By Marc Van Pelt

President
American Farm Publications Inc.

Is the pen mightier than the sword?

4.29.2008

This has been around the Internet from what I can tell for a little more than a year.
It was sent to me from Bruce Hotchkiss, our senior editor. Some may find it propaganda for the right wing — I, for one, do not. No matter if it is true or if it just an urban legend, it is worth reading:
The yet-to-be-validated story reads below:
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos, as they began heading to their gate everybody (well, almost everybody) was abruptly on their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers (probably 30 to 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 who 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 every day for us, so we can go to school, work, church and home without fear of reprisal. Just when I thought, I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, no 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 (he couldn’t be any older than maybe 22 himself) said he would try. What did she want to give him 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’s eyes began to tear up. When this temporarily single Mom was done explaining the situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. One of the service men then pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10 to 15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her: ‘I spoke with 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 soon.’
The Mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably, and as the young soldier got on his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than six feet away from where this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave heading toward their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were no dry eyes, including my own.
The young soldier in a last act of selflessness turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember every day all of our soldiers and their families, and thank God for them, and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it is good being an American. Red Fridays — Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday.
The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called “the silent majority.”
We are no longer silent, and we are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV to reflect our message or our opinions.
Many Americans like you and me and all our friends simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.
Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday, and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red — long used to symbolize the blood shed by soldiers.
By word of much, press TV — let’s make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.
If every one of us who loves this country would share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends and family, it will not be long before the United States is covered in red and it will let our troops know the once “silent” majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.
The first thing a soldier says when asked “What can we do to make things better for you?” is ... “We need your support and your prayers.”
Let’s get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example and wear something red every Friday.
We live in the land of the free, only because of the brave, I support and admire our troops and do consider them heroes along with countless others here in the states who save lives and work for the good of our country.
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So if you see me in red on a Friday, you will know why.