J J's Journal -Discover West Alabama

I was buying a diet Dr. Pepper in the Birmingham airport snack bar when he walked in behind me. Wearing desert camouflage and carrying a backpack, he appeared to be in his early 20's. He chose a soda and got in line behind me.

I pulled out some cash and told the clerk, "Let me get his, also," nodding at the young man behind me.

I know someone who does these things much more gracefully than I. He's seen more than one soldier eating a meal with his family and he's quietly picked up the tab, exiting before they have a clue. He doesn't want to be thanked and he doesn't want them embarrassed, as I didn't want to embarrass this young serviceman. He looked embarrassed all the same.

"Oh, no m'am, please don't. I appreciate it, but it's not necessary."

Regretfully, I acquiesced, taking the change from my own purchase and putting it back in my wallet.

"Thanks for your service," I said. "My son is also military." But not in harm's way, I said to myself.

"I hope he stays safe," the young man said.

Me, too, I thought.

It happened that the soldier was seated behind me on the flight to Atlanta. He had many hours of traveling ahead of him, as he was headed for the Middle East. So, I sat there in front of him and prayed silently for his safety, as I hope some other mother might do if she's seated near my son when he's traveling to duty, no matter where it might be.

That was last September. The last couple of days, for some reason, I've been thinking about that "No, m'am" response of his. Having visited with my son and his fellow service members at different military installations and functions, I've often been addressed as "M'am," and they address my husband as "Sir".

The vast majority of these service members are polite, respectful of others, and faithful to their duty and to their comrades in arms. These are admirable qualities. These individuals are far different from the stereotypical picture sometimes painted of military personnel by our media. They are not ignorant. They are not stupid. They are not "goons with guns" - graffiti I saw painted on a rock in California.

There are other things they are not, and because of these things, they are the best of us. They are not selfish or self centered. It's not all about them; it's about the mission, their call to duty, and the brotherhood and sisterhood of the military family.

Former President Bush received a lot of criticism regarding the war. But I was reminded of something the other day when I happened to see a documentary about the Pentagon personnel who were on duty the day those terrorists flew a jetliner into that building. Maybe everyone should watch something like that at least once a year. So we don't forget what it was like on that day.

Maybe that's why that young man has invaded my thoughts after so many months, because watching that program, the thing I was reminded of was that we have not been attacked on our homeland since September 11, 2001. For that, we can thank the military. We can thank the young men who leave their families, their wives and children and sweethearts, and perform an extremely difficult task for months at a time, not knowing when or if they will return.

And we can pray for them and their families. It's the least we can do, for they've made it possible for us to actually board airplanes and feel safe doing so. That's something we couldn't say eight years ago.