Heartfelt thank you
I was working at Terminal D and waiting to escort some photographers into the secured side when I saw an email printed out for the volunteers to read. It is so awesome that I had to share it. You may recall that I took some pics of the terminal's opening day, which included a big welcome home to the states to the troops who were coming in that day. Well, the text below came from a soldier who flew in (don't know when) and was "blown away" by the wonderful welcome he received. The water salute he mentions is our "shower of affection" which includes the fire trucks shooting water from each side of the plane as a special welcome. I thought it would be nice to share:
I just returned from a glorious two week leave in the great state of Texas. I expected to arrive in Dallas, wander to my connecting flight to Houston and get home without any real memory of DFW. Instead, I was blown away by the whole experience. I was surprised by the water salute, but when I found the reception at the gate it was all I could do to choke back the tears. I sit here day after day in the dining facility and hear CNN report how everyone hates what we do and it makes it so hard to stay motivated. I wasn't born until 1968 but I have heard stories my whole life about Viet Nam vets getting spit upon in the San Francisco Airport as they arrived home. Of course, I always knew that there were huge differences between Dallas and San Francisco, but as a Houstonian I have also always had little love for Dallas. That will certainly change now.
Thank you so much for the completely unexpected and wonderful welcome. I really don't know how I can ever express the gratitude I feel for the homecoming you gave us. It makes me prouder than ever to be a Texan, to be an American and to be a soldier. God bless you all.
*name withheld*
111th Area Support Group
Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan
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How cool is that? I emailed this guy today as I was posting this to let him know about it. I'm so glad it meant something to him. After I'm done working here, maybe the kids and I will go to the weekday welcomes when not as many people can come as those who came on July 23 when the photo below was taken. Check that out. Amazing how many people come out. Many are family, but a large percentage is volunteer-driven by the USO, VFW, etc.
God bless YOU guys for all you do. Your families, too, because they sacrifice so much, as well.
I just returned from a glorious two week leave in the great state of Texas. I expected to arrive in Dallas, wander to my connecting flight to Houston and get home without any real memory of DFW. Instead, I was blown away by the whole experience. I was surprised by the water salute, but when I found the reception at the gate it was all I could do to choke back the tears. I sit here day after day in the dining facility and hear CNN report how everyone hates what we do and it makes it so hard to stay motivated. I wasn't born until 1968 but I have heard stories my whole life about Viet Nam vets getting spit upon in the San Francisco Airport as they arrived home. Of course, I always knew that there were huge differences between Dallas and San Francisco, but as a Houstonian I have also always had little love for Dallas. That will certainly change now.
Thank you so much for the completely unexpected and wonderful welcome. I really don't know how I can ever express the gratitude I feel for the homecoming you gave us. It makes me prouder than ever to be a Texan, to be an American and to be a soldier. God bless you all.
*name withheld*
111th Area Support Group
Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan
-----
How cool is that? I emailed this guy today as I was posting this to let him know about it. I'm so glad it meant something to him. After I'm done working here, maybe the kids and I will go to the weekday welcomes when not as many people can come as those who came on July 23 when the photo below was taken. Check that out. Amazing how many people come out. Many are family, but a large percentage is volunteer-driven by the USO, VFW, etc.
God bless YOU guys for all you do. Your families, too, because they sacrifice so much, as well.
1 Comments:
At 2:01 PM, August 26, 2005,
Anonymous said…
I was in Bagram from Dec. 2002 to July 2003. I imagine a lot has changed.
I'm so very thankful for all our military continue to do and I'm proud of our volunteers who continue to let our troops know how appreciated they are.
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