Wednesday, November 11, 2009

This Special Day for Veterans...

Hi friends! I'm slowly getting the hang of this "blogging" thing. As a computer "avoider" it is a struggle, but I want to start blogging at least once a week to keep a record (be it ever so slight) of our life.. so here goes! 

I want to thank my parents for so many things, but today I'm reminded of their love for learning. They are constant in their example and always taught us that learning does not end in the classroom. Life is your classroom, and you should never pass up the opportunity to learn something new. Thanks for that, Mom and Dad! 

So... today I decided to learn more about Veteran's Day. While a nice day for a holiday, (and a day out of school for those of us who teach) it is so so so much more than just that! Started originally as Armistice Day by former president Woodrow Wilson on November 11, 1919, this was a day to celebrate the end of World War I. In 1943, an Emporia shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand the day to encompass all veterans, not just those who fought in World War I. Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing the word "Armistice" with "Veterans," and it has been known as Veterans' Day ever since. 

So much for the history lesson, I just thought that I would let you all know what I'd learned! What a privilege and honor! What an amazing day! To be able to celebrate the men and women of our country who have chosen to spend their lives protecting the very freedoms that I so often take for granted. I am thankful... thankful to the point of tears. Thank you so much veterans... for all that you have done for this country, and all that those who follow you continue to do in our armed forces!

I especially want to say thank you to two very special people:

My Granddaddy who I never knew - The Honorable Judge Edgar Harrison Agnew - for bravely serving with The Mighty Eighth Air Division during World War II, and

My wonderful Uncle Colonel Clyde O'Neal Westbrook, II (who is like my granddad) - for his amazing life serving in the United States Air Force for 30 years, during which he valiantly fought in the Vietnam War risking his life to rescue other soldiers by flying into some of the deepest parts of the jungle. 

I love you both so very much, and cannot imagine what this world, this America, would be like if it were not for the sacrifices that you both have made for the country and people that you love. Below is a poem by Robert Frost about a soldier who lies fallen in the throws of war. I am reminded that today and everyday I need to be in constant prayer for the men and women around the world who are giving their lives to protect the freedoms of the United States of America. Let us not take them, or their sacrifice, for granted....

The Soldier by Robert Frost


    He is that fallen lance that lies as hurled, 
    That lies unlifted now, come dew, come rust, 
    But still lies pointed as it ploughed the dust. 
    If we who sight along it round the world, 
    See nothing worthy to have been its mark, 
    It is because like men we look too near, 
    Forgetting that as fitted to the sphere, 
    Our missiles always make too short an arc. 
    They fall, they rip the grass, they intersect 
    The curve of earth, and striking, break their own; 
    They make us cringe for metal-point on stone. 
    But this we know, the obstacle that checked 
    And tripped the body, shot the spirit on 
    Further than target ever showed or shone.


On our picnics, watching fireworks, during the holiday of wonderful rest... may we never forget that freedom is not free. Please pray for those who are ensuring our freedom today. May the Lord bless them, and keep them in His constant care.                               - Mary Frances 


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