My dad passed away October the 25, 2000 from lung cancer. He was told he had 6 months to a year to live. He lived five years after he was diagnosed. He not one time complained. Not one time did he say why me. Three days before he died he told me "I have been living on borrowed time for almost 50 years. I got a whole lot more time than those other boys in Korea did. And they deserved it a whole lot more than I did."
When I look at the flag when this day comes around I think of all the men that heard the call and answered it. Of all the young men and women who have gone before and are doing it today. And it makes me proud to know that I am an American. What we have was not given to us. It was paid for with the blood of many that we will never know or never hear about. Freedom and Liberty is not free. Thank God for those willing to serve. They are America.