June 24, 2010

I Hugged A Marine ¹

by Wendy • 2010: Memory Making, Headline, My Life As It Happens

Over the past several years, my church has been involved with the group Sentinels of Freedom.  This phenomenal organization provides assistance to military members who have been severely injured in the line of duty.   They give these heroes a 4 year ‘life scholarship’ helping them with finding/providing homes, education, jobs, and support services.

Yesterday, a Marine and an Army soldier, were presented the keys to their new lives in League City, TX.  I had the pleasure and honor of being there as they were handed those keys.  They shared their stories about how they were injured and it hit me hard.  We see stories on the news almost daily about those individuals who are injured or killed in this war but to be face to face with such a hero was life-changing.  This individual was shot in the face, survived, and kept fighting for another hour before he was taken to a medical unit for care.  This individual took a bullet for this country.  He was out there putting his life on the line in order to protect and serve our country.  It made me a little teary eyed.

After the presentations were made, I waited my turn to speak to these two heroes.  When I finally had the chance to shake their hands, I told him how proud I was of him.  And I told him that I was a firefighter injured in the line of duty and even though that is different than being injured during combat, trying to get your life back on track can be so difficult.  I encouraged him to keep on keeping on.  I also told him about my friends from Ladder 13 who died on 9/11 and how appreciate I was, as a firefighter, to the military for going out to protect us from further attack.  I told him how much the military means to the fire service.   The Marine reached out and hugged me.  He smiled, shook my hand and hugged me again.  He had a tear in his eye.  It was a very powerful moment.

I will never forget this cartoon that came out shortly after 9/11 that showed a firefighter buried in rubble handing a tattered US Flag to a soldier. Nearly 10 years later, hugging this Marine made me feel like this cartoon has come full circle…a firefighter welcoming back the soldier.

I was incredibly blessed to be a part of that moment and I feel incredibly honored to welcome two soldiers home.