For those who have or who are serving

[Lindy]

It seems like many people on this forum have served or are serving in the military. I have such respect and gratitude for all of you. Thank you for serving us. Your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your family doesn't go unnoticed.

Our two son's wanted to serve in the military ever since they were little boys. That desire only grew as they got older. It was difficult for me to listen to them talk about it because I knew they wouldn't be eligible to serve in the military due to their physical limitations. We talked about it many times but they thought we were saying those things becasue we didn't want them to join. I confess when it came up again when they were in their Junior and Senior years of High School, I was relieved the Recruiter would have to tell them they couldn't join, it wouldn't be their parents telling them no. Maybe it was a cop out. We went through all the steps called the Recruiting Offices and made the appointments. A physical exam wasn't really needed to see that it wouldn't work, still the recruiters went through the motions. I was thankful becasue there would be no question about the answer.

I can't tell you how difficult it was to see them go through all that and to watch them as they had to accept the descions and the rejection from the appeals. My heart broke for them.

Our boys are adults now with their own families and to this day it is difficult for them to accept, especially our youngest son.

Everytime a see any soldier in uniform I think of our boys and I think of the soldiers and their families, those who served and who are serving. I pray for you and I thank God for all of you.

 

[Clyde]

It seems like many people on this forum have served or are serving in the military. I have such respect and gratitude for all of you. Thank you for serving us. Your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your family doesn't go unnoticed.

Our two son's wanted to serve in the military ever since they were little boys. That desire only grew as they got older. It was difficult for me to listen to them talk about it because I knew they wouldn't be eligible to serve in the military due to their physical limitations. We talked about it many times but they thought we were saying those things becasue we didn't want them to join. I confess when it came up again when they were in their Junior and Senior years of High School, I was relieved the Recruiter would have to tell them they couldn't join, it wouldn't be their parents telling them no. Maybe it was a cop out. We went through all the steps called the Recruiting Offices and made the appointments. A physical exam wasn't really needed to see that it wouldn't work, still the recruiters went through the motions. I was thankful becasue there would be no question about the answer.

I can't tell you how difficult it was to see them go through all that and to watch them as they had to accept the descions and the rejection from the appeals. My heart broke for them.

Our boys are adults now with their own families and to this day it is difficult for them to accept, especially our youngest son.

Everytime a see any soldier in uniform I think of our boys and I think of the soldiers and their families, those who served and who are serving. I pray for you and I thank God for all of you.

I am a veteran of the US Army, and I salute your boys for having a desire to serve and trying to enlist!

 

[Lindy]

Thank you again for serving and thank you for your kind words.

 

[ARMY127]

I appreciate your kind words Lindy. I was in the Military for 15 years until I was injured during my second tour in Iraq. You should be very proud of your sons as well. They gave it everything they had and that is all that can be expected. Thank you again for your kind words, and I will thank you for all my Brothers who have made the ultimate sacrifice and can't be with us to thank you themselves. I pray for their souls every night before I go to sleep, and will see some of their faces in my dreams for the rest of my life, but I know that they gave everything they had, just as I did, and they would do it again, just as I would if I could or if they were here today.

 

[Lindy]

Thank you Mr. Army. After they were able to move past their initial grief of an unatainable dream our family talked about ways they could still serve. The boys came up with the idea if they couldn't be in the military they would help family members who had loved ones serving away from home or family members who lost a loved one in service. They cut grass, helped with minor home repairs, things like that.We told them that they were serving the soldiers by serving their families. We were and continue to be very proud of our children. They are adults now 29 and 27 years old boy/girl twins and they all are very service minded, it is just a different kind of service than the boys wanted. All three of them have gone on multiple mission trips to areas hit by hurricans, tornados and in areas in the city that need help cleaning up. We are so proud of them, we are proud of our military and pray for you. I work in a church and every week we pray by name members of the military (past and present) that our church members know and love and then each week we rotate the different branches of the military as a whole.

 

[Bfree]

I too served in the Air Force and my son has signed up for the Navy. I commend you and your sons attitude towards our military, It truely is the greatest on earth and all those that serve or want to serve i have nothing but the utmost respect for them. Even if they(your sons) can't serve, its their heart and desire that matters. Thank you for your gratitude. BfreeAmerica

 

[Lindy]

Thank you Bfree. My father and father-in-law served so it didn't surprise us it only made us so proud that the boys wanted to serve. This genetic disease we carry is an enemy but we wont let it win. We will continue to serve just in different ways. God bless you!

 

[Loomis]

It seems like many people on this forum have served or are serving in the military. I have such respect and gratitude for all of you. Thank you for serving us. Your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your family doesn't go unnoticed.

