My son gave me this lapel pin when he was in boot camp. It is for parents of Air Force personnel. He’s now deployed over in the middle east charged with the duty of “creating world peace”. This emblem is more meaningful to me now than ever.  He is in harm’s way like never before. I use it as a prayer reminder.

Parents have no idea when their children join the military how much it may cost them. We train our children to be patriotic and love our Country, so hearing your child was killed by those who hate us, simply because he put on the uniform, is a level of pain beyond comprehension.

One of my friends had a son who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. She lived in Alaska and a memorial was created in his memory. We were driving along the Glenn Highway, looking for the Matanuska Glacier, when we came across this memorial. Now you folks in Missouri who may never get to Alaska can see it too.