Today, I watched a movie called “American Sniper.”  I’m wondering where my grandson is in this world of unrest and war.  You see, he’s a staff sergeant in the army in demolitions.  He’s served 5 tours in Afghanistan and has been decorated with a bronze star with valor.  I’m not allowed to know where he is stationed or whether he’s in some cave in the mountains, watching with his sniper rifle for undetected movements in the brush.  It seems a lot of Americans are taking his sacrifice for granted, but I do not.  He’s a brave young man, and whether it’s being a proud grandmother or just an American citizen proud of his accomplishments, I will never say to anyone that he is not doing what’s right.  In my prayers, I ask the Lord to watch over him every day and to carry him to safety if he is hurt.

This is our Fourth of July weekend, a weekend when all that we are as Americans should be shouted to the mountaintops, but let us as a nation always remember our service men and women who are sacrificing their lives for us and those who have made the greatest sacrifice for us.   Let us, also, remember the sacrifices of the families they leave behind, always wondering if their loved ones will return.  We are a democracy, and we must fight to protect it.  No one on the face of the earth is any stronger than we are when we put our hearts, minds, and souls into everything we do.  We must always remember that we are free because someone said they would put their lives on the line for us.  When God called them, they said, “Here am I, Lord!  Send me!”

So for my grandson and everyone who has sacrificed for my freedom, I say, “Thank you for everything you do.  May God protect and defend you as you lift our flag and its ideals around the world.”  And may we all say, “In God we trust,” for without Him, we are nothing.

Anna Hartt