God Bless America

Journal Entry Thur 13 January 2011
Facebook status today: “Finally made it to Manas, Kyrgykstan –20 hours, 5 naps, 6 meals, and 7 in-flight movies later!” It’s been a long trip thus far, but the journey continues. Tomorrow morning we’ll hop a C-17 transport into Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan and few days later we’ll make our way probably by ground convoy to Delaram. The trip to Manas was pretty uneventful. Most notable was our layover in Bangor, ME. If you’re looking for some great Americans and true patriots I highly recommend you begin your search there.
We arrived in Bangor at around six in the evening to pick up a new pit crew and to top off on fuel. We deplaned numbering somewhere near 280 passengers, and began making our way through the jet way maze toward the terminal. As I neared the end of the jet way, the line suddenly stopped, bottle necked right at the terminal entrance. Being a person of little patience, I began to become a bit agitated. That was until a buddy of mine pointed out the “veteran and volunteer” welcoming committee that awaited us ahead. Sure enough, as I peered around the crowd in front of me, I could see dozens of civilians lining the corridor on either side of us. They greeted us with the warmest of smiles, shaking the hand of each and every Marine and Sailor coming off the plane. They thanked us for our service, gave us their blessings and hope for a safe return. There was no question of what we were doing or why we were doing it. There was simply unconditional thanks and recognition for doing what our country asked us to do. For the next hour and a half they gave us free phone calls home, took our pictures, and told us sea stories about their time in the service or about a loved one who was serving. When it was time to board our aircraft they lined up once again and bid us farewell on the way out. It was a humbling experience to say the least.
It’s nice to see that in a time and place where Americans bad mouth our own country and our government, and where terrorist and illegal immigrants have more rights than hard working U.S. citizens, that there is this sanctuary tucked away in a small corner of the U.S. where people still believe in the bright, hopeful dream that we once knew as “America”.