How do you show your support?

[weeyore33]

Hello, and a big thank you and show of support to all of those that serve our country, overseas and here at home. Including the families that get left behind. I am a dance studio owner and have made it a point to include a dedication to our troops in every show we do. I do not have any family in the forces , or close friends, but i feel that it is my small way to pay back a little for those that do so much. I have only been in business 2 years but we have walked in our 9/11 parades, done special dances to honor those that have not come home and we post prayers to the soldiers on our board at the school. I try not to just teach dancing but to teach the kids to respect and honor those who do for us, even if we do not know them. So thank you thank you thank you. May we all unite together to show our support.

 

[weeyore33]

 

[DVC-Don]

I don't stick anything on my vehicles, but I give quarterly to the USO and personally thank anyone I see in uniform. (We have a base near here)

 

[transparant]

I've started a community project to send care packages over to those serving in a hostile enviroment. The donations I've been getting have been amazing! Just yesterday someone who works for Duracell donated $300.00 worth of batteries for me to send to the troops. By the end of this week I will have sent over 60 care packages to Iraq and Afghanistan!

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

I can't tell you what I do to support him

 

[weeyore33]

:

I can't tell you what I do to support him

you made me giggle!


my 8 year old son insisted on painting his room red white and blue and he always has to stop and say "im proud to be an American" to every uniformed serviceman, or woman. this is for fire,police,army,navy,airforce,marines,coast guard, it doesnt matter to him, he is the proudest american I know! I am so proud of him at 8 years old he is far beyond his years
we know a dad from the dancing school who came home safe, and my DS on his own made him a card, it had the pictures of the World Trade Centers and he wrote THANK YOU, CHRIS. (chris is 6' 6" 370 lbs) we all cried

 

[transparant]

:


you made me giggle!


my 8 year old son insisted on painting his room red white and blue and he always has to stop and say "im proud to be an American" to every uniformed serviceman, or woman. this is for fire,police,army,navy,airforce,marines,coast guard, it doesnt matter to him, he is the proudest american I know! I am so proud of him at 8 years old he is far beyond his years
we know a dad from the dancing school who came home safe, and my DS on his own made him a card, it had the pictures of the World Trade Centers and he wrote THANK YOU, CHRIS. (chris is 6' 6" 370 lbs) we all cried

Awwww....your son sounds a lot like mine! This is my son...

 

[weeyore33]

what a cutie! they probably have the same wardrobe too- camo in every color

 

[transparant]

what a cutie! they probably have the same wardrobe too- camo in every color

Yup....pretty much. I have a hard timem getting him to wear anything but camo!

 

[transparant]

A tribute to our military from Ford:

http://video.msn.com/asx/so.aspx?m=ad_ford...v&csid=3&sd=MBR

 

[transparant]

What I saw today left me with emotions that I have never felt before in my life.

Today I went to the funeral services of John Kulick. He was kia last week. He was in the Army and he was also a firefighter. He was a hero in every sense of the word.

When I arrived at the church - at first I wasn't sure whether the public was allowed in or not. I went up to a man that was wearing a VFW hat and some medals to ask him. He told me that anyone could go inside. Right after that...a man asked me if SPC. Kulick had children. When I replied that he had a daughter - he started to yell things like "this is crazy" "This man had no choice" "He died for nothing and he leaves a daughter fatherless" & "this is veitnam all over again".

I could see the Vet getting very "uncomfortable" to say the least. I asked this man to leave - this was not the venue to let his opinion be heard. He did turn to leave without an argument. I than turned to the Vet (I wish I got his name) and said: "that must be so hard for you". He told me his son was in the church - his son was also a firefighter and in the army & worked along side John Kulick. He than said without hiding his tears "I fought in Vietnam, my son just got back from Iraq...I never dreamed in a million years my son would have to hear the things that I heard when I got back".

I thanked this man for everything he has done for this country - I also expressed my thanks for his son. We walked into the church together.

I went through the receiving line and when I reached his parents - I was reduced to tears. The strength and honor that they displayed was nothing short of amazing. John mother had his dog tags around her neck. What do you say to a family that has given so much? I simply said "Thank you. Your son was a hero in every way imaginable, and you are just as much of a hero" She said to me and I quote "John was my hero before he even came into this world - he left an even bigger hero"

It was a full military/firefighter funeral. I've never experienced anything like it. When I got in line to go inside the church - Ed Rendall was right in front of me...so a lot of servicemen and firemen were telling him stories about John...I got to hear every one of those stories. John died doing was he believed in. God bless him and his family. I feel honored to have gotten to know more about this wonderful man and his wonderful family.

Here is an article about him.

Spc. John Kulick

POSTED: 4:10 pm EDT August 11, 2005
UPDATED: 4:11 pm EDT August 11, 2005

John Kulick grew up in Abington, Montgomery County, where he became enamored of local firefighters. He would stand outside the station and watch them spring into action when the firebell sounded, said his father, Jim Kulick.



The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks spurred him to join the National Guard in September 2003, his father said.

"He wanted to fight the terrorists - not here, but over there," Jim Kulick said. "He wanted to keep the terrorism from not only his daughter, but everyone here."

John Kulick, 35, was the father of 9-year-old Amanda Mae Kulick. She lives with Kulick's ex-wife in York County.

But while he was passionate about fighting terrorism, he was also passionate about freeing the Iraqis, his father said.

His son talked about wanting them to share the same freedoms as Americans, he said.

Whitpain Township Fire Marshal David Camarda learned of Kulick's death early Wednesday. Kulick was the township's assistant fire marshal and had worked in the department for seven years.

Kulick was one of the department's four full-time firefighters and an emergency medical technician.

Kulick was called up in May 2004 but wasn't deployed to Iraq until December, Camarda said. There, he put his healing skills to use as a medic.

"John was just a dependable individual," Camarda said. "He was the guy that if the shift started at 9:30 p.m., he was there at 8:30 to make sure everything got done right."

When Kulick came home to visit for two weeks in June, he talked about "putting everything in order," Jim Kulick said. He "had a feeling he wasn't going to come back."

"He was a great son, a great father, a great fireman," Jim Kulick said.

 

[weeyore33]

I feel for you, and the family. I know how heartbreaking it is for the family of those kia, it is terrible, a senseless death, such young lives taken. Their sacrifice can never be repaid, ever. We are very lucky to live in a country where we volunteer to help the country, and are not forced, we really do need to respect those who chose to help. I have a feeling we have 2(my austin and your son) who will be ready when the time comes, which scares me to death. your support for that family in grieving probably meant more to them than those there that they know.

 

[2tinksmom]

My daughter wanted to do something special for the troops for her 12th birthday. I had learned about the website anysoldier.com from this thread. Together, we picked out 9 Marines (my uncle served in the Marine Corp and fought in Korea) and one young man from the Air Force (he's in a K-9 unit and we have a special place in our hearts for our furballs!) My daughter does competative gymnastics and is at the optional level. She practices 20 hours a week with 9 other optionals. These were the nine girls she had come over for her bd. We had so many things donatated for care packages that we ended up with 22 boxes. Each girl had their own soldier. They included letters and pictures they had drawn. We were overwhelmed by the response we got back even tho I had told them that these guys were fighting a war so don't expect a letter back. We have "adopted" two soldiers...one for each of my daughters ( the youngest is 7). We now e-mail them and continue to send boxes to them. They have sent some really great letters to the girls and e-mailed pictures to them. I worry when we don't hear from them for a while. These guys are like family to us now and I feel deeply blessed that we are able to let them know how much we appreciate them.
Michele

 

[transparant]

My daughter wanted to do something special for the troops for her 12th birthday. I had learned about the website anysoldier.com from this thread. Together, we picked out 9 Marines (my uncle served in the Marine Corp and fought in Korea) and one young man from the Air Force (he's in a K-9 unit and we have a special place in our hearts for our furballs!) My daughter does competative gymnastics and is at the optional level. She practices 20 hours a week with 9 other optionals. These were the nine girls she had come over for her bd. We had so many things donatated for care packages that we ended up with 22 boxes. Each girl had their own soldier. They included letters and pictures they had drawn. We were overwhelmed by the response we got back even tho I had told them that these guys were fighting a war so don't expect a letter back. We have "adopted" two soldiers...one for each of my daughters ( the youngest is 7). We now e-mail them and continue to send boxes to them. They have sent some really great letters to the girls and e-mailed pictures to them. I worry when we don't hear from them for a while. These guys are like family to us now and I feel deeply blessed that we are able to let them know how much we appreciate them.
Michele

That is so awesome!!! It's amazing how much they become like family isn't it? Kudos to your daughter! What an awesome thing to do!!

 

[2tinksmom]

Thanks. I think she's pretty awesome myself! It's amazing how even tho in every letter they write, every box they send, and every picture they draw they make sure to say "thank you" to these guys, the amount of gratitude we get from them is overwhelming. They appreciate every little thing the girls do. Also, my Dad recognized the name of one of the soldiers of one of the other girls on team as the same name of a man he knew when he was a about 8 yo living in a tiny, tiny town here in Texas. Come to find out, it's this guys grandfather! It really is a small world after all!
Michele

 

[kc10family]

I know this is different, but I am teaching my 3 y/o DD patriotic songs. She knows God Bless America very well now. The other day we went to a park in town where the 9/11 Flag presentation was being held. (I guess an organization goes from city to city and posts a flag for every life lost on 9/11. It was Very moving.) My DD heard them play God Bless America and she started to sing along. I was in tears.



I think we as Americans have gotten away from patriotism and that is wrong. My tribute to my DH (18 yrs AF) is to ensure my DD’s know and understand what makes America great and how to keep alive the history of how we came to be America. I believe in the Pledge of Allegiance, The National Anthem and that we should teach our children these things.



I know this is not a direct support of our troops, but I think this is a good way to support our troops.

 

[poohbear1029]

I can't tell you what I do to support him

You crack me up!!

I cook, clean, make sure that the uniforms are clean.....and then there's the real support!

Seriously, I also volunteer with the base thrift shop....which helps raise $ for military and non-military charities.

 

[transparant]

I know this is different, but I am teaching my 3 y/o DD patriotic songs. She knows God Bless America very well now. The other day we went to a park in town where the 9/11 Flag presentation was being held. (I guess an organization goes from city to city and posts a flag for every life lost on 9/11. It was Very moving.) My DD heard them play God Bless America and she started to sing along. I was in tears.



I think we as Americans have gotten away from patriotism and that is wrong. My tribute to my DH (18 yrs AF) is to ensure my DD’s know and understand what makes America great and how to keep alive the history of how we came to be America. I believe in the Pledge of Allegiance, The National Anthem and that we should teach our children these things.



I know this is not a direct support of our troops, but I think this is a good way to support our troops.

You're my kind of mamma! My kids all know God Bless American and The National Anthem also.