| "CIVILIAN REFLECTIONS" Our monthly column written by students and staff at the John H. Sununu Youth Services Center January 2008 I listened to their laughter, I watched them open their presents, I felt their warm breath in their kisses and I thanked God my granddaughters live in the United States of America. However, after God, my gratitude turns to the many men and women who quietly shoulder the burden of defending our way of life. Since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a constant steam of military has been part of my curriculum. Their commitment to country and service has had a profound effect on my students and myself. The students have come to understand that the ideals we daily take for granted are fought for in countries that have for too long lived under the burden of cruel and heartless governments. The creation of a democratic government so clinically detailed in American Government textbooks becomes flesh and blood reality when soldiers returning from war zones recount the real pain and sacrifice of establishing a government for and by the people. The last time I visited the NH State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, the memorial walkway was covered in a light blanket of snow. I walked over to the Marine Corps monument and swept the snow from a brick that memorializes a Marine killed in the horror of Iwo Jima. A name, a date, a place etched in red brick, a small yet poignant reminder of the true cost of freedom. I know that the sacrifice, although personally tough and sorrowful for individual families, is a gift that our generation needs to continually acknowledge and appreciate. Take a minute and thank all our guardians of freedom. |
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