Followers

Saturday 2 May 2009

red friday

i received this email and wanted to share it

Last week I was in West London 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 through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their uniforms, 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 Briton 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 enjoy our 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 knelt down and said 'hi,' the little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her.

The young soldier didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy.

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 Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 5 months now.

As the mum was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mum 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 mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum.

I was standing no more than 6 feet away as 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 moment 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 British.

RED FRIDAYS

Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday.

The reason?

British men and women who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'.

We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for Country and home in record breaking numbers.

We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing.

We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions.

Many British people, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Britain supports our troops.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every Briton who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make Great Britain on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football team

If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, It will not be long before Britain is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...'We need your support and your prayers'...

Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.

7 comments:

cheryl said...

Hi hun thanks for following my blog I have read this one before had it sent to me in an email. Makes you think doesnt it love your blog and those beautiful photos beautiful.

love cheryl xx

Lorraine A said...

well the tears're streaming now,,, what a lovely touching e-mail :-)
My nephew recently joined the Army ( British) and my Uncle was a soldier all his life.
Thanks for sharing this :-)
Lorraine x

jude said...

anDREA ,
Just reading your account of your day has tears rolling down my face hun!i hope you dont mind i have copied this articlre to put message on my blog for the support of red friday.
Im sure it will be a day you will all never forget
love n hugs judex

nessy said...

oh gosh i am sat here in tears ~i`m so glad i found your blog and your story ~yes there are many of us who support our troops ~thankyou so much for sharing ~i have added a red card to my blog today ~so i will add a link to your blog now and hope many more people not only here but around the world that we do support our young men and women who find themselves fighting abroad away from their families!!
vanessa xx

ella bella said...

well i'm sat here in tears, such a touching email, hope you dont mind but i have put a post on my blog about it to help spread the word about red friday.
thanks for sharing
Tracy x

Just call me G said...

*Gulp* sobbing here...

Can I copy your story and post to post on a facebook group please?

Gina x

jo said...

hi cheryl, i found your throw nessy,well i was crying all the way throw.
we should all show how much we love thes men ,women fighting for us. thank -you for sharing this. huggs jo x