My DD and her kids and I went out to Ft. Hood to meet the soldiers coming back from Iraq.

Everyone was waving flags and holding up banners or signs to welcome them home. I looked at my 7 year old grandaughter and she was just balling. I ask her if she was crying because she was so happy the men came home to their families and she said no, she was crying for all the men who didn't come home.

I can't say that the same thought doesn't enter my mind too.

But I still go and welcome home those Heroes.

Melvalena, I know they appreciate it.
I'll see if I can go with my DD again next time she goes.

I'd be with the 7yr old and I hate crying in public. I'd go anyway. No pics allowed!!
I read this while checking up on this link with snopes. Check it out! It's a true story I checked! LOL!

Weary Travelers Support Operation Iraqi Freedom Troops at BWI
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2003 Nearly everyone has experienced it at one time or another: an airport bogged down by bad weather, delayed and cancelled flights, and cranky, overtired travelers wanting nothing more than to get to their destinations.
That's exactly what Will Ross, an administrative judge for the Defense Department's Office of Hearings and Appeals in Los Angeles, encountered Oct. 27 at Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

But what he witnessed that day, he said, "made me proud to be an American, and also told me why we will win this war (on terrorism)."

Like many of his fellow passengers, Ross had been forced to spend the night in Baltimore. His outbound flight, scheduled for the night before, had been cancelled due to the California wildfires. They had forced the Los Angeles International Airport to close, and the ripple effect drove domestic travel nationwide into a tailspin.

When Ross reported to the United Airlines counter the following morning for the next scheduled flight to Los Angeles, bad weather and aircraft mechanical problems made the prospect of a timely trip even more grim.

As he waited in the terminal, Ross noticed many soldiers in their desert camouflage uniforms, newly arrived from Southwest Asia. All, like Ross and the other passengers at the airport, were awaiting connecting flights but in the soldiers' case, it was to begin two weeks of rest and recuperation leave.

Flight delays continued and the airport had become, in Ross's words, "a zoo." By the afternoon, one flight to Denver had been delayed several hours. United Airlines agents kept asking for volunteers to give up their seats and take another flight, but Ross said they weren't getting many takers.

Finally, Ross said a United Airlines spokeswoman got on the public address system and made a desperate plea. "Folks, as you can see, there are a lot of soldiers in the waiting area," the agent said. "They only have 14 days of leave and we're trying to get them where they need to go without spending any more time in an airport than they have to.

"We sold them all tickets knowing we would oversell the flight. If we can, we want to get them all on this flight. We want all the soldiers to know we respect what you're doing, we are here for you and we love you," the agent continued. "The entire terminal of cranky, tired, travel-weary people -- a cross-section of America -- broke into sustained and heartfelt applause," Ross said. "We're talking about several hundred people applauding, a whole terminal.

"The soldiers looked surprised and very modest," he continued. "Most of them just looked at their boots." Many of the travelers in the terminal wiped away tears.

"And, yes," Ross said, "people lined up to take the later flight and all the soldiers went to Denver on that flight."

Ross said he figured that 30 or 40 people had suddenly jumped at the chance to offer their seats to U.S. soldiers.

That moment, he said, reinforced his patriotism and his heartfelt belief that the United States will prevail in the war on terror.

"I think people realized that this fight is going to be long and drawn-out, and these kids are in the thick of it," he said. "It was heartwarming to see their outpouring of support."

I'm a big old cry baby too. I prayed that I wouldn't become a blubbering idiot. There are moments I do get misty eyed, when I see a family re united. Fortunately I haven't actually broken down. (so far)

I've started staying at the terminal until the last soldier is gone because sometimes, who ever is coming for them gets lost, tied up in traffic or doesn't really know where to pick them up.
A few times we've had to use my cell phone to make contact because the soldier's cell phone has run out of juice.

I stay because I don't like to drive off while someone is standing there all alone waiting for whoever it is that is supposed to be picking them up. I go and stand with 'em and pass the time chatting so they aren't all alone.

I figure its the least I can do for the sacrifice they are making for me and mine.

I am so glad I started going and doing this.

Okay pj - Your story you posted brought tears to my eyes! Another way to help if you can't make it to the airport is:
http://www.anysoldier.com/

Click on "Where to Send" and you will get a list of soldier names. Read the directions at the bottom. You can select up to two a day to get their addresses where you can send items they have requested or simply write to them via e-mail or a regular letter. I had my cub scouts do this to write letters (one of their badge requirements) to them. I figured any soldier would love to get a letter from a young kid. Anyway, its just another way we can support our troops.