Thank You to the Men and Women of the Armed Forces

Living in San Diego, you can't help but get caught up in the military life that surrounds the city.

Head north up the 5 freeway, just into Oceanside, and you'll run into Marine Base Camp Pendelton. Head south on the 15 freeway and you'll find Miramar Naval Air Station or more famously known as the the place where a lot of the movie Top Gun was filmed. Head even further south on the 5 freeway and you'll find North Island Naval Air Station.

So living in what is known as a "military town," you're likely to see a caravan of humvees driving down the freeway, a marine in his camos or a Naval Officer in his dress whites.

But there are two things that I will never forget about living out there, memories that still give me chills to this day.

Being an avid baseball fan and a die hard San Diego Padres fan, I attended several games while a resident of San Diego. Most times, my game of choice would fall on a Sunday afternoon. There just isn't anything like a baseball game played under the warm Southern California sun.

During these Sunday afternoon games, the San Diego Padres and Petco Park where the team calls home, there's a tradition that's been in place ever since the team played at what was Jack Murphy Stadium, or known now as Qualcomm Stadium.

After the top half of the fourth inning, when the players are making their transitions on and off the field, the marine corps song begins to play and things come to a complete stop. Everyone from players to coaches to umpires to fans stand to their feet and for five minutes, a standing ovation for the platoon of marines that sit way up in the upper deck above right field.

Hats come off, hands clapping in unison, whistles and cheers can be heard. It's the moment where home fans and visiting fans alike become one and show their support for the men and women that sacrifice everything. A sacrifice that allows us to be a free nation.

Though that is a memory that will be forever engraved in my mind, it's another memory that tops even that one. While driving around a place called Harbor Island, just south of San Diego International Airport, you might see a sight that not a lot of people will ever get to see for themselves.

An aircraft carrier chugging through San Diego Bay. Lining every side of the carrier are the men and women of the Navy, dressed in white, standing at attention. Cars will come to a complete stop, people line the streets waving, clapping, taking pictures or just taking in a breathtaking sight.

So, on this day, Wednesday November 11th in the year 2009, we take the time to thank our men and women of the armed forces. Not only the ones who currently serve in the Marines, Navy, Air Force or the Army, but to those that have gone before us.

To those that served during World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm. For those that put their lives on the line to give us the opportunity to believe what and how we wanted. To be able to raise our children exactly the way we want.

To those families who have lost loved ones, an even bigger thank you goes out to you. You supported your sons, daughters, husbands and wives as they put their lives on the line for not only their families, but for us. They paid the ultimate price only because they were asked.

We are forever in debt to you and we thank you for serving your country.

The next time you're in the airport and you see a man or woman in uniform, take the time to shake their hand and thank them for their service. That, above anything else, means more to them than you can imagine. You never know, they could be headed home to their families or they could be headed away from them for a tour that will keep them away from those they love for more than a year.

Having that friendly gesture will allow them to forget about everything they've been through or will go through for just that moment in time.

Again, to you men and women of the armed forces...We Thank You


Friar