Arlington National Cemetary Washington DC

"Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war." --Thucydides

My husband, our girls and I were flying home from the UK in the summer of 1994, where we were stationed at RAF Lakenheath, to visit family in North Carolina. The aircraft we flew on for our trip across the Pond was not a commercial flight, but a cargo plane and it was full of Marines returning stateside from an assignment. Except for the flight crew, we were the only Air Force members on the flight. I smiled while we were waiting in line to board the plane because most of the Marines came over to flirt with my girls (who were one and two, at the time). It delighted me at how tender they were with my babies. Once we boarded, the Marines all found seats and saved one for me and the girls right in the middle of them, while forcing my husband to sit in the back. It was a quiet and slick maneuver that still makes me grin. What happened next was pure magic. After take-off, those Marines passed my little girls around, holding them, talking to them, playing with them, feeding them God knows how many cookies, and making them laugh! Both girls fell asleep and napped in the arms of a doting Marine. When we stopped to refuel in Goose Bay Canada, the Marines made off with my girls and my husband finally got to speak to me. "Guess I won't be getting you ladies back till we land in Virginia!" he said, shaking his head. "Well, I'm not going to argue with them! Are you?" I asked. He shook his head. "Not in this lifetime! They outnumber me eighty to one," he smiled!

When we landed in Virginia, where my husband's parents were waiting to meet us and drive us down to North Carolina, the Marines took their time saying goodbye to my girls. Mama Schaefer approached, hugging me tight and taking my oldest daughter from me. "Who were those boys?" she wanted to know. "Suitors for your granddaughters," I told her, laughing. My youngest clung to my neck and quietly watched them go. I wondered if she was thinking what I was thinking--Who knew warriors could be such gentle souls? On the start of this Memorial Day weekend, I wonder what happened to those boys on the plane. I hope they returned from every mission safely and I want to say a special thanks for watching over my babies, not just on that day, but every day! Semper Fi!

*Image from artnectar.com.

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