4th of July has always been a holiday of significance in my family considering that both of my parents are veterans-- my father having served in the U.S. Army for over 20 years and my mother serving in the Army with three small children at home.
Memories of the 4th of July as a child include the usual fireworks, grilled foods and those little American flags on sticks that seem to be as plentiful as mosquitos on a hot July day. Every year someone plays God Bless the U.S.A, always bringing a tear to my mother's eye-- which I have most recently taken up in her abscence-- and I've spent many a 4th of July staring up at the sky watching airplanes streak across the sky, performing barrel rolls and spelling words with smoke from the engines. The usual patriotic music would be playing in the background and in between shows we'd walk around and sit in helicopters, jets, airplanes and old U.S. Army jeeps. No matter what city, state or country my nomadic family would eventually find themselves in-- this was how we spent these annual summer celebrations with our backs atop an afghan and our eyes turned to the sky as we oohed and ahhed at the burst of color in the sky.
With so few traditions among Army families, Independence Day always has a special place in the military community-- not just to bring justification of so many sacrfices... but also as a way to bring military families together to sit on blankets and stare into the sky.
Together.
