“Patriotism At Its Best” by Michael S.

A time in which I had discovered something very meaningful in my life took place around the holiday season in 2011. My father went to Afghanistan to spend Thanksgiving with our American Soldiers. He followed the 172^nd Brigade Blackhawks, a division in our military army. At this time, Afghanistan was still a very dangerous place to be in. There was constant fighting going on. Explosive devices were going off constantly. I was feeling very concerned about my dad, and I know my mom was too. He was working on a segment that would later be shown on the Sean Hannity Christmas Special on the Fox News Channel. My father’s mission was to capture on film what soldiers and their families go through when deployed and off to fight in war. The soldiers that my father followed were considered doubled deployed. This means that they are based in Germany and then from there, the soldiers go to Afghanistan. Their spouses and children are separated from their families as well, do to the fact that they are away from the states. The separation that occurs to these families and soldiers are difficult to endure at times, especially around the holiday season. My father’s goal was to capture all the emotions through the camera lens and put together a very special segment that all Americans would see and appreciate. His main goal was to be able to give some glimmer of happiness to their spouses, children and families who would be watching this at home around Christmas time.

     He first followed the soldiers to Germany, where they are stationed. There, he filmed their spouses and children put together care packages that later would be delivered to the soldiers back in Afghanistan. These packages had items such as; snacks, toiletries, pictures and personal letters written to them. There were many items that were also donated from different companies who wanted to support this great cause. My father is a good friend of Chuck Norris, and he was able to get him to donate these awesome Chuck Norris t-shirts. After all the packages were completed, they were ready to be flown to Afghanistan. My father then was off to Afghanistan as well. He was filming our soldiers on a day-to-day basis.

     If I remember correctly, I believe my father came home around the 20^th of December in 2011. He looked exhausted, yet pleased. He had been gone for a month at least, but at times it felt like forever. My mom, brother and I were to happy to have him home safe. He shared his experiences to us, yet it really hadn’t sunk in. When December 23^rd arrived, we turned on the television at 6pm to watch The Hannity Christmas Show Special. As I watched the show with my father and mother, it was then that I realized how much sacrifice our soldiers and their families endure. I look at things differently now. I appreciate everything and everyone in my life. I especially appreciate what these soldiers do to secure our freedoms. The one thing that I discovered throughout this entire process was that my father sacrificed himself to tell a soldier’s story about what they endure in times of war. He showed me how much of a patriot he was. He made me see that everything I have and enjoy in life is because we live in the greatest nation in the world. It was then that I decided to be a patriot myself. I watch and listen to the news all of the time now. I keep up on current events. U.S. History is now my favorite subject. But the one thing I learned the most about myself is that I feel so proud to be an American.

If you would like to view the segment, type in this link.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2050536347001/operation-patriot-care-package/