ON BEHALF OF A GRATEFUL NATION…

As many of you know, I am honored to have had an uncle who was a true American hero. I spoke to Uncle Icky almost every day, but every year on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, I’d call and say “hello, this is the United States of America calling. Thank you for your service.”

And Icky would say something like, “glad to do it,” or “any time, baby” or “it was nothing, really.”

I think that modesty naturally goes hand in hand with heroism. (I can’t be sure, because I’ve never been accused of either.)

This is the very first Veterans Day that I can’t call Uncle Icky. But I still can thank him. And I can thank all the men and women who selflessly put their lives on the line so that I can live mine the way I do.

I just read Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell. It’s a gut wrenching, heart stopping, page turning story of war, only as it can be told by one of the heroes who lived it.

I recommend the book without reservation. And for those of you who want to know more about my own personal American hero, this is the perfect day to visit Uncle Icky’s page on my site.

Today is Veterans Day. Honor one. Better yet, honor them all.

Marshall posted on November 11, 2009 7:18 AM