Our two son's wanted to serve in the military ever since they were little boys. That desire only grew as they got older. It was difficult for me to listen to them talk about it because I knew they wouldn't be eligible to serve in the military due to their physical limitations. We talked about it many times but they thought we were saying those things becasue we didn't want them to join. I confess when it came up again when they were in their Junior and Senior years of High School, I was relieved the Recruiter would have to tell them they couldn't join, it wouldn't be their parents telling them no. Maybe it was a cop out. We went through all the steps called the Recruiting Offices and made the appointments. A physical exam wasn't really needed to see that it wouldn't work, still the recruiters went through the motions. I was thankful becasue there would be no question about the answer.

I can't tell you how difficult it was to see them go through all that and to watch them as they had to accept the descions and the rejection from the appeals. My heart broke for them.

Our boys are adults now with their own families and to this day it is difficult for them to accept, especially our youngest son.

Everytime a see any soldier in uniform I think of our boys and I think of the soldiers and their families, those who served and who are serving. I pray for you and I thank God for all of you.

Allow me to respond:
I understand your a Mom. Your sons tried. More than most young men today. They have my respect.
I don't think you are seeing the whole picture and there role in the scheme of things. First of all it takes a massive effort to put Boots on the Ground. They have to outfitted, clothed, medical care, transportation, training, and food in there belly to do the job. Most people think it's ends there. It doesn't. While they are on the front lines (so to say) you have support groups that help soldiers morale. If you don't have a high morale among the troops the results will be less than expected. When they come home it's equally important if not MORE than important to have civillians welcoming them home for a job well done.
I came home from Vietnam in late 1968 when the anti-war protestors were in full bloom. In uniform at the airport I came into, people had some nasty comments as well as jestures that were made to me. I couldn't help to feel like my country wasn't greatful. There was this little fella who saw me and snapped to attention and saluted me. I stopped and returned his salute. That jesture from that little fella made all the difference in the world to me. It must have because it was 42 years ago. So what I am tring to get at is that even thou you can't be the soldier you can be the support for the Soldier and thereby complete the circle. Many people serve as civilian support for our troops. It ALL part of putting Boots on the Ground. It is NOT a dishonor to be turned down due to a physical limitation, that has NOTHING to do with the person.

 

[Lindy]

Hi Mr. Loomis, first of all please allow me to say I am so very sorry that happened to you when you were in the airport coming home in 1968 and bless the heart of the little fella that knew the truth and saluted you! I agree 100% with what you said. It isn't a dishonor to be turned down but our boys didn't understand that at first. I mentioned to Mr. Army127 higher up in this thread that we gave the boys time to grieve a lost dream and when they were ready we talked as a family about other ways to serve. We wanted to guide them into the understanding that they could serve it would just be different than what they thought. During our conversation they came up with the idea to help the family of soldier who were deployed or the families of fallen soldiers. We felt like it was important for them to come to that conclusion on their own. They did things around the house for the families not as a part time job they did it out of respect and to help them. Their dad and I told them by serving the families of soldiers they were supporting soldiers. As their mom is was just hard to see them think of themselves as "damaged" their words DEFINATLY NOT MINE. It does still hurt our youngest son especially that he can't be in the military but they know and understand now that every role is important. We are very proud of our sons and are humbled that God blessed us by having them in our lives. We thank God for them and we thank God for you for your part in serving our family and our country. God bless you!

 

[Maverick]

It seems like many people on this forum have served or are serving in the military. I have such respect and gratitude for all of you. Thank you for serving us. Your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your family doesn't go unnoticed.

Our two son's wanted to serve in the military ever since they were little boys. That desire only grew as they got older. It was difficult for me to listen to them talk about it because I knew they wouldn't be eligible to serve in the military due to their physical limitations. We talked about it many times but they thought we were saying those things becasue we didn't want them to join. I confess when it came up again when they were in their Junior and Senior years of High School, I was relieved the Recruiter would have to tell them they couldn't join, it wouldn't be their parents telling them no. Maybe it was a cop out. We went through all the steps called the Recruiting Offices and made the appointments. A physical exam wasn't really needed to see that it wouldn't work, still the recruiters went through the motions. I was thankful becasue there would be no question about the answer.

I can't tell you how difficult it was to see them go through all that and to watch them as they had to accept the descions and the rejection from the appeals. My heart broke for them.

Our boys are adults now with their own families and to this day it is difficult for them to accept, especially our youngest son.

Everytime a see any soldier in uniform I think of our boys and I think of the soldiers and their families, those who served and who are serving. I pray for you and I thank God for all of you.

Thank You! I'll leave you with this

Most Politicians will never understand the true meaning of liberty, To them its negotiable, though the Boys in Arlington see it differently -wayne