Who We Are

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Sunday Salute - Our Military Deployed on Active Service

This week, our Sunday Salute goes out to the members of our military who are deployed on active service - and to the families who wait for them to return home! This is a hard time of year for our men and women who are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and all over the world. Please join us in keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.

Several of our readers commented on the little tree in the screened-in area of our deck. (It's right off the kitchen, Sitka! That means street level in the front, 2 floors up in the back!) We have little wooden flag ornaments on that, as a reminder of our service members. With it being outside, it also reminds us that many service members are outside as well, guarding our freedoms and fighting to keep us safe, regardless of the harsh elements.

Sitka also commented on the little tree in the living room Amber was posing by. It, too, is decorated in patriotic ornaments! Every year, we put a small tree up in the living room to honor all those who served and who currently serve our nation in uniform. Zim showed you how it turned out last year; here is another look at this year's:

It's our favorite tree! In that post last year, Zimmie told you "One thing mom does for this Christmas tree dates back to at least the mid-1800s - a great military family tradition from the 'frontier days'! She ties some of our dad's brass Army uniform buttons and even some of her dad's buttons to our tree! She takes spare brass buttons from their uniforms, loops ribbon through the shank, and ties them to our tree!" We love that part of the tree. Look! Here is one of Mom's dad's (our grandfather's!) buttons:

He spent many Christmases serving far away from home! He, like so many other soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen and coast guardsmen throughout our nation's history, proudly served, to protect our freedoms.

There are also great reminders of military families on the tree - some are gifts to Mom from fellow Army wives, some are things Mom made and shared with her friends. Here are a few examples of those; we'll start with a simple BDU tree ornament Mom made and shared with special military families. She made it from one of Dad's old uniforms.

Here is one of our favs - it's a sled with a Big Red One decal on it! Dad served in the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) for a total of six years. This was made by some special ladies whose hubbies served with Dad.

It's a great reminder of the camaraderie amongst those on the "home front". The next ornament is one Mom made and shared while Dad was deployed with the Big Red One during Desert Storm:

It reminders her of the families whose military member is deployed now and what they are experiencing. Though military families miss their service member deeply, they are also incredibly proud of them and their service. And we are ever so grateful!

Check out the angel that sits at the base of the tree! She has a BDU dress and wings!

It was made by some of the ladies whose husbands were serving with Dad in the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. Mom and Dad were there for two years and it was an incredible experience for them both. That angel is very special to Mom and reminds her that often the families are far from home, as well. The 2nd Infantry Division experience was unique, in that the soldiers lived at various camps "up north" (near the DMZ) and the sponsored wives lived on an Army garrison in Seoul. Dad brought some of his fellow "Second to None" Warriors down to Mom's for a Christmas dinner one year and Mom made these for the guys:

It was a very special evening, enjoyed tremendously by all. The ornament is a reminder that even a small gesture can mean a lot to our military and their families.

This Christmas season, please remember to keep our special warriors and their families, especially those serving far from home, in your thoughts and prayers. And should you have the opportunity, please reach out. Even a "simple" thank you means so much. May God bless each and every member of our military who is deployed this year - and their dear family members. We salute you all!

The Army of Four

15 comments:

  1. Those are lovely ornaments. My dad was in the Big Red One for 4 years in Germany. :)

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  2. What a great tree and what a great salute. We certainly appreciate all they do for us.

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  3. Excellent Sunday Salute, AO4. There's no way we can ever thank or appreciate our military personel enough. Your mom sure is fabulous with all those ornament and baking projects!! We also think that all your Christmas Caper advice is great! We'll use it if we need to. Belly Rubs, Tasha & Eva.

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  4. Anonymous2:31 PM

    Awesome post and what a great idea. I'm sure all miltary people and their families would be touched at the wonderful tribute you are paying to them all through your Christmas decorations.

    River

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  5. Not only is that a really thoughtful post, it is a very interesting one. The stories about the ornaments are very special - and they look great too.

    Pippa

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  6. Wow guys - very cool tree. My human uncle was a West Pointer and my mom's dad fought in WW2 so we think this is cool!
    Dory

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  7. Great salute to our American heroes. Your trees and ornaments are very special and thank you very much for sharing!

    Woo woo, Kelsey Ann

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  8. What cool ornaments, and a wonderful salute to our troops!

    Hbbb

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  9. woofies Ao4!!!!! pawsome post!!!

    b safe,
    ;)lacylulu

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  10. That's a really pawsome salute and great tree

    ~ Girl girl

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  11. Another wonderful Sunday Salute.

    The ornaments are beautiful, not only because they "are" beautiful, but because of the wonderful memories, sentiments, plus bravery and courage which they represent.

    We appreciate everything the Armed Forces do, so we can have a safe and happy Christmas, and a safe and happy world.

    love and many licks, your friend, Marvin in Scotland xxxxxx

    Jeannie xxxxxx

    sorry we are late commenting!

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  12. That is such a pawsum, pretty tree with stories to go wif the ornaments.
    -Cosmos-

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  13. That is an amazing tree...it brought tears to our eyes at how fortunate we are to be protected by such special men, women and pups and ALL the sacrifices their families make. Thanks for always reminding us of how important our service folks are!

    Lots of Licks, Ruby

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  14. Hooaahwooowoo! This is our very favorite post ever! We loved seeing all your special ornaments & hearing the stories that go with them! Mom has lots of special meaning baubles too, and those are her very favorites, even though none of them match any thing else. (We definitely don't have any kind of a theme tree, but we LOVE the button idea.) Her & dad have a have a tradition of buying each other an ornament every year since they met, and of course the BoogieBoy gets one too. One of her very favorite ornaments is one she got at a craft fair in Mobile AL in Nov 2001. He's an Uncle Sam Santa, holding a flag, made out of a flattened soda can (ya gotta see him to appreciate him). Wish we were putting up our tree so we could post some of our favorite ornaments, but definitely next year!
    Christmas Kisses,
    Bama & the RHP
    PeeEss,
    Maybe in one of your posts, you could add some ideas of ways people can help send cheer to our brave military this season, we're sure there are things that everyone can do to express their support & appreciation.
    Thanks pups, You're the best!

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  15. Anonymous8:59 AM

    Wow! Those handmade ornaments are awesome! What a great thing for your mom to have done for all of those soldiers families. Another great salute. We certaintly salute everone in the military - active or retired!

    Hugs,
    Sitka

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