Saturday, July 3

Happy Independence Day & Thank You to our Soldiers

by Karen Robert

We are lucky enough to spend our summers on a sleepy little Island here in the Northeast. We are always charmed and delighted when we arrive because we are instantly propelled back to small town America. This year we were even more charmed than usual, because as we drove off of the ferry we found ourselves under an enormous flag hanging over the road from the ladder of a firetruck. In fact, as we drove down the lazy little streets we realized that flags were literally everywhere. They were in front of every store and house, in front of the school, the Post Office and little tiny flags lined every road. I was bemused at first, struggling to think of why everyone would be celebrating Independence Day so early. Then I saw a few signs, welcoming home a soldier. “Aaah” I thought, “that’s nice, a local boy is coming home and the entire town is welcoming him”. Then the awful truth hit when I saw another sign saying “We’ll Always Remember You”. This soldier wasn’t coming home the way I had thought.
The next day the body of this soldier arrived home by the same ferry we had arrived on, escorted by a huge assortment of boats. The whole town it seemed went to the funeral, I heard it was the biggest funeral the island had ever seen. It was in a tent which had been put up for the school’s graduation. They agreed to use it for the Memorial Service as well since he had been a graduate from this school just a few years before. At the service, people heard about how this boy had worked on the ferry collecting tickets, how he had excelled at school and sports, and how much he was loved by his friends and family. They described how his last act had been to save his men from a mine. The ferry company that had brought his body home announced that they had decided to rename the ferry after him.
This was the closest I had come to seeing the real impact of war. It hit home to me that the decisions of our leaders don’t just impact world politics, they impact normal, everyday people. Instead of reading the results of a battle in the paper, I saw it in the eyes of this boy’s friends and family. If it were one of my sons arriving home in a box on a ferry, I don’t know how I would go on.
I realize that this same scenario must replay in towns across America. Far too often flags must wave over streets for the same reason. With this image in mind, I designed this card to say thanks to all who’s lives have been impacted by the war in Iraq and Afganistan. Thanks for all of the sacrifices of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, wives, husbands and, of course, of the soldiers themselves. And for any of you who have endured what this local family must be enduring, I am deeply sorry for your loss.