Thought some of you might like this

[Hornet33]

A buddy of mine sent this to me and I just wanted to share with everyone.

Will you give this to my Daddy?

Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camo's, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me.  

I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers.

He kneeled down and said "hi," the little girl then she asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, he didn't look any older than maybe 22, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying "your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon."

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away while this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause.

As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier, in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON.

IF YOU COULD CARE LESS THEN HIT THE DELETE BUTTON --- IT IS YOUR CHOICE.

WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE.

MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, or better yet, AMERICA , BLESS GOD!

[Gunslinger]

even if it's pure fiction it sounds real and is moving.  Thanks for the post!

[Dago]

IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON.

When an email says that, I automatically delete it.  Normally a hoax, always something old ladies forward.

Snopes says there is 3 versions of it, one American, one Canadian and one Austrailan.  All same pretty much except the city (and country) the "conference" was in.  I do not think soldiers  carry "military looking walkie talkies" when they travel.  Just cell phones.

I would be a fair amount of money this story was a complete fabrication.  What I don't understand is why some people make this stuff up.

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by Dago
When an email says that, I automatically delete it.  Normally a hoax, always something old ladies forward.

Snopes says there is 3 versions of it, one American, one Canadian and one Austrailan.  All same pretty much except the city (and country) the "conference" was in.  I do not think soldiers  carry "military looking walkie talkies" when they travel.  Just cell phones.

I would be a fair amount of money this story was a complete fabrication.  What I don't understand is why some people make this stuff up.

Why do people write at all?

[Helrazr1]

Originally posted by Dago


I would be a fair amount of money this story was a complete fabrication.  What I don't understand is why some people make this stuff up.

Fabrication or not, things like that do serve a purpose.  They muster support for our troops during a war that most don't think we should be in.  People "make this stuff up" because maybe it's a much needed break from hearing about all of the deaths from IED's and suicide bombers.  People see all of the horror on the news, maybe they could use something heartwarming to think about when they think of our troops.  For some people, it's easy to lose sight of how great our soldiers are when we are subjected to hearing the political and editorial side of things.

Point is, don't knock it because you don't understand!

[Dago]

Originally posted by Helrazr1
Fabrication or not, things like that do serve a purpose.  They muster support for our troops during a war that most don't think we should be in.  People "make this stuff up" because maybe it's a much needed break from hearing about all of the deaths from IED's and suicide bombers.  People see all of the horror on the news, maybe they could use something heartwarming to think about when they think of our troops.  For some people, it's easy to lose sight of how great our soldiers are when we are subjected to hearing the political and editorial side of things.

Point is, don't knock it because you don't understand!

I find plenty to admire in our troops everyday without having to resort to reading some weepy fabrication designed to make me feel all warm and fuzzy, or tearful.

You can watch any of the many slide shows available online, accompanied by gentle music that show our men and women every day working, fighting, mourning, and in that gain a greater appreciation of the sacrifice they make, and the admirable quality of their character.  You can read the stories of their experiences, watch the videos on youtube or any other video website to get a glimpse.  

People should form opinions and appreciate the troops not based on a foolish little email, but by paying attention to the real world and the people in it.

[Gunslinger]

I think the real point here is that it is entirly plausable that some soldier getting ready to deploy to Iraq would fake a phone call for a little girl who hasn't seen her daddy in a really long time.

Something as heartwarming as that is completly within the realm of realistic.

Edit:  you don't have to have any opinion on OIF to see that this type of action probably does happen all the time.

[tedrbr]

Scenes like this DO happen.  I was surprised at the reception in Bangor, Maine, when we stopped there to refuel on the way back to Fort McCoy to demob.  Many volunteers standing by to welcome us home and allow us to use their donated cell phones to call family and friends for example.

But, the fact remains, this "story" is typical for the kind of story that gets forwarded around the internet as a means to collect email addresses or spread viruses and malware.    The kind of thing which would show up in my in-box started with "FW: FW: FW:", if my filters did not already automatically delete them.

Others are simple works of fiction to try and gather support for or against a subject matter or influence others.  The stuff at the bottom of the message have me leaning toward this being used to collect addresses and deliver malware.