A Salute to our Veterans

Today was a special day for the entire country. We got to honor the men and women who put their lives on the line for us--something we should do every single day, not just on Veteran's Day.

Tonight, I had the honor of listening to a member of my local RWA chapter, Jess Dawson, speak about life in the military and her upcoming deployment to Iraq. Jess will be blogging during her tour and I encourage you all to travel along this journey with her. I know I will.

Even though I have family in the military (a cousin who is stationed in Somalia right now and several others who have done tours in Iraq), and close friends who are military wives, Jess's stories really brought home what our men and women go through out in the field. It's something I could never do, yet they leave their families--even their small children, which is what Jess has to do--and stare right in the faces of people who want to do them harm. The courage that takes boggles my mind.

As a romance reader, I will admit to having this romanticized image of the military. Other than Richard Marcinko's Rouge Warrior novels, most of the military books I've read have featured these extremely hot soldiers, Marines, or Navy SEALs who kick ass, take names, and get the girl in the end. Tonight reminded me that it is definitely not all sunshine and roses. What our military does is real. And we should all thank them for it.

Even though I know things will be rough financially this holiday season for many of us, think about adopting a soldier, or donating a phone card so our military heroes can call their families on Christmas morning and wish them a happy holiday.

Thank you to all our brave men and women serving in the U.S. military at home and abroad.

posted by Farrah Rochon @ 8:43 PM Comments: 4