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ABATE of Florida Inc SOUTHWEST CHAPTER
23
Will you give this to my Daddy?
As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support 'Red Fridays.'
Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport,
returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately
turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camps. As they began heading to their
gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and
cheering.
When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'
m not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports
our troops and their families.
Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are
putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without
fear or reprisal.
Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and
women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He
kneeled down and said 'hi.'
The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her.
The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and
what did she want to give to her Daddy.. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this
soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The
mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that
her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was
explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear
up.
When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled
together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking
walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.
After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down
and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged
this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your
daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very
soon.'
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