Hey kids, that guy's a real soldier

An installer from AT&T came out to our house today to see about setting my mom up with some sort of hotshot all-in-one cable/phone/computer system.

When I went to unlock the side gate so he could get to the phone lines out in the backyard, I noticed he wore a faded blue ballcap with the words, "U.S. Marine" stitched across the brim in red.

"Are you a Marine?" I asked him. Hey, people wear all sorts of insignia and branding that doesn't really apply to them, so I figured my question was a fair one.

"Yes, ma'am, I am," he said.

Turns out this guy, who looked not a day older than 20 or so, is a 28-year-old with two tours of duty in Afghanistan and another in Iraq under his belt. He enlisted in 2000, never expecting, as he put it, "to have guys ram airplanes into tall buildings and turn my life upside down."

For the forgetful or those in denial, that's a reference to Sept. 11, 2001 when Muslim fanatics (yes, yes, I KNOW I used the word "Muslim, so no flaming me for historical accuracy, okay?) hijacked the three passenger jets and set the east coast on fire for the day.

The guy from AT&T was counting on a fairly uneventful military stint. Instead, he had the distinct privilege of surviving the Battle of Fallujah in Iraq and then impressing his stateside superiors so much they sent him to Afghanistan to train officers. Twice.

When I asked him whether he would ever go in again, whether he liked working for the phone company, his reply was swift and sincere. "I love this job. I'm done with the military. There's just something nice about being able to get up, go out and not worry about having your head shot off. I get to wake up in my own bed next to my wife and that's worth a lot."

He volunteered that if he, a three-tour veteran, got called up again it would be for one reason only. "You'd want to get your own gun out," he said, "because if they call me up it means we're being invaded."

After he left, my two oldest children asked me why I'd stayed out on the patio for so long talking to the "phone guy."

I was pleased to report that he was no ordinary "phone guy." He was an American soldier, a Marine, the best and the bravest our country has to offer. And in spite of all he'd seen and done, he still had the courtesy to smile, call me "ma'am" and wish me a nice day.

Same to you, soldier. Same to you and then some.

If you know of someone serving in the U.S. military, take a moment to send them an email, a letter, or call them on the phone. Thank them for putting their hide on the line so the rest of us don't have to. Like the old saying goes, "Freedom isn't free."