On one of our USS TR calls, Carol had told us that she was thinking of having a ceremony to honor our sons and all of those who were or still are part of the Theodore Roosevelt – we thought it was a GREAT idea, and were just planning to go to a military memorial at a local park in the area and place a wreath on each of the military branch monuments. We were all excited to be able to do that to honor our sons who were on the ship!
WELL, LITTLE DID WE KNOW WHAT WAS REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN!
Carol started talking to people in Farmington, and God worked it out to have a ceremony at the park attended by over 60 people!!!!!! It just spread and grew, and more and more people wanted to participate! It was an incredible morning, and here is a little bit about it!
The city councilwoman in Farmington, Janis, jumped on board right away, and she was the emcee of the ceremony! What a delight she was! Her husband live streamed the event on Facebook, so many more people saw it in addition to those who were present!
We had a Jr ROTC group present the colors, the National Anthem was sung, and retired Rear Admiral Bruce Black was the main speaker! WOW! He was amazing and shared such wonderful stories and also talked about the main purpose of aircraft carriers – I learned things I never knew and what a blessing it was to have him share with all of us!
REAL ADMIRAL BRUCE BLACK
After he spoke, we heard Amazing Grace and Taps played on the bagpipes! It was so emotional! As the bagpipes were playing, the five of us from the USS TR group went and placed a wreath on each of the monuments honoring each branch of the military – it was incredible and such an honor to be a part of that!
Carol’s husband Roger closed in prayer and everyone was so touched by the whole thing! It was a BEAUTIFUL morning, with temperatures in the 70s and not a cloud in the sky – there was a breeze blowing which showed off the American Flag flying above!
WHAT A SIGHT THAT WAS!
One of the people in attendance was the owner operator of the Chick-fil-A in Farmington, and after the ceremony, he invited our group to his restaurant and treated us ALL to a wonderful lunch – he even had a Navy flag hanging over our table – wow! It doesn’t surprise me, though, because that is what Chick-fil-A is all about – community and customer service – oh, and GREAT FOOD!!!!
Leonard and I were so happy to be a part of such a wonderful day, and a wonderful way to honor all of our military – we are so thankful for what they all do to let us live in freedom!!!
I hope you were blessed by this story too!
Until next time…
You know I love the Chick-fil-A connection, but I am shocked to read about the ceremony. Totally sounds like the benefit of a smaller town. What a special day!
It was amazing, and I wasn’t surprised at the generosity of Gary and Chick-fil-A!!!!
Susan, what an awesome way to honor our military. It’s heartwarming to hear about the time taken by Carol and all the others to make it special. And of course, Chick-fil-A finished off a beautiful day – what a blessing!
It really was such a blessing to be with all of those people honoring our military!
I was so happy to get to see the live stream of that event!! It was so God honoring and lifted up the best of our country!! What a wonderful highlight of your trip!!
And I agree with what you said that day – everyone needed to see that! Not enough respect and honor for the military anymore!
What a great trip! Beautiful pictures and ceremony. God has been with you every step of the way.
What you experienced in Farmington will never be forgotten. Not only by you and those precious moms, but a whole community. God bless America! Godspeed home.
I agree!!!
Wow…it just keeps getting better! I’m so glad for you and Leonard to have experienced this event with this group of people! What a blessing! God is good!
MK
Wow! It is incredible to hear how God just moved in people and worked out all those details way above expectations!!! The military deserves this kind of honor every day!
I just found some letters my brother wrote to me from Desert Storm. I had no idea at that time what a big deal he was! So thankful they are willing to serve!
I just realized that I am going from the bottom to the top on the trip. I am loving it anyway. Loved the ceremony all the support. Reminds me of my life with David Baker ( pow) . I am very patriotic and am always moved by Andrew and Leigh and their service. Wish I had been with you.