We went to Hobby Lobby this afternoon where I bought up every single small flag-on-a-stick they had. My kids and I are going to decorate our front yard (we live on a high-visibility corner) with the flags in advance of Memorial Day. My girls have been involved in several projects to support U.S. troops in the Middle East this past year and we've had many conversations about the soldiers, why they went there, why they are still there, and what we can do to help them until they come home.
As Memorial Day approaches, I want to list for the record all the veterans in my family so that their names will live on in that unique perpetuity known as the internet long after I'm gone.
These are my family's soldiers:
Dillon Blevins, British citizen turned patriot, American Revolutionary War
Armstead Blevins, War of 1812
Hugh Blevins, War of 1812
William, John and Hugh Blevins, Jr. -- Confederate States of America, Civil War
Benjamin, Charles, and John H. Stephens -- Confederate States of America, Civil War
Thomas Hamby -- Confederate States of America, Civil War
Elijah Wells -- Confederate States of America, Civil War
Leonard Hamby, World War I
Clifford Evans, World War II
Lloyd Evans, World War II
Howard Evans, World War II
Dallas Evans, Korean Conflict
Sylvia Evans Davidson
Wells Hamby, Jr. -- served honorably in the U.S. Navy
Byron Evans
Christopher Hamby -- actively serving
Randy Evans -- actively serving
Julian Jones
Emily Farrar -- actively serving
Even with its myriad problems and the failure of its leaders to heed the sage advice of the Founding Fathers, America is still the greatest country in the world. It is still the shining city on a hill and I'm not ashamed to say it or teach it to my children.
Put out your flags, dear readers, before heading to the beach, the barbecue, or the beer hall. Men and women -- thousands upon thousands of them -- risked their lives or lost them in the name of everything our nation holds dear and we would do well to remember them on Monday.
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