Colaussi

My cousin Dean sent me the following e-mail that just about moved me to tears.  It’s nice to see that our soldiers are getting the respect and admiration that they deserve.

As I was getting ready to board my connection flight in Atlanta yesterday, I noticed a handsome, young Marine at my side and motioned for him to board before me.

“Thank you, sir,” he said politely.

“Are you going home?” I asked.

“Yes, sir,” he said, nodding his head.

I then shook his hand and thanked him for everything he does for us.

“Thanks again, sir,” he said. “I appreciate that.”

Before we got on the plane, we both noticed a little boy and his mom behind us. The boy was wearing a Cincinnati Reds T-shirt.

“Go Reds!” the Marine said. “Two wins in a row!”

The boy, with some obvious prompting from his mother, looked at him and said, “Thank you. Thanks.”

The Marine smiled, and we all got on the plane.

As we were about to land in Cincinnati, the Delta pilot got on the speaker and announced to the passengers that we had a uniformed Marine corporal sitting in first class. Then he told us the sad reason the soldier was on the flight: He was accompanying the body of a comrade who had been killed in Iraq. The pilot asked everyone to stay in their seats with their seatbelts fastened upon landing to allow the Marine to exit first. It would be a sign of respect and gratitude, he said.

The plane erupted in applause.

Once we landed, I was happily surprised that everyone complied. I didn’t hear a single click from an unfastening seatbelt. The Marine stood up, and we all clapped again. He looked a bit uneasy. He was, after all, probably no more than 25 — and perhaps much younger than that.

The pilot unlocked the cabin door and escorted him off the quiet plane.

As we all stood up and got ready to leave, I heard a mobile phone ring behind me. “We were a little delayed in Atlanta,” said the woman who prompted her child to thank the Marine. ”I’ll call you when I’m at baggage claim.”

Then she smiled. “The Reds are winning 4 to 1!” she exclaimed to her son.

All of this happened just two days after Memorial Day — a curious juxtaposition – and it made me think. Whatever your opinion is of this unpopular war, we all have to remember that these soldiers, like this young Marine, were not drafted. They volunteered for the cause. Many, probably including the soldier on the plane, were too young to enlist when terrorists struck us on 9-11.

But off they went, for all of us. Some, like his friend, never returned home alive.

Freedom isn’t free, so the cliche goes. But it’s also true: It’s because of all of these brave men and women that we still have our freedoms today. We’re free to travel. We’re free to cheer on our home team, however beleaguered it may be.

And yes, we’re free to protest the war, as well.

I’m rambling, I know, but the whole thing keeps me thinking today. I hope it prompts you to do the same.

Dean