Memorial Day: Joining the military is such an act of faith

My brother, Mike, serving in the Marines.

On this Memorial Day, we remember those who have passed away, particularly those who have served our country in the military, and also thank those who continue to serve today.

Here's an article from Parade Magazine on how Memorial Day came out of the Civil War. 

So I want to take a moment to thank those brave souls and then, in a second post, get us all thinking about our own families, how were we shaped by our parents and their parents and all those who came before. We live so much in the now these days. I like to stop and think about how the choices of generations that went hundreds even thousands of years before led to ... well ... to me. And then to Brady.

But first, I think serving in the military is such an act of faith. You don't know what your time in the service will bring. It might be peaceful. It might see you at war. You pledge to defend every person that lives within our borders. It's a very noble and honorable

My patriotic Dad and his big fish :)

thing to do.

We have a military vein that runs through our family. I don't know how far back it goes, but I do know my Dad completed a wonderful career in the U.S. Air Force, retiring after 20-some years and achieving quite a rank. Ours was a military family growing up with myself born in the country of Turkey, my youngest (but still older) brother born in Japan, another in California and another in South Carolina.

In our generation, my brother, Mike, served 20-some years in the Marine Corps, including stints in both Iraq wars. And now his daughter, my niece, Brittany, just recently graduated from basic training in the Army. She has embraced the military life with both arms, jumping right in. I'm so proud of her.

I also love that my Mom, back when not many women joined the service, also spent a couple years in the U.S. Air Force which is where she met my Dad. She was a stewardess back in the 1950s. How cool is that?

A big THANK YOU to all those men and women who give up the normalcy and freedom of their own lives to learn how to become soldiers and be always at the ready.