Raising Proud Americans

I think all of us should be training our children to be proud of our country.  I've tried to be as patriotic as my dad, but I don't know if I could ever be as great a teacher as he was in this area.  Here's what he did:

I was born in Grand Forks, ND, to a Military family.  When I was 4, the military sent us to live in Spain.

Great things happened while we lived there.  For one thing, I was saved while we lived there. Another of my biggest memories of Spain was my dad telling me about my country.  America.  A place where people were to free.  Free to think, say and believe whatever they wanted to.

Dad told me that I was American and that I should be proud of that.  There were plenty of other boys and girls that would love to have been born in America, but God was good in that He allowed ME to be free-born...I was an American!

I remember Dad pointing out the American flag as it flew along side the Spanish flag, and telling us that when we got back to America, we would be able see it flying all alone.  Alone - without the Spanish flag.

The day finally came!  We were going home.  HOME - that's what they (mom and dad) called it.  They explained to my sister and me that the flight would be long, and when we got there there would be people everywhere, so we had better stay right with them.


I remember landing in Newark airport.  Dad was right.  The flight had been terribly long and there were people everywhere!  And the weird part, for me, was that everyone was speaking English.

I remember holding my dad's hand and trying to keep up with him.  I lost his hand for a split second and panicked.  I looked around frantically to find him, and there he was standing still right behind me.  He was looking out a huge window and there were tears streaming down his face.

I had never seen my dad cry before.  I followed his gaze out the window.  There it was!  He was looking at the biggest American flag I had ever seen....and it was all alone!  It was absolutely beautiful flying in the breeze.

I will never forget that moment.  I don't know if my dad remembers it, but it's one that will be etched in my heart and memory forever.

That was the day my dad taught me to be a Proud American!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad.  I remember looking at this picture many a time during Dad's deployments.  There were times when I almost forgot what his face looked like, but this picture was on my mom's dresser and it reminded me what my hero looked like!

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