Who would guess where Disney would end up around the globe? As I hold the stars and stripes painted Mickey Mouse shaped lapel pin, I reflect on where this tiny ornament has been, where it is now and where it will be going in the future.
It was only a month before I would be called to leave home for year. I wanted to do something great before I left with the people that I love. With my best friend of almost 10 years I decided that I would go to Disneyland in beautiful Southern California one more time before that date would come. It was just as fun going then as it was the first time that had gone when I was a child.
While browsing the shops for souvenirs I came across a trading pin store. I looked at them all, not really searching for any one in particular. Then I found the one. It was simple and straightforward, not as elaborate as some of the others but it seemed to be just right, Stars and Stripes Mickey. I paid a small price for it and then pinned it to my shirt.
It was freezing cold outside on an early October morning. I packed the last few things into my duffle bag and looked over my shelves to see if I had missed anything. It was the last thing to get packed that morning before I left home. I ripped open the Velcro fastened pocket on my uniform and dropped in the pin. As the sun rose that morning we said our last good byes and our families cried as we boarded the plane. Soon our flight departed for Camp Shelby, MS and for the war in Iraq.
There I put it and there it has stayed. It stayed there in the sweltering humidity of Mississippi, through all of our training. Those days were the hardest by far. They were the first days away from home, in an strange place with an uncertain future ahead. During lonely times I could always pull it out and look at it, and it would remind me that home is just across where the sun sets.
There we were- cold, wet, nervous and scared. Ready to board the plane and fly over the vast Atlantic to meet out nations foes. There I stood, in the dark. I opened my pocket and pulled out a small laminated card with prayers that my mother had given me before I left, and a lapel pin. I clenched them both tightly that morning and spoke to God.
We got off the plane in a different land, surrounded by all sorts of different people. In front of me stretched an endless sea of sand. As the sun set on those first days I knew that I would soon face the enemy. We went from place to place until we arrived at our final destination. During those times when I felt so alone, so far away from home, when I cried, all that I could do was pull out my prayers and a small lapel pin to remind me that somewhere below the stars was home.
When the rockets began to fall on us like rain, one after another and I was stricken with fear, on that deadly February morning, I gathered together all of my courage. It was my first taste of combat and how the rush sweeps through you. When the dust had settled and the enemy had retreat, I sat alone for a while and held close to my heart a piece of home.
Today I continue to battle, with the enemy and with the sweltering heat. We take millions of tons of supplies through the battle field. We push through the perilous pitch black of night, through streets fraught with enemy snipers. We drive on roads lined with IEDs that some times wreak havoc. On those nights I make my peace with God and hold close to my heart a small lapel pin that I hope will one day take me home.
I am holding the small Stars and Stripes Mickey lapel pin at this very moment and I think about where it has been, where I have been. I think of where it might go and where I will go. Its not much but I can hold it in my hand and keep it next to my heart because it is a piece home.
It was only a month before I would be called to leave home for year. I wanted to do something great before I left with the people that I love. With my best friend of almost 10 years I decided that I would go to Disneyland in beautiful Southern California one more time before that date would come. It was just as fun going then as it was the first time that had gone when I was a child.
While browsing the shops for souvenirs I came across a trading pin store. I looked at them all, not really searching for any one in particular. Then I found the one. It was simple and straightforward, not as elaborate as some of the others but it seemed to be just right, Stars and Stripes Mickey. I paid a small price for it and then pinned it to my shirt.
It was freezing cold outside on an early October morning. I packed the last few things into my duffle bag and looked over my shelves to see if I had missed anything. It was the last thing to get packed that morning before I left home. I ripped open the Velcro fastened pocket on my uniform and dropped in the pin. As the sun rose that morning we said our last good byes and our families cried as we boarded the plane. Soon our flight departed for Camp Shelby, MS and for the war in Iraq.
There I put it and there it has stayed. It stayed there in the sweltering humidity of Mississippi, through all of our training. Those days were the hardest by far. They were the first days away from home, in an strange place with an uncertain future ahead. During lonely times I could always pull it out and look at it, and it would remind me that home is just across where the sun sets.
There we were- cold, wet, nervous and scared. Ready to board the plane and fly over the vast Atlantic to meet out nations foes. There I stood, in the dark. I opened my pocket and pulled out a small laminated card with prayers that my mother had given me before I left, and a lapel pin. I clenched them both tightly that morning and spoke to God.
We got off the plane in a different land, surrounded by all sorts of different people. In front of me stretched an endless sea of sand. As the sun set on those first days I knew that I would soon face the enemy. We went from place to place until we arrived at our final destination. During those times when I felt so alone, so far away from home, when I cried, all that I could do was pull out my prayers and a small lapel pin to remind me that somewhere below the stars was home.
When the rockets began to fall on us like rain, one after another and I was stricken with fear, on that deadly February morning, I gathered together all of my courage. It was my first taste of combat and how the rush sweeps through you. When the dust had settled and the enemy had retreat, I sat alone for a while and held close to my heart a piece of home.
Today I continue to battle, with the enemy and with the sweltering heat. We take millions of tons of supplies through the battle field. We push through the perilous pitch black of night, through streets fraught with enemy snipers. We drive on roads lined with IEDs that some times wreak havoc. On those nights I make my peace with God and hold close to my heart a small lapel pin that I hope will one day take me home.
I am holding the small Stars and Stripes Mickey lapel pin at this very moment and I think about where it has been, where I have been. I think of where it might go and where I will go. Its not much but I can hold it in my hand and keep it next to my heart because it is a piece home.
Thank you for sharing your story....THANK YOU for serving our great country.....May God Bless You and keep you safe.
