In Memoriam, and In Tribute

In honor of my father, who swiped his older brother's birth certificate and faked his age in order to enlist in the Navy and serve his country to fight against Japan at the tender age of 16;

In honor of my oldest brother, who also enlisted into the Army at the age of 17, during a time when guys were enrolling in college to refrain from being drafted, and fought in the trenches of Vietnam, experiencing things so traumatic that he can't talk about them, even all these years later;

In honor of my nephew, who enlisted in the Army at 18, and is actively working through his tour of duty over in Iraq;

And, in honor of all of the noble men and women, in our past and present history, who have nobly stood up to represent, serve, and protect ALL of the freedoms that we hold dear --

With humility, I salute you and thank you, for all you have done to make and keep this country, our country, free